Here’s The World's Coolest SSD Heatsink But Don't Try Jamming It In Your PS5
No, that's not a miniature jet engine you see in the image above, even though it partially resembles one. Instead, it's a rather large cooling contraption for M.2 form factor solid state drives (SSDs), and quite possibly the *ahem* coolest SSD heastink on the planet (see what we did there?). Just don't try sticking this thing in your PlayStation 5 console—it's not going to fit without some serious modding.
Keeping your SSD cool can help maintain peak performance for longer periods of time before unwanted throttling occurs. We haven't tested this, but the prevailing theory is that it's really the controller hardware that benefits from cooler temps, as opposed to the NAND flash memory ICs. Either way, an overall cooler-running SSD is also a better performing one.
The maker of this mini jet engine comparatively massive SSD cooler, ElecGear, claims it lowers temps by up to 25C at the high end and 12C at the lower end of the spectrum. Whatever the actual case, this is an active cooling solution with a 30mm PWM fan spinning at up to 9,300 RPM working in tandem with a heat pipe, heat sink, and thermal pads.
"The cooler is quite big which means it will not work with all PCs, though it comes with the innovative angle adjustable design. Please study the dimensioning on the picture and make sure your PC has enough space to house this kit," ElecGear states.
ElecGear claims it has a patent pending on the adjustable portion of the cooler. It has a wide 145-degree rotational range so that you can maneuver the chunky engine pack if other components are getting in the way, like a graphics card. Even still, it may not fit in your PC, depending on your setup.
It's certainly a clever design, though we wonder if the adjustable nature of the heat pipe assembly negatively affects performance. Or more realistically, by how much. At least it's not mega-expensive—it goes for around $35 on Amazon.
We mentioned this being a bad option if you're looking to upgrade your PS5 with a fast SSD, because it's just too tall. If that's what you are after, you should look at one of these...
- 2TB Sabrent Rocket: $279.99 at Amazon (save $39.99)
- 2TB Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus: $329.99 at Amazon
- 2TB Samsung 980 Pro: $399.99 at Amazon (save $50)
- 2TB XPG Gammix S70 Blade: $249.99 at Amazon (save $80)
And if you're just looking for a lower profile SSD cooler that is compatible with your PS5 console, here are some options...
- SGTKJSJS M.2 Heatsink: $12.99 at Amazon (save $1)
- Glotrends M.2 Heatsink: $9.99 at Amazon (save $1)
- Ineo M.2 Heatsink: $12.99 at Amazon (save $1)
Not exactly big discounts on those, but at least they're pretty affordable already.
