Tom’s Guide to High-Performance Gadgets and Components - Expert Reviews

Until recently, cooling and storage was at best an afterthought for most enthusiasts and PC builders – it really wasn’t a concern outside of servers jam-packed full of hard drives.

But current-generation PCIe 5 SSDs can transfer more data than ever before, and pushing those speeds can generate a fair bit of extra heat. With these modern drives, not only is some kind of cooling recommended, but it’s a requirement to prevent throttlingor even crashing in some instances .

Over the past couple of years, manufacturers have begun creating a wide variety of heatsinks and coolers for NVMe SSDs to ensure that they can maintain their maximum speeds. Heatsinks large and small, with or without active fans, andeven liquid cooling solutions are now available for NVMe SSDs.

TeamGroup’s T-Force Dark AirFlow I is the latest M.2 NVMe SSD heatsink cooler to land in our test bed. It features a pitch-black design, a mini tower of fins with two copper heatpipes, and an active 40 mm fan for enhanced heat dissipation. Does it perform well enough to compete with thebest SSD heatsinks for your storage? Before we get to thebenchmarks , we’ll take a quick look at the features and specifications of the cooler.

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Cooler specifications

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Packing and included contents

The Dark Airflow I arrives in a box similar in size to my Samsung S24 Ultra smartphone, but deeper. Opening the box reveals the heatsink in plastic packaging.

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You’ll find instructions on how to install the device printed on the inside of the box. Underneath the plastic packaging are thermal pads and a small screwdriver.

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Installation

The installation of the NVMe heatsink is fairly simple.

1. To begin, you’ll first need to disassemble the unit. Then, you’ll take the base of the heatsink and apply the first thermal pad to it.

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2. Place your M.2 NVMe SSD onto the thermal pad. Take the second thermal pad, and place it on top.

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3. Next, place the heatsink on top of the SSD and secure it using the included screws.

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4. The last step is to place the unit into an M.2 slot and secure it using a screw or motherboard latch, and connect the PWM connection to a motherboard header.

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Features of Teamgroup’s T-Force Dark Airflow I

▶ Compatible with most GPUs

Despite its larger size, TeamGroup’s Airflow I can be installed next to most GPUs on the market without compatibility problems. However, if you have one of the RTX 4090 GPUs that covers the NVMe slot next to your CPU, you’ll have to use an alternative slot.

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▶Double-sided SSD cooling support

Some NVMe heatsinks only effectively cool the top side of an SSD – which means they’re not effective for drives with NAND on both sides of the PCB. This is especially a problem with the standard heatsinks used for most motherboards and will result in throttling if the NAND on the bottom side of the SSD is stressed. The Dark Airflow I supports double-sided SSDs and will keep both sides of the unit cooled effectively, which enables maximum unthrottled performance.

▶Tall heatsink with fins and two copper heatpipes

The Dark AirFlow I incorporates a black heatsink with multilayered aluminum alloy fins and two copper heatpipes for enhanced heat dissipation. It is quite possible that – with a little bit of modification – this unit could be adapted to effectively cool low-end CPUs.

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▶Active fan for cooling supremacy

In addition to the fins and copper heatpipes, the Dark Airflow I also utilizes a 2510-type fan for better cooling performance.

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▶Solid black aesthetic

Every part of the heatsink – including the fins, the copper heatpipes, the fan, and even the cord of the unit – are all solid black.

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Testing Methodology: How hot is too hot? Does cooling even matter for a SSD?

With SSD heatsinks, many readers are likely asking if it really matters. And if you’re a typical user who merely loads a few applications and games from time to time – you probably don’t need an advanced heatsink. I’ve run a variety of tests, and for common tasks like loading a game or application, you generally don’t need more than a basic heatsink – at least not with current SSDs and workloads.

Many users who_do_ need cooling for their drives will already be aware that they need one. This includes users whose workloads are IO-intensive or involve high-resolution video editing.

We’re also trying to look to the future here, to an extent. While today’s common workloads might not need anything more than a basic heatsink, this may change withPCIe 6 and future standards that will allow for higher speeds (and potentially higher power consumption) in consumer SSDs.

After consulting storage experts across the industry who work for Sabrent, Solidigm, Phison, Micron, and other storage manufacturers, I’ve created an IOMeter script that’s specifically designed to stress an SSD’s controller and NAND, causing it to reach its maximum temperature (also known as TJ Max). The ambient temperature is maintained at 23 degrees Celsius while these tests are performed. The SSD used isTeamgroup’s Z540 , powered byPhison’s E26 controller .

This test will cause throttling when paired with lower-end heatsinks. For those heatsinks, we’ll be looking at the IOPS of the drive during testing. The more advanced heatsinks and coolers will be capable of keeping the SSD under its peak temperature – for these units, we’ll compare the actual temperatures of the TeamGroup Z540 SSD.

When I was determining how to test these units, I consulted with many storage industry experts. They emphasized that modern PCIe 5.0 drives need at least some kind of cooling to avoid throttling and that even basic workloads can be impacted by minor throttling without a heatsink.

Users with storage-intensive workloads will require a stronger heatsink, like theTeamgroup Dark Airflow I SSD heatsink we’re reviewing today, to prevent their drive’s performance from throttling. The impact of this potential throttling can vary: Lighter loads won’t be impacted as much, but in the worst-case scenario I tested, I measured a 92% loss of performance without cooling on a PCIe 5.0 SSD.

You might think that’s the only aspect to consider when looking at a heatsink, but the thermals of a SSD also have a huge impact on a drive’s longevity. Much like other electronic components, extreme variations in temperature cause wear and tear, reducing lifespan. Now, let’s be real here: Most users shouldn’t need to worry about longevity, and instead should purchase a drive from a reliable manufacturer that has a good warranty. While this is our general recommendation, there are scenarios where this won’t apply. If you purchased a refurbished SSD at a discount, you can’t expect to have a long warranty.

Finally, there’s the matter of dealing with the hassle of a warranty. While it is nice to know that a failing drive will be replaced by the manufacturer, why create an environment where such a claim is likely to happen? I’d argue that it would be wiser to invest $10 or $15 into a heatsink to extend the lifespan of your SSD so that you don’t have to worry about dealing with the paperwork and time involved to process a warranty claim.

In theory, if your NVMe SSD arrives with a heatsink from the manufacturer, you shouldn’t need to worry about a heatsink at all. Most of the heatsinks I’ve seen paired with high-end PCIe 5 SSDs are more than capable of handling strong thermal loads. However, many drives do not include a heatsink in the box, and it would be a bad ideal to run a high-speed PCIe 5 SSD entirely uncooled, as performance will suffer even in common workloads.

When it comes to heatsinks for SSDs, the important thing to take away here is that every expert I’ve spoken to in the storage industry agrees that it is best practice to minimize temperature variations for the health and longevity of your SSD. How strong of a heatsink you’ll need is another matter for debate. In common scenarios, most users will be fine with basic heatsinks.But professionals or users with storage-intensive workloads might want to invest in a stronger heatsink.

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To test the heatsinks, I’ve created a custom IOMeter script with input from experts in the industry. I run an initial test of 30 minutes after installing the heatsink to burn it in. After turning the system off and allowing it to fully cool down, I run another 30-minute test. I’ll repeat the process for verification and if there is no variance I consider the results accurate. If there is variance, I’ll test the heatsink twice more.

Tests are performed inside of a real case, BeQuiet’s Silent Base 802. I use a 360mm AIO to avoid having the CPU Cooler potentially impact the results, but there’s an argument to be made that the most petite heatsinks should be tested under an air cooler. We’ll investigate this further in upcoming reviews to see how much – or little – this can impact the results of lower-end heatsinks.

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