Acer Aspire GX-781 desktop tower M.2 SSD overheats quickly

fricod
fricod Member Posts: 5 New User
edited August 4 in Aspire and Veriton Desktops

Hi, I noticed recently startup takes way longer than usual and think I found the problem. The SSD heats up to near 70 degrees Celsius on Win10 bootup and whenever I do a virus / malware scan or something similar, at which point it starts throttling. I was wondering, is there some kind of heat sink I can buy and install or would I need to buy something like thermal foil or something like that? It's an Acer Aspire GX-781 desktop tower (also noticed there's no case fan except for the PSU and things are glued together?)

[Edited the thread to add issue detail]

Answers

  • Larryodie
    Larryodie Member Posts: 1,681 Community Aficionado WiFi Icon

    Amazon has lots of thermal pads and enclosures.

    Search " M2.SSD thermal "

  • fricod
    fricod Member Posts: 5 New User

    This seems to be the motherboard layout:

    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/589254/acer-aspire-gx-781-motherboard-layout

    Would I be able to install something like a https://www.bequiet.com/en/accessories/2251 ? Not sure if I need to screw something in and if the motherboard supports it or not.

  • Larryodie
    Larryodie Member Posts: 1,681 Community Aficionado WiFi Icon

    I'm not sure. An earlier poster has ordered the pads. Maybe check with him as to the success or read the reviews on Amazon.

  • fricod
    fricod Member Posts: 5 New User

    Okay, I ordered some thermal pads as well, let's see if it helps. I'd also like to install a case fan, but the one I had in my previous tower was too big : https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/p/cooler-master-a12025-12cb-3bn-f1-12cm-120x25mm-12v-0-16a-3wire-cooling-fan/9300000030926994/

    Do I just get one 1 size smaller? I can't find any specs of the case, but looks like 1 size smaller is 80mm ?

  • fricod
    fricod Member Posts: 5 New User

    hmm, can't edit. Anyway, looks like the SSD is a standard M.2 format, not smaller. Half of it was hidden by cables, and there is a screw. Looks like I could've tried the heatsink option, but let's see what the pads do. Guessing airflow is the biggest issue anyway.

  • billsey
    billsey ACE Posts: 34,223 Trailblazer

    The pads likely won't help by themselves, they are designed to facilitate moving heat from the SSD to the heatsink and to hold the heatsink in place. For the fan, measure between holes at the top, bottom or on one side…

    Click on "Like" if you find my answer useful or click on "Yes" if it answers your question.
  • fricod
    fricod Member Posts: 5 New User
    edited August 4

    Update: Everythings installed now. The thermal pads indeed didn't help that much. Before all this, the SSD would heat up to 66 degrees Celcius just during boot up. With just the thermal pads and the 80 mm fan it went down to 61 deg C. So, it does seem to do something, just not much. Could also just be circumstance (I think the env temp was a bit lower too) or the fan. I just installed the Be Quiet M2 Pro Heatsink since it arrived a day later and it went down to 28 deg C! No way near when I just bought the computer, but bootup time went down to like 5 minutes or so (used to be 30 secs to a minute or so?) but that's half of what it was a few days ago. SSD temperature went up to 45 deg C within a few secs (I guess Windows started doing stuff), but that's still a big difference. All measured without the side panel by the way, since it's pretty hot here at the moment.

    The 80 mm fan uses the small circle of screw holes, so I'm guessing the case would also fit a 100 mm fan, just none of the stores I frequent sell those apparently. But, all in all, the results are definitely an improvement. I also learned that that little SSD screw is the DEVIL! It's so tiny, I kept dropping it and then it kept disappearing under the SSD, the motherboard, some cables, etc. Took me nearly an hour the first time around and I somehow cut a finger on the case somewhere. Didn't really notice until I saw a small red dot. The M2 cooler came with a small screwdrive with a magnetic tip, so that made the process significantly easier. And now I need to go buy a new DVI cable. For some reason the plastic of the plug came off and now my monitor keeps saying "no signal" on the DVI source. Guess the cable no longer connects properly. Resolution: my next motherboard WILL have one of those handy fasteners for attaching an SSD. Screws can go - well, you know - themselves.

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