M.2 Drives Have An Overheating Problem

[SteelCrysis]

http://edgeup.asus.com/2017/01/03/z270-m...ard-guide/

It’s not all smooth sailing, though, because even the Samsung 960 Pro runs hot when faced with certain workloads; the inevitable side-effect of dissipating lots of heat into the small, M.2 footprint. If the 960 is anything to go by, thermal management is going to be an issue we need to deal with for the foreseeable future. That’s why we reassessed location of M.2 slots on the ASUS Z270 series motherboards. Unlike their Z170 counterparts that featured a single M.2 slot, the Z270 boards have two. Where possible, we’ve repositioned the slots to avoid hot zones, and, where necessary, we’ve developed solutions to help keep drives cool, such as heatsinks, and 3D-printable fan mounts. Together, these enhancements enable drives to deliver consistent performance and aid their longevity.