MP 6,1 Samsung 970 EVO SSD runs hot on Mac Pro 6,1

[vett93]

I upgraded the stock 256GB SSD on my 2013 model Mac Pro to Samsung 970 EVO 2TB SSD. Does it need a heat sink? The output from smartctl seemed a bit high to me when the system had been idle.

=== START OF SMART DATA SECTION ===

SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED



SMART/Health Information (NVMe Log 0x02)

Critical Warning: 0x00

Temperature: 53 Celsius

Available Spare: 100%

Available Spare Threshold: 10%

Percentage Used: 0%

Data Units Read: 721,883 [369 GB]

Data Units Written: 712,601 [364 GB]

Host Read Commands: 8,257,723

Host Write Commands: 4,133,051

Controller Busy Time: 22

Power Cycles: 5

Power On Hours: 31

Unsafe Shutdowns: 1

Media and Data Integrity Errors: 0

Error Information Log Entries: 0

Warning Comp. Temperature Time: 0

Critical Comp. Temperature Time: 0

Temperature Sensor 1: 53 Celsius

Temperature Sensor 2: 71 Celsius

 

[flowrider]

All NVME SSDs need heatsinks.

Lou

 

[Rad]

I have a 2 GB Samsung 970 Evo Plus in my 6-core 2013 Mac Pro with D700s. I use iStat Menus to monitor the temperature and control the fan speed. Without a heat sink it was running at about 140-145 degrees Fahrenheit with a fan speed of 1400 amp. I put on a heat sink ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073RHHYCM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) and it runs at 129 degrees F. I usually run the fan a little higher at 1600 since it is so quiet and it is now at 127 degrees F. Works great and never gets too hot.

 

[vett93]

Thanks. I'll order one too. Did you remove the thermal label on the SSD card?

BTW, what version of iStat Menu do you have? I have the V5.32 and it does not look like it has the SSD temperature.

 

[Coyote2006]

My 970 has 48°C (with heatsink)

 

[MIKX]

My 970 EVO is at 41°C with two copper heatsinks.

This summer I also had a CFM USB powered fan running on the card, reduced temps quite noticibly.

My iStat Menus is at version 6.40 ( build 1113 )

The 970 EVO label should not be removed, apparently it is designed to pass heat through.

 

[Rad]

iStat Menus 6.4. Very easy to monitor and set rules for the fan. I left the thermal label on. The heatsink is a very tight fit but it works well.

 

[vett93]

My 970 has 48°C (with heatsink)

Is that idle or with light/medium/heavy load?
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... The heatsink is a very tight fit but it works well.

Did you put on both thermal pads? Does it have enough clearance with the adapter card? Thanks.

 

[Coyote2006]

Is that idle or with light/medium/heavy load?

Now I have 52°C after one day work with Photoshop. That's normal so far. I've got passive cooling added.

 

[Rad]

Is that idle or with light/medium/heavy load?
[automerge]1573574542[/automerge]


Did you put on both thermal pads? Does it have enough clearance with the adapter card? Thanks.

I used both front and back pieces that clamp together around the 970. There is actually a lot of space inside the 2013 Mac Pro surrounding the card so that is not the tight fit, just sandwiching the memory chip between the plates is tight.

I am not surprised that other older tower Mac Pro models run cooler because the enclosure is completely different. Bumping up the fan speed on the 2013 is easy and especially useful when doing any intensive work.

 

[vett93]

I used both front and back pieces that clamp together around the 970. There is actually a lot of space inside the 2013 Mac Pro surrounding the card so that is not the tight fit, just sandwiching the memory chip between the plates is tight.

I am not surprised that other older tower Mac Pro models run cooler because the enclosure is completely different. Bumping up the fan speed on the 2013 is easy and especially useful when doing any intensive work.

I received my EKWB heatsink today and immediately put it on my 2013 Mac Pro. With light web surfing, the fan runs about 790 rpm with is the same as idle fan speed.The before and after numbers are:

Without heatsink: 131 degrees F, with heatsink: 121 degrees F

Then I increased the fan speed to 1,000 rpm. The numbers are:

Without heatsink: 118 degrees F, with heatsink: 111 degrees F

It seems the fan speed has a good impact on reducing the SSD's temperature. Anyone knows the Apple's algorithm for controlling the fan speed?

 

[MrTed]

I have a 2 GB Samsung 970 Evo Plus in my 6-core 2013 Mac Pro with D700s. I use iStat Menus to monitor the temperature and control the fan speed. Without a heat sink it was running at about 140-145 degrees Fahrenheit with a fan speed of 1400 amp. I put on a heat sink ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073RHHYCM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) and it runs at 129 degrees F. I usually run the fan a little higher at 1600 since it is so quiet and it is now at 127 degrees F. Works great and never gets too hot.

Hi ! did the Heatsink you mentioned fit the Sintech here ? https://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B01CWWAENG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?smid=A2W68NJA5YNXUP&psc=1
Because Sintech has a back plate and Heatsink has also a back plate, so will the ssd plug well ? thanks

 

[Rad]

Hi ! did the Heatsink you mentioned fit the Sintech here ? https://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B01CWWAENG/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?smid=A2W68NJA5YNXUP&psc=1
Because Sintech has a back plate and Heatsink has also a back plate, so will the ssd plug well ? thanks

Yes, that is the Sintech I used. I added the heatsink EKWB EK-M.2 NVMe:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073RHHYCM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It is a very tight sandwich of the actual memory chip between the front and back of the heatsink, but it does fit and I have had no problems. There are other thinner heatsinks that are probably easier to fit, but the Sintech itself is not an issue.

 

[CC88]

It seems the fan speed has a good impact on reducing the SSD's temperature. Anyone knows the Apple's algorithm for controlling the fan speed?

I don't know how Apple control the fan speed. But also with heavy loads didn't find Apple algorithm very useful (the fan was always at low level). So I installed macfancontrol with fan based on CPU temperature and the fan speed increased, mantaining a low temperature around.

At time of writing I don't have an heatsink on my ECO SSD... Should I?

 

[MIKX]

Vett93

In summer I have a USB powered 60mm x 10mm x 10mm Hi CFM fn propped up on my M.2 PCIe NVMe adapter + 2 COPPER heatsinks.

The fan is powered from a 7 port USB self-powered HUB

This fan + 2 copper heatsinks keeps the Samsung 960 EVO at around 35°C. in Summer.
It's running at 32°C currently ( Winter here in Japan )

EDIT : I missed that you have a 6,1 MP .. so maybe my solution is not applicable in your case.

 

[h9826790]

Vett93

In summer I have a USB powered 60mm x 10mm x 10mm Hi CFM fn propped up on my M.2 PCIe NVMe adapter + 2 COPPER heatsinks.

The fan is powered from a 7 port USB self-powered HUB

This fan + 2 copper heatsinks keeps the Samsung 960 EVO at around 35°C. in Summer.
It's running at 32°C currently ( Winter here in Japan )

EDIT : I missed that you have a 6,1 MP .. so maybe my solution is not applicable in your case.

They are talking about the 6,1, not 5,1.

 

[Eric Tong]

I have a 2 GB Samsung 970 Evo Plus in my 6-core 2013 Mac Pro with D700s. I use iStat Menus to monitor the temperature and control the fan speed. Without a heat sink it was running at about 140-145 degrees Fahrenheit with a fan speed of 1400 amp. I put on a heat sink ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B073RHHYCM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ) and it runs at 129 degrees F. I usually run the fan a little higher at 1600 since it is so quiet and it is now at 127 degrees F. Works great and never gets too hot.

Hi @Rad you mentioned that you are using the Sintech adapter (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CWWAENG) on your Mac Pro 6,1 with Samsung 970 Evo Plus, can you please confirm? I was a bit confused because they mentioned on Amazon's listing that won't work with 970 Evo Plus and only works with 970 Evo or 970 Pro. Really wish to clarify that from your experience. Thanks a lot.

 

[edanuff]

I was a bit confused because they mentioned on Amazon's listing that won't work with 970 Evo Plus and only works with 970 Evo or 970 Pro.

I’m using the Simtech adapter with the 970 Evo Plus. My understanding is that when Samsung first released the drive last year that it didn’t work with the Mac but that a subsequent firmware update fixed the problem and new 970 Evo Plus drives should work fine. They do appear to run hot though. I just installed mine Last week so I don’t know if this becomes a problem.

 

[Eric Tong]

I’m using the Simtech adapter with the 970 Evo Plus. My understanding is that when Samsung first released the drive last year that it didn’t work with the Mac but that a subsequent firmware update fixed the problem and new 970 Evo Plus drives should work fine. They do appear to run hot though. I just installed mine Last week so I don’t know if this becomes a problem.

@edanuff thanks for your insight, is there a reason you skip the heatsink, or you're monitoring how it goes and will add later?

Does yours come with latest firmware or did you have to update it yourself via some USB housing ?

 

[edanuff]

@edanuff thanks for your insight, is there a reason you skip the heatsink, or you're monitoring how it goes and will add later?

Does yours come with latest firmware or did you have to update it yourself via some USB housing ?

Eric, I did install an EKWB heatsink and used this Simtech adapter. The SSD came with the correct firmware, I didn't have to update it. I ordered all of that from Amazon a few weeks back, so I assume that all of the units they have in inventory have the latest firmware. The temperature with the heatsink is pretty steadily at 65°C. This is with the standard fan speed of around 800 rpm. If I increase my fan speed via iStat Menus to 1400 like @Rad mentioned in his post, then I drop down to the same temperature he's reporting. Right now, I'm leaving it at the standard fan speed.

 

[chicagoBullet]

Eric, I did install an EKWB heatsink and used this Simtech adapter. The SSD came with the correct firmware, I didn't have to update it. I ordered all of that from Amazon a few weeks back, so I assume that all of the units they have in inventory have the latest firmware. The temperature with the heatsink is pretty steadily at 65°C. This is with the standard fan speed of around 800 rpm. If I increase my fan speed via iStat Menus to 1400 like @Rad mentioned in his post, then I drop down to the same temperature he's reporting. Right now, I'm leaving it at the standard fan speed.

View attachment 943359

Hey - I ordered the same products that you have on your post to upgrade the memory to SSD. My questions is that how did you insert the ssd with the heatsink plus clips onto the sintech adapter? My issue is the back plate on the SSD for the heatsink does not allow for me to insert it into the Sintech adapter.

 

[chicagoBullet]

If the new SSD drive does not show in the startup disk menu after installing HIGH SIERRA, am I out of luck on this? Am going to try to install Mojave instead as I do not know exactly what the previous OS on the mac pro was. I've seen some chatter about what OS needed to be on there previously before installing a new SSD. Am I out of luck on this?

 

[MisterAndrew]

The Samsung SSDs do run hot. The Toshiba/KIOXIA and sk Hynix SSDs are a better match for the 6,1. I replaced my 970 EVO Plus with an sk Hynix Gold P31 and it runs much cooler.

 

[mikehalloran]

If the new SSD drive does not show in the startup disk menu after installing HIGH SIERRA, am I out of luck on this? Am going to try to install Mojave instead as I do not know exactly what the previous OS on the mac pro was. I've seen some chatter about what OS needed to be on there previously before installing a new SSD. Am I out of luck on this?

I know this is an old thread but here's your answer:

Any Mac with an AHCI SSD must be updated to High Sierra before installing an NVMe blade. This updates the CPU with the necessary firmware. These do not work if you don't. You can then update to Mojave, Big Sur or Monterey as you like before the swap.

When you install the MacOS onto the new drive, it must be the same as the last OS on the old drive. Again, afterward, you can update to a later MacOS after the installation.

 

[mikehalloran]

The Samsung SSDs do run hot. The Toshiba/KIOXIA and sk Hynix SSDs are a better match for the 6,1. I replaced my 970 EVO Plus with an sk Hynix Gold P31 and it runs much cooler.

Actually, it's a little simpler than that. The 970 is considered a Fast blade rated 2800-3400 speed (or more with some of the latest) while the Crucial P2 and a few others are considered Slow NVMe blades rated 2000–2400 speed.

Here's the dirty little secret: The Mac Pro 6.1 has only a 2-lane PCIe bus, same as all 2013–2014 AHCI Macs. It cannot utilize all 4 lanes of an NVMe 3 x4 SSD. What this means is that a 970 is no faster than a P2 in one of these. Since the slower ones run cooler and cost less, they are the better buy. Oh, they still have RW speeds about 3x faster than the AHCI blades that they replace.

Something I did not see in this thread is the recommendation to replace the BR2032 battery. When NV RAM batteries get too old, these start showing symptoms that mimic GPU failure. Knowledgeable techs will charge to diagnose, replace the battery and voila, it's fixed. A BR2032 costs less than $7 on Amazon. Because of the heat, no one recommends substituting a CR2032 in these even though they are the same electrically—though you could in a pinch to diagnose sudden display issues.