07-30-2023 02:38 PM - last edited on 07-31-2023 09:12 AM by cl-Albert
Hi guys,
I just purchased a 2023 G14 gaming laptop. The existing SSD is 512 GB storage with 16GB ram
I would like to upgrade the SSD and thinking of WD SN850x with 2TB without the heat sink.
If I am replacing this new SSD, do I need to add the thermal pads on the SSD?
I am just afraid the heat will damage the laptop inside.
Please advise, thanks.
07-31-2023 10:15 AM
I don't see how it would damage the laptop neither with nor without thermal pads. If you can it's better to fit thermal pads but I don't know what the pads will interface with, the back cover is made from plastic right? it won't absorb the heat efficiently. In fact, check if the oem ssd interfaces with the cover, it might just have kind of foil material to -precisely- avoid contact with the plastic.
If that's the case, you won't be gaining much advantage from the thermal pad, if you really hammer the ssd with long and intensive I/O tasks it will get to a point where it will throttle performance. In normal usage scenarios you won't notice throttling not even a bit.
07-31-2023 10:25 AM
As far as I know, there is a black color plastic film on top of the existing SSD (based on my research). I have not opened the laptop yet.
Yes, the back cover is made of plastic. I purchased some 0.5mm and 1.0mm thermal pads from Amazon already (just in case if I need them).
If the upgraded SSD is fine without the heat issue (compared to the original SSD), I just return the pads.
07-31-2023 01:26 PM
If the OEM ssd has a thermal pad even if the drive is isolated by the plastic films, the pad itself might help spreading the heat from the most heavy hit chip to the rest, might get an overall reduction of 2-5ºC that would make the pad worth the few dollars it costs, I'd say keep them.
07-31-2023 01:34 PM
So what you meant is just add the thermal pads on the new SSD for extra protection right? I do not think the OEM SSD has any thermal pads on top. I believe it has a small piece of thermal pad at the bottom near of the circuit board where the SSD inserts to. Anyway, I will stick some pads on the new SSD. By the way, do I need to peel off the sticker on top of the SSD prior to apply the thermal pads?
08-01-2023 10:36 AM
If you can add the thermal pad even if the OEM sdd does not have it I think it would improve -though marginally- heat dissipation.
When you get to swap it check if the thermal pad is facing down, interfacing with the mother board, I've seen some board that have a contact patch for the thermal pad.
If yours have not such contact pad, you could apply the pad on top, facing the bottom cover. For example the 2023 M16 seems to have a thermal pad applied, facing the cover:
08-01-2023 10:49 AM
I "think" there is an OEM thermal pad attached on the motherboard (based on one of the Youtube videos showing how to remove the SSD from the 2022 G14 laptop).
Do I need to remove the label sticker from the SSD prior to putting the thermal pads on top?
08-02-2023 04:16 PM
I see thanks. Under the black plastic paper, there is a silver metal cover on top of the SSD. There is also an existing light pink foam pad (about 10mm thick) attached to the motherboard. This should be the thermal pad.
So, I think I do not need the extra thermal pad on top of the new SSD.
08-08-2023 07:24 AM
I just got a reply from Asus technical support regarding the SSD upgrade.
They said the maximum SSD storage was 1TB.
Here is the reply from the technical support:
"After verification, the GA402XV has an SSD slot (currently equipped with a 512GB SSD) with specifications M.2 2280 PCIe.
The highest supported specification is 1TB Gen4x4 with a speed of up to 3500 MB/s.
If you install a product that exceeds the supported specification, it may potentially result in compatibility issues.
The above information is provided for your reference. Thank you."
Really? I may have to get the 1TB SSD.
08-08-2023 08:51 AM - edited 08-08-2023 08:52 AM
I'd be surprised if it really won't support bigger sizes, there's no point on having a 2280 format supporting 1Tb max.
If you check youtube for example, there's a video featuring the 2021 G14 in which its SSD gets upgraded to 8Tb. Don't give it any thought, ignore support and get the one you want, try it, and in the hypothetical it does not get recognized, return it