serpro69 Posted October 31, 2023 Share Posted October 31, 2023 I have a WD Red SN700 SSD that I want to install in a QNAP NAS via their QM2 expansion card. The expansion card has a heatsink and came with thermal pads and rubber pads for the (potential) SSD, but I'm confused a bit on how to "apply" them. 1. The thermal pad. On the manual, it appears that they've cut the termal pad into pieces? Do I actually need to do that, or can I stick the whole piece on it without cutting it? The width of the pad is exactly same as the ssd, so slightly wider than the controllers. (see pic below). Would that be a problem? I'm not sure how to precisely cut this thing really, since controllers are covered by the sticker. Spoiler 2. The bottom of the SN700 is completely flat. Does that mean I don't need the rubber pads? I'm not entirely sure where to place them otherwise. Expansion card manual ( https://www.qnap.com/en/support/con_show.php?cid=115#c ) is a bit generic, so I'm not 100% sure how to proceed, and I don't want to damage things out of lack of knowledge. So hopefully someone could give me some tips on how to prepare the ssd. GitHub Currently and formerly owned laptops (specs below): Serenity -> Dell Precision 5560 N-1 -> Dell Precision 5560 (my lady's) Razor Crest -> Lenovo ThinkPad P16 (work) Millenium Falcon -> Dell Precision 5530 (work) Axiom -> Lenovo ThinkPad P52 (work) Moldy Crow -> Dell XPS 15 9550 Spoiler Senenity / N-1: Dell Precision 5560 i7-11800H CPU 1x32 GB DDR4 2,666 MHz 512 GB SSD NVIDIA T1200 FHD+ 1920x1200 PopOS 22.04 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serpro69 Posted October 31, 2023 Author Share Posted October 31, 2023 Found this, which I guess kind of answers my questions I have a slightly different expansion card and the SSD, but I think the same principles apply. The sticker with the serial number etc is also on top of my SSD, but from what I could gather online - you're not supposed to remove that. So I guess I'll just stick the thermal pad on top of it, and will see if I need any rubber pads to support the SSD on the bottom and just stick them wherever. 1 GitHub Currently and formerly owned laptops (specs below): Serenity -> Dell Precision 5560 N-1 -> Dell Precision 5560 (my lady's) Razor Crest -> Lenovo ThinkPad P16 (work) Millenium Falcon -> Dell Precision 5530 (work) Axiom -> Lenovo ThinkPad P52 (work) Moldy Crow -> Dell XPS 15 9550 Spoiler Senenity / N-1: Dell Precision 5560 i7-11800H CPU 1x32 GB DDR4 2,666 MHz 512 GB SSD NVIDIA T1200 FHD+ 1920x1200 PopOS 22.04 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Fox Posted November 4, 2023 Share Posted November 4, 2023 On 10/31/2023 at 8:25 AM, serpro69 said: I have a slightly different expansion card and the SSD, but I think the same principles apply. The sticker with the serial number etc is also on top of my SSD, but from what I could gather online - you're not supposed to remove that. So I guess I'll just stick the thermal pad on top of it, and will see if I need any rubber pads to support the SSD on the bottom and just stick them wherever. Yes that is correct. A thermal pad on the underside of a M.2 drive that has no components serves no purpose. Likewise, having it there causes no harm. You only need the thermal pad on the side(s) with memory chips and the controller, between those components and the heat sink. Depending on the latching mechanism design, the M.2 might still be somewhat loose after the retaining screw is tightened. Placing a thermal pad under the M.2 drive may keep it from being loose or sloppy. Sometimes the standoff that the retaining screw threads into does not have a ridge that fits snugly into the notch on the end of the M.2, so it not clamp or pinch the M.2 drive in place securely. This will allow it to have some wiggle room after the screw is tightened. 1 Wraith // Z790 Apex | 14900KS | 4090 Suprim X+Byksi Block | 48GB DDR5-8600 | Toughpower GF3 1650W | MO-RA3 360 | Hailea HC-500A || O11D XL EVO Banshee // Z790 Apex Encore | 14900KF | 4090 Gaming OC+Alphacool Block | 48GB DDR5-8600 | RM1200x SHIFT | XT45 1080 Nova || Antec C8 Spectre // Z790i Edge | 13900KS | 3090 Ti FTW3 | 48GB DDR5-8200 | RM1000e | EK Nucleus CR360 Direct Die || Prime A21 Raptor // Z690 PG Velocita | 13900KS | 2080 Ti | 32GB DDR5-6400 | RM1200x SHIFT | EK Nucleus CR360 Dark || Praxis Wetbench Half-Breed // Dell Precision 7720 | BGA CPU Filth+MXM Quadro P5000 | 4K Display | Sub-$500 Grade A Refurb | Nothing to Write Home About Mr. Fox YouTube Channel | Mr. Fox @ HWBOT The average response time for a 911 call is 10 minutes. The response time of a .357 is 1400 feet per second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serpro69 Posted November 4, 2023 Author Share Posted November 4, 2023 Thanks a lot! Having not dealt with desktops for the past 15+ years I can't say I ever had to install thermal pads on the SSDs, so just wanted to confirm that my assumptions were correct before I made any moves. 1 GitHub Currently and formerly owned laptops (specs below): Serenity -> Dell Precision 5560 N-1 -> Dell Precision 5560 (my lady's) Razor Crest -> Lenovo ThinkPad P16 (work) Millenium Falcon -> Dell Precision 5530 (work) Axiom -> Lenovo ThinkPad P52 (work) Moldy Crow -> Dell XPS 15 9550 Spoiler Senenity / N-1: Dell Precision 5560 i7-11800H CPU 1x32 GB DDR4 2,666 MHz 512 GB SSD NVIDIA T1200 FHD+ 1920x1200 PopOS 22.04 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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