So I recently got a WD_BLACK SN850X with the heatsink for Christmas. Will this fit in the Framework 16 or will I have to exchange it for one without a heatsink? I have no need for a secondary SSD, so that’s not an issue. I just need to know if I need to return it before I clone my OS off of my current SSD onto that one and waste valuable drive life.
If there isn’t a significant price difference between with and without heatsink, couldn’t you just take the heatsink off? Returning makes waste, since it will only go back on a shelf at retail if you haven’t broken the box seal.
The issue is, even if the heatsink is on the “underside” of the drive when put in the slot, the lower NVMe slot is shorter, so a full length drive heatsink won’t fit. And the midplane is also too close for a heatsink on the top side.
There may be room for drives with heatsinks in the new expansion bay storage module, but not in the main laptop drive slots.
Best to exchange it for the non-heat sink variant as it won’t fit. While you can technically remove the heatsink, there’s a high risk of damaging the drive and voiding the SSD’s warranty during the process.
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You will need to either return it for the version without the heatsink or remove the heatsink to get it to fit. If you exchange it I would also advise getting some thicker thermal pads as well. Framework includes a thin thermal pad to make connection between the 2280 slot SSD and the mid plate but it is a thin strip that doesn’t make full contact with the SSD.
Thanks, y’all. Starting the process of getting it returned.
Thank god Framework sells a heatsink-less version themselves, so we don’t have to give to Amazon.
Just saw this. What would you recommend for a thermal pad?
you can literally remove the heatsink.
I am not sure what the dimensions of it are but it is on the thicker side. I have a bag of assorted thickness thermal pads and it was one of the thicker ones in the kit.