Temperature differences on my NVME drives

Lance1 · 2026-07-12T20:23:44-0400

OK. This is just a curiosity over a problem. My WD Blue 1TB is a 38c and my WD Blue 2TB is a 51c. My WD Blue 1TB is my boot drive. The other is my storage drive. So tell me why is there a 13c difference between the two. I access the storage once and a while so why? Like I Said just a curiosity. Why do you think this could happen?

Josey Wales · 2026-07-12T20:28:39-0400

Those are better than mine. My C Drive 2TB Samsung is 45 C, D Drive 4TB is 54 C.

Ghot · 2026-07-12T20:31:50-0400

@Lance1

It may depend on where they are located on the motherboard. Or whether one is internal and the other external.

Lance1 · 2026-07-12T20:41:26-0400

Ghot said:
@Lance1

It may depend on where they are located on the motherboard. Or whether one is internal and the other external.

The upper is my boot drive below the CPU. I have three other slots on the motherboard and I can't recall whether I put it in the upper or the center slot. Why would that make a difference?

Ghot · 2026-07-12T20:46:44-0400

Lance1 said:
The upper is my boot drive below the CPU. I have three other slots on the motherboard and I can't recall whether I put it in the upper or the center slot. Why would that make a difference?

Google: motherboard thermal images

For example... anything near this inferno... will probably run a bit hotter.

This is a fairly old motherboard, but you get the idea...

Lance1 · 2026-07-12T20:47:04-0400

Josey Wales said:
Those are better than mine. My C Drive 2TB Samsung is 45 C, D Drive 4TB is 54 C.

My question exactly. I think we both need to know.

pseymour · 2026-07-12T20:48:16-0400

I would expect the PCIe Gen4 x4 drive to be hotter. They consume more power on average. Also 51 is a perfectly normal temperature.

hsehestedt · 2026-07-12T20:49:10-0400

Some NVMe drives just run hotter than others. I have a WD SSD that runs hot in every single system. I have had to limit the use of that drive to desktop PCs with good cooling because it just gets way too hot in a Mini PC or laptop.

Check the power specs to see if it draws more power than other NVMe drives that you are comparing with.

Josey Wales · 2026-07-12T20:50:16-0400

Lance1 said:
My question exactly. I think we both need to know.

Mine are 2280

Fishmill · 2026-07-12T20:52:21-0400

Each of those drives may have multiple temp sensors. Or not. Crystal may be reading all available temp sensors. Or not. A sensor near the controller is likely to read higher than any other. Who knows what sensor Crystal is showing you.

My HWInfo shows 3 sensors on my boot drive, a WD SN 770. Current temps are 36, 42, and 63, with the 63 being at the controller. HOWEVER....my earlier version of HWInfo showed only 1 sensor on that same drive, and it was always in the 30s and 40s, indicating non-controller sensor. When I changed to the newer version of HWInfo, the drive didn't suddenly get hotter...it just began reading the controller sensor for the first time.

Your 2 TB drive may be getting better ventilation or Crystal may be reading a sensor in a different location than it is on your boot drive. At any rate, I certainly would not worry about 51.

Lance1 · 2026-07-12T21:07:22-0400

My temps are not alarming. What I am going to do in the morning tomorrow is relocate my 2TB NVME to another slot And see if there is a difference. I have to pull my GPU and riser mount out to access my NVME slots. So I'll see you in the morning if not after work and give you the results. I'll get to tomorrow.

glasskuter · 2026-07-12T21:17:09-0400

Now some drives come with a heat sync but mine did not so I installed heat syncs. They do help. I also added thermal pads to my external nvmes in enclosures.

Helmut · 2026-07-12T21:25:28-0400

Those are perfectly normal temperatures, no worries.

One is hotter for one or all of these reasons.
1. 2 TB has twice the number of memory cells, more or larger density chips, more power more heat. That assumes same memory modules, they may not be.
2. Batch variations in chip manufacture and maybe selection criteria.
3. Temperature sensors are only an indication of one or possibly more points on the SSD.
4. SSD Controller maybe doing some operation like garbage collection or something.
5. It maybe higher up on the MOBO thus warmer.

Marie SWE · 2026-07-12T21:40:55-0400

just a tiny tip.. Have a look at the airflow around the drives.. perhaps mount a tiny CPU fan if needed to make the air flow a bit better around the drives.
Classic old school solution so to speak.

Edit: 51C is not high, and not low... what is interesting is what temperature you get under load to that 51C drive.
Test to copy large files.. take two or three windows install ISO's.. then copy them to that drive and measure the temperature while its writing to the disk...... or even better copy the large files internal on the disk from one folder to a new folder and create duplicates.. that will really load the disk and monitor the temp while its copying.
I have a half broken SSD Sata3 that is just months from totally die.. it has a lot of SMART errors...., that one becomes so hot you cant even hold the drive with your fingers when you write data to the disk.... a hot cup of coffee is cooler. *LOL*

siliconbeaver · 2026-07-12T21:56:06-0400

I would say, don't be too serious about the data. the sense may have a big measurement error.

my PC runs WD 1TB. and I have its temperature reading time by time. it shows 10 C differences often (below. 30C vs. 40C, on same PC). hence I let it running as long as NOT over-heating.

Lance1 · 2026-07-12T22:58:40-0400

pseymour said:
I would expect the PCIe Gen4 x4 drive to be hotter. They consume more power on average. Also 51 is a perfectly normal temperature.

So location of my 3 slots shouldn't mater?

Lance1 · 2026-07-12T23:16:12-0400

siliconbeaver said:
I would say, don't be too serious about the data. the sense may have a big measurement error.

my PC runs WD 1TB. and I have its temperature reading time by time. it shows 10 C differences often (below. 30C vs. 40C, on same PC). hence I let it running as long as NOT over-heating.

View attachment 176559

I built this system 2 years ago and I had and corrected most if not all resolvable issues. This is just a curiosity. I would like to thank all of you that chimed in. I will move that NME to see if it makes a differs.

Fishmill · 2026-07-12T23:37:34-0400

Lance1 said:
So location of my 3 slots shouldn't mater?

There could easily be a difference simply because of slight variations in airflow at different locations in the case at any given moment. Fan speeds are constantly moving. And you have to allow for variations in the specific tasks on any drive, which are changing by the millisecond. That alone would interfere with any inference you might want to make. Never mind the accuracy of the sensor or Crystal.

pseymour · 2026-07-13T00:08:17-0400

Lance1 said:
So location of my 3 slots shouldn't mater?

Matters in the sense that it could affect temperature, but 51 is not a temperature I’d be worried about.

The hotter drive is a Gen4; the other is a Gen3. That’s why I said I’d expect it to be warmer/hotter.

Temperature differences on my NVME drives

Well-known member

My Computers My Computers

At a glance

At a glance

Endeavor to Persevere

My Computers My Computers

At a glance

At a glance

Well-known member

My Computers My Computers

At a glance

At a glance

Well-known member

My Computers My Computers

At a glance

At a glance

Well-known member

My Computers My Computers

At a glance

At a glance

Well-known member

My Computers My Computers

At a glance

At a glance

Well-known member

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Well-known member

My Computers My Computers

At a glance

At a glance

Endeavor to Persevere

My Computers My Computers

At a glance

At a glance

Well-known member

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Well-known member

My Computers My Computers

At a glance

At a glance

aka Mama Glass

My Computers My Computers

At a glance

At a glance

Well-known member

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

I almost never bite.......

My Computers My Computers

At a glance

At a glance

Well-known member

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Well-known member

My Computers My Computers

At a glance

At a glance

Well-known member

My Computers My Computers

At a glance

At a glance

Well-known member

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Well-known member

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Similar threads

My Computers

My Computers

My Computers

My Computers

My Computers

My Computers

My Computer

My Computers

My Computers

My Computer

My Computers

My Computers

My Computer

My Computers

My Computer

My Computers

My Computers

My Computer

My Computer