Final Thoughts
M.2 solid state drive overheating and throttling is definitely an issue especially with some of the most popular M.2 solid state drives out there. Seeing that many users needed a cooling solution Alphacool released the Eisblock HDX line and they have four different solutions, even a watercooled version! The version we took a look at today was the Eisblock HDX-2, which is a PCI-Express 3.0 x4 riser card with an M.2 slot and some pretty hefty heatsinks. Since it is an expansion card it allows you to have M.2 storage if you board does not have any M.2 slots, or you can expand on your M.2 storage if you are already using the slots in your motherboard.
On top of that the two aluminum heatsinks do a great job keeping your M.2 drive nice and cool. In our tests the HDX-2 kept our M.2 drive 14 degrees cooler during idle operation and a staggering 46 degrees cooler during load testing! This is just awesome! On top of that it kept our M.2 drive from throttling, causing a 2x increase in speeds.
As I mentioned this is definitely a DIY product as you have to put the entire thing together. We sort of expected this as Alphacool mostly makes DIY water cooling components. But Alphacool could have made the installation process easier.
At the end of the day you have a great M.2 cooler that keeps your M.2 drive from throttling. Right now you can pick up the HDX-2 at our favorite online retailer for $46.30. Overall ThinkComputers gives the Eisblock HDX-2 M.2 Cooler a 9 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– Amazing cooling (46 degree difference during load)
– Stops M.2 drives from throttling
– Made of quality heavy-duty materials
– Allows for M.2 expansion as it is a riser card
Cons:
– Installation could have been made easier
