As the SSDs we all rely on get faster, the heat they generate and the need to cool them also increase, potentially leading to performance throttling. Gigabyte has decided to solve this heat problem on its latest SSD by using a massive heatsink.

The Gigabyte AORUS Gen4 7000 Prem. SSD(Opens in a new window) is a PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 drive using 3D-TLC NAND Flash and a Phison eight-channel controller to offer read speeds of up to 7GB/s and write speeds of 6.85/s. Those speeds can only be attained if the SSD isn’t forced to throttle due to overheating, but Gigabyte is promising it won’t(Opens in a new window).

That promise is backed up by the inclusion of an M.2 Thermal Guard XTREME with Nanocarbon coating. In order to ensure temperatures never spike, the SSD is encased in an aluminum baseplate, two high thermal conductivity pads, and the thermal guard which consists of two heatpipes and stacked fins to help quickly dissipate heat away from the drive.

This may be the first SSD where you have to check if it will fit in your PC before deciding to buy. It’s 92mm long and 44.7mm tall, but no wider than a standard M.2 SSD (23.55mm). The extra length and height may cause a problem if you’re using a mini-ITX or micro-ATX motherboard, for example.

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As well as the heatsink, Gigabyte includes a newly updated SSD Tool Box app with the drive, allowing you to monitor its health and temperatures as well as offering a secure erase option. Two models are being made available featuring 1TB and 2TB of storage. It’s only the 2TB drive that achieves the 7GB/s and 6.85GB/s read and write speeds, though. The 1TB model still manages 7GB/s read speeds, but only 5.5GB/s writes. Pricing has yet to be revealed.

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