This Is Actually Dangerous Arctic Budget M2 Pro PCIe NVME SSD Cooler

#arctic #m2pro #pccooling #arcticcooling
This is actually quite dangerous! Arctic Budget M2 Pro PCIe NVME SSD cooler
Today we are looking at the NEW @ARCTIChannel Arctic M2 Pro m.2 drive cooling heatsink.
It was cheap on Amazon, so thought i would buy two, one to review and one to giveaway to a "lucky" viewer.
After this experience i will be arranging an Amazon return as soon as i can and would suggest that anyone lured in by the cheap price, think twice and watch this video before parting with any money.
It is a shame as for the money it actually performs really well and very close to Gen5 cooler.
Being so small it will also be useful in a PS5 or PS5 Slim.
I hope that Arctic, watch this and can learn from it and maybe there will be a revised version that has a shorter length, and easier to ply open. I think that Arctic's attention to detail and close tolerances have actually worked against them in this instance.
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[@mikesunboxing]

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[@ARCTIChannel]

Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback. We are truly sorry to hear about your experience with the M2 Pro Cooler. Please know that we take all customer feedback very seriously and have shared your comments with our engineering team for further review and improvement. We also want to highlight that our user manual includes a recommendation to wear gloves for safety purposes while using the product. Your satisfaction is our top priority, and we appreciate your input as it helps us to enhance the quality of our products and services. If you have any further concerns or suggestions, please do not hesitate to reach out to our customer support team.

[@mikesunboxing]

thanks for getting in touch, i hope my experiences are useful in the ongoing improvement and evolution of the cooler. I would maybe suggest asking users to wear protective gear during installation and removal, as at present it only suggested PPE during disassembly. and maybe in the next batch get those edges rounded off a little more, and reduce the overall length a few millimetres to ensure compatibility and ease of installation. In terms of performance, you nailed it. But the user experience wasn't great.

[@LuisRiveraRomero]

I just got mine, and was looking for videos of how to open this. Is lmos impossible, you have to push down with heavy force and then try to slide open. You can really get cut doing this if you slip. So far I can't open mine. The video in Artic page of how easy it opens is 100 times different to the actual experience, I will try some lubricant but I'm afraid to damage the thermal gel pad.

[@PapaMav]

At least it can be said, Arctic is a class act vs a class action...

[@Blue-Viking]

If you have to ask the user to wear protective gear to build a computer with your products, you have totally failed from the get-go. Anti-static wrist band is the only protective gear you should need to use during any stage of the PC building process.

[@PapaMav]

@@Blue-Viking the wrist band is not even needed, really.

[@matthewday7565]

I've already made the blood sacrifice to the gods of PC building

[@mikesunboxing]

Me too 😀

[@lamikal2515]

If you don't, they'll refuse to make it boot properly.

[@williamoppe7817]

Blood for the Blood God - Skulls for the Skull Throne

[@mikesunboxing]

@@lamikal2515 Lol!

[@charlesballard5251]

I spent 23 years as a courier. I pulled my back a few times lifting heavy loads, one time doing it so bad I had to go home on the Friday it happened, and then I didn't go in to work on Monday. But I never bled as a courier. Now the few months I spent in late '98 building computers is a different story. Poking around in computer cases banging my knuckles on sharp edges and STABBY motherboards and add in cards caused me to BLEED!!! I feel for ya, Mike. Take care.

[@mikesunboxing]

thanks Charles

[@thefreedomhouse1984]

I didn’t know Arctic made box cutters

[@mikesunboxing]

lol 😂

[@Lurch-Bot]

Cuts better than the last cheap pack of blades I bought.

[@mikesunboxing]

Let me know your thoughts on this? Do you expect better from Arctic? Am I asking to much for a £5 M.2 cooler?

[@Lurch-Bot]

Try the Thermalright one. It is miles better in terms of design practicality and I think they look nicer too. Won't cut you unless you are trying to cut yourself. You are not expecting too much; the Arctic one is an objectively bad design. But I knew Arctic had lost the plot when they discontinued their Accelero line to follow the ridiculous water cooling trend.

[@lamikal2515]

@@Lurch-Bot How much people want to de-shroud their GPUs vs how much people want affordable cooling solution wich destroy any competition at fixed noise output ? That one is easy to answer.

[@jamesmiscellaneous]

Nope you didn't ask too much. You were honest. I like Arctic and I know you do too. They need to and can do better.

[@mikesunboxing]

@@jamesmiscellaneous thanks James, it is nice to hear a comment from someone as geniune as you to give me a reality check

[@jamesmiscellaneous]

@@mikesunboxing That's a big compliment coming from you, thanks Mike.

[@WilliamAndrewPhilipBodie]

So saving some money to pay more in blood and nerves 😲 Thank you very much for your sacrifice Mike 😀

[@mikesunboxing]

you are welcome

[@gasracing5000]

This press together design becomes a tomb for ssds. One you put a ssd in, getting it back out is... interesting.

[@mikesunboxing]

yes it seems that way

[@Lurch-Bot]

Meanwhile, Thermalright did it right, with a bracket and screws to properly sandwich the NVMe between two pads. You can also adjust for thickness and clamping pressure, all for around $8 US. Dropped my temps by 20-25C. Comes off easily for changing the pads or putting it on another drive.

[@mikesunboxing]

@@Lurch-Bot Reviews are done - will be released soon 🙂

[@defectiveclone8450]

I have the Be Quit nvme heat sink.. its easy and doesn't cut me

[@roythunderplump]

Hope Arctic take note of your review and all the feedback for a revision. Luckily there are plenty of M.2 heatsink coolers under 5 or 10 smackers.

[@mikesunboxing]

i hope so.

[@CoreyPL]

I bought 3 of these and faced some similar issues as you, mainly the radiator pressing m.2 slot and sliding the disk out when you level it to screw it down. But I've found an easy way of opening them. Instead of using screwdriver (tried that and failed) I used a box cutter with thin blade. I slipped the blade of the box cutter along whole side of the radiator, where top and bottom meets. It slid right in and with just a simple press of the knife bottom part separated without any damage to the drive or radiator. I agree that whole radiator should be 1-2mm shorter as to not collide with m.2 slots and toolless latches. I'm glad my mobo uses normal screws :)

[@mikesunboxing]

thanks for the tips

[@ShinyHelmet]

Damn, this takes me back to my PC building days when you'd randomly slice your fingers open on a case or motherboard I/O shield. The amount of blood that can come from a small slice in a finger is astonishing!

[@mikesunboxing]

yeah it really is

[@AlleGutenNamenWarenWeg]

Buy a be quiet MC1(2€ Cheaper as the Arctic) or be quiet MC1 Pro (3€ more then the Arctic but with Heatpipe)

[@mikesunboxing]

i will take a look at those

[@OlettaLiano]

Hi Mike. I've worked with that exact cooler, and with a few other brands like Thermalright and didn't have that much of a problem. First thing is I noticed you were using the wrong tool to take it apart. You might want to buy a plastic pry tool set used for opening tablets and laptops. They make it easier on your fingers, and on the cooler. The tolerance is a bit too tight, thus they must be have the M.2 placed exactly or as you've seen they won't fit. Be careful and take care of those fingers.

[@Norman_Peterson]

it's not just that. products must be smooth. In the CAD drawing specifications chamfers are made, these are created not only for aesthetics but also to not make the material sharp. Regardless of the object, it is cut because it is sharp. Items for sale have certain ISO specifications that avoid this.

[@JohnDavidSullivan]

Like a spudger?

[@mikesunboxing]

I tried a plastic pry tool, and it just bent out of shape straight away, the amount of pressure here is incredible, consider it like trying to pierce a coke can bit without the momentum and with the can contents being a lot more valuable and delicate. It really is a over engineered piece

[@mikesunboxing]

Yeah any plastic tool will have zero effect on this, it was close to the screwdriver bending, plastic would have given up straight away with the force needed

[@OlettaLiano]

@@mikesunboxing Wow. That's insane. I hope that you didn't take my comment to mean I don't think you know what you're doing. I full well know that you do. If I thought that, I'd certainty say it out right. LOL. I was only going off of my personal experience with the product. The ones you have must have been over engineered, because they're not suppose to fit that tight. Believe it or not, I have one m.2 heat sink made by Corsair that is water-cooled and connects to a custom loop. Weird, I know. Enough of my ramblings. Take care.

[@garyrichards6079]

Looks like your getting what you paid for !! .... What was the customer reviews/score like on the Rainforest ?

[@mikesunboxing]

Brand new out yesterday I think so no comments or reviews to go by

[@Kahlimer0]

I think they are thought for back of motherboard SSD or slot who are actually void of any cooler not meant to replace the original front one, so as long it gets close enough performance than the front cooler it fine by me.

[@XENONEOMORPH1979]

its only the main chip that will get warm the others are memory as normal for data , you can go to about 70c before they start slowing down , i do have one but it just the same temps as if i freely have one without the cover , depends on your fans inside the case i guess.

[@mentiquebakabila4254]

I must have been lucky, installed it first try and didn’t cut my hands

[@mikesunboxing]

i am glad to hear that

[@VaracolacidVesci]

It is a bad design, but there is people whom should not be allowed to use any tool. Even a screwdriver can tell how bad is someone at using tools.

[@jaketruman6816]

Save yourself the headache! I just bought this cooler for my drive and I installed it with ease with one trick. The problem is if you snap the heat sink halves together before centering it perfectly to allow for the drive to be installed, then you will have to take it apart which is very hard. The trick is to center the nvme drive on the bottom half of the cooler first and then test fit it into the motherboard. This way, you can easily center the drive in the bottom half. It took me about 5 minutes of nudging the drive around but i was eventually able to install the stand off screw which told me that everything was perfectly aligned. I took the drive out one more time and snapped the top half on and reinstalled the drive with ease. It looks great and I'm assuming my drive will be cooler now.

[@makiwa]

I'm surprised you didn't try to fit it before you fit the top part of the cooler...??

[@mikesunboxing]

well really all the others i have used in the past have probably been a bit smaller and not had the clearance issues, this is the first time i have had this much trouble

[@makiwa]

@@mikesunboxing Sorry, I was meaning after you had adjusted it. I'm terrible for assuming people get what I mean. Fail on my part. 🫤

[@InsaniousTV]

Today arrived this ssd cooler and i love it i installed in 2 minutes :)

[@mikesunboxing]

Enjoy it and say a prayer to the pc blood gods for not needed a sacrifice

[@InsaniousTV]

i dont even plan to remove the ssd cooler even if i sell it :)

[@Senrab46]

It appears to me they gone for style over practicality. Add they probly using a 3rd party manufacturer to hit price means quality control not good. Below par for Arctic stds. I would rather pay more ease of use and fitment. Thanks for the warning Mike and Kath 🐈👍

[@mikesunboxing]

it is close to being really good. rounded edges, smaller length and looser tolerances and it would be great

[@sheldonkupa9120]

Good video. Just got it today. Wanted to test it, but noticed its hard to get a ssd back out. Had to slightly destroy it to get my ssd back. Instantly threw it away, not worth to risk your ssd.

[@mikesunboxing]

Sorry to hear that

[@sheldonkupa9120]

Na, i got it for 5 Euro, so no big deal. I should have consulted your awesome channel before!😄

[@mikesunboxing]

@@sheldonkupa9120 haha that is very kind of you to say

[@bulldogboy100]

You've just completely put me off buying an enclosure for the build I'm doing

[@mikesunboxing]

i just ordered a few different models on Amazon, so look out for the reviews coming soon. Hopefully something good will be found

[@Vialli100.]

The built in one on my Crosshair viii Extreme keeps my Samsung 980 pro at 46c (26c in my front room).. My other two Samsung M.2 are in the Dimm.2 and are the same temps.. That is more trouble than it's worth.. That is rubbish..

[@lamikal2515]

I think those heatsinks are designed to be used on drives put on mobos wich does not have included heatsinks. Your Crosshair VIII Extreme is a 800 bucks mobo, so it better be having decent heatsinks for it's M.2 ports.

[@adriannasyraf3534]

use hairdryer/heat gun to expand the metal before taking it apart

[@mikesunboxing]

good idea, but you r really shouldn't need to do that for a brand new product

[@calldeltosell]

The bottom pad... It puts the case too low. Use two on top or a thicker pad. My opinion.

[@Arachnoid_of_the_underverse]

Thats a nasty cut Mike,it looks like you need to fumble around with the marigolds for these. Ive seen similar with fiddly small screws to hold the lid on but those look like design over function.

[@mikesunboxing]

I think chain mail might be better or some Ironman stuff

[@alonsogabriel9336]

Hmmm. Nah I'll leave my hot ssd bare to the airflow of the case fans or just use the one that came with the motherboard. Also there are unknown brand ssd heatsinks with better compatibility and less hassle installation compared to this, and also wont wound you. 😂

[@calldeltosell]

Also, NEVER use a heatsink to push the NVMe in. Push on the NVMe itself on the opposite end.

[@notpoliticallycorrect1303]

If you apply a little heat to just one side of the cooler it will come apart much easier.

[@mikesunboxing]

yeah that is a plan idea, but i should not need such drastic action on this cooler, it needs to be designed better.

[@notpoliticallycorrect1303]

@@mikesunboxing I agree, a little chamfer or finishing of the edges would make no difference to the coolers performance or aesthetics.

[@hughluttrell6350]

Do you know any way to increase cell phone signal,it works outside but lose signal when inside.

[@mikesunboxing]

Some providers allow WiFi calling , check if it is an option in your network

[@ilovelimpfries]

If you want an SSD cooler that actually work, buy a Thermalright HR10 pro. It cost about £15 and the idle temp on my Kingston Fury Renegade is 27c and at full load never exceed 53c.

[@mikesunboxing]

sounds good a few people have suggested that model, i will have to try it, thanks!

[@JohnDavidSullivan]

I've made many a sacrifice in the past. No go backsies

[@mikesunboxing]

Yeah this was a literally painful experience

[@JohnDavidSullivan]

@@mikesunboxing thanks for your honest review, would expect nothing less

[@PapaMav]

Thank you for the warning Mike.

[@-Speedy22-]

How can you get a good pad contact cooling if you leave the manufacturer sticker on the nvme ?

[@mikesunboxing]

the manufacturer stickers are often graphene based so are actually a great interface for cooling

[@theun-personing5674]

I tried to mount one very similar to this a few days back and it wouldn't sit down flush. even though i lined it up correctly it was scraping against the chip things on the board so i gave up and binned it. 😅

[@mikesunboxing]

i know the feeling

[@hughluttrell6350]

You have more pataince than my with my back always killing me.I would have thrown it against the wall a few times and jumped up and down on it a few more just for good measure.

[@mikesunboxing]

lol I was close and if it wasn’t for a video I would have given up much sooner

[@mcdazz2011]

I'll be avoiding. I've made plenty of blood and skin sacrifices since the 1990s, but this seems to be more of a torture device than an M.2 cooler.

[@mikesunboxing]

Haha yeah not great 👍

[@jamesdegriz]

Most of these coolers tend to be rubbish. Id also wonder if it had enough thermal mass for continuous heavy use.

[@mikesunboxing]

to be fair to it, the performance was actually pretty good and on par with the PCIe gen5 cooler the motherboard has, and that is twice the size and weight, so that part of it is pretty good

[@jamesdegriz]

@@mikesunboxing Fair play. At least they havent put an LCD screen on it :D

[@tallpaul9475]

Can you tell me if 'NVMe SSD' coolers like this are really necessary for something like a 980 Pro that has the default sticker on it, if it never gets above 70 Deg C. ??

[@mikesunboxing]

70c is pretty warm, i like my drives to stay around the 50s if possible, but if it works and isn't thermal throttling carry on

[@PapaMav]

...and keep calm

[@tallpaul9475]

I got one now, it seems fine, never getting above 52

[@wiedapp]

Hmmm, an unstoppable force (bench vise) and an unmovable object (heatsink). What could possibly go wrong? 😉

[@mikesunboxing]

i won't be finding out :-)

[@bokami3445]

18:39 --> ...if you've 5 or 10 quid, (or an extra pint of blood..) and you want to try it....

[@makiwa]

Thoughts - "Rubbish"!

[@mikesunboxing]

😂

[@TinBin-Craig]

no thanks.... cheers

[@mikesunboxing]

don't blame you

[@duikmans]

Over-designed and over-engineered. Screws would indeed have done the trick.

[@sorin5713]

👍👍👍

[@mikesunboxing]

Thumbs up? My thumbs are ruined 😂

[@sorin5713]

@@mikesunboxing 👍

[@Dmwntkp99]

Design is bad, I always buy the ones with screw or clip pressure mount.

[@indrahaseo]

be quiet mc1 pro is better and have screw on it than arctic M2 pro

[@mikesunboxing]

almost anything will be better than this one

[@cptwhite]

Just bad product design all over - hard to remove to the point of causing injury, not particularly easy to assemble, and due to it's low surface area inefficient at removing heat...💩💩

[@mikesunboxing]

it is a badly engineered unit, it could be great, but i falls short in the machining. Shame as the performance is actually pretty decent for it's size

[@cptwhite]

@@mikesunboxing I'm sure you appreciate the difference between the ability to absorb heat and the ability to radiate heat. For short bursts of activity from the NVME sure it will provide some help, but for sustained data transfers the heatsink will just be become saturated, and due to lack of surface area to radiate the heat away will just sit on top of the NVME as a hot metal bar. Better then nothing, but the benefits are limited as a result of the poor design choice.

[@mikesunboxing]

Airflow is your friend for these smaller coolers

[@Llun]

Pure trash... use the be quiet! MC1 Pro... a bit more expensive but a great SSD cooler with copper inside...

[@mikesunboxing]

i will have a look at that one soon

[@ltviktor]

what a clusterfrick... of a video 🤣

[@mikesunboxing]

Yeah tell me about it

[@Jacko_486]

A completley unnecessary item

[@mikesunboxing]

how so? it has been proven that bare drives overheat and lose performance and probably lifespan. A £5 investment in your data is worth it?

[@Jacko_486]

@@mikesunboxing I should correct my statement. It's probably unnecessary on on a motherboard that already has a heatsink! Maybe a PCIE5 NVME drive would require something with a bit more metal

[@uglybob7505]

@@Jacko_486 Cuts cheddar into slices really good

[@christopherbussiere4415]

Read Manuel

[@mikesunboxing]

manual doesn't state to wear protection during assembly only for disassembly, unless they changed it after the video was released

[@uglybob7505]

Manuel is from Barcelona

[@mikesunboxing]

@@uglybob7505 Lol!

[@Norman_Peterson]

Thank Mile.