Review: Team Group Cardea Liquid M.2 PCIe SSD (512GB)

by Parm Mann on 8 August 2019, 16:01

Tags: Team Group

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Conclusion

...sets itself apart through the inclusion of a patented liquid-cooling module that claims to lower temperatures by up to 10ºC.

It's always nice to see a manufacturer try something new, and Cardea Liquid is definitely different. Hoping to stand out from the crowd, Team Group has taken the plunge by releasing the world's first liquid-cooled M.2 SSD.

Available in 256GB, 512GB and 1TB capacities, the eye-catching PCIe 3.0 drive features a familiar combination of Phison E12 controller and Toshiba NAND, but sets itself apart through the inclusion of a patented liquid-cooling module that claims to lower temperatures by up to 10ºC.

The real-world benefit during our own tests has proven to be less conclusive, and for cooling purposes, we'd be inclined to err on the side of caution and recommend a regular heatsink; there's no chance of a leak and it's a tried-and-trusted formula that works perfectly well.

Cardea Liquid's underlying components are logical - this remains a fast SSD and peak temperature is ultimately a tad lower with the cooling module in situ - but we come away feeling as though the premium could only be justified by those favouring form over function.

The Good
 
The Bad
Fast PCIe 3.0 speeds
Looks impressive
 
Cooling performance not great
Board compatibility could be an issue
Significant premium over regular drives
Do you really want liquid near your SSD?

 

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TBC.

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HEXUS Forums :: 17 Comments

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It's a liquid heatsink lol. So daft.
65°C without heatsink and 62°C with. A few millilitres of water doesn't seem to do an awful lot…
It positively rolls off the tongue
I must be really stupid but I don't see how the liquid can cool if it's in a plastic container, now if you could add it to a loop, that might interest me.
“it'll take a brave soul to want to inject liquid in such close proximity to a storage device.”

Why? If you spill any, just put the plug back in the filler port and rinse the whole drive under the tap. Make sure it's left to dry thoroughly and it'll be fine.