Since the heat sink on your cpu plays a role, too, i see my suspicion confirmed, that the SSD’s temperature is mainly driven by the closely mounted CPU. Unfortunately, a heat sink or fan is obligatory to actually run the device even under small loads as yours. I’m using a 4x4x2cm heat sink with a termal pad and have an idle base line (no X) of CPU: 45.8°C, SSD: 42°C.
Hmm, i wouldn’t call this “hot”. By the rule of the thumb, when it hurts, touching it, its hot. Mine still feels only warm. I doubt, that the device is aging much faster at this temperature, so cooling down to 40°C or below is not really necessary, imo. But i might be wrong about that.
I remember times, where Intel cpus dissipated more heat per square size than a cooking plate without delivering the speed that we get with this device now. If i read the findings in VisionFive 2 performance and power consumption benchmarks right, the device has a comparatively good energy efficient, but i’m not an expert in this.