M.2 slot question for my Gaming laptop

[GTAPC]

I just recently purchased a ASUS ROG GL702VS with an 1tb HDD 5,400rmp only (Shocking I know). I plan to upgrade this immediately and was looking at the manual to see what I was looking at for upgrade options. It shows that there are two M.2 slots and a SATA slot (HDD in place). The manual states "The M.2 2280 slot 1 supports SATA SSD while slot 2 supports both PCIe (NVMe) SSD and SATA SSD." I just bought a Samsung 960 Pro 512GB M.2 PCIe (NVMe) SSD for the Slot 2 (arriving tomorrow). Is the M.2 2280 the standard SSD but in M.2 form? I'm looking at a Samsung 850 EVO 1tb M.2 Sata 3 with description and title saying "M.2 NGFF PCIe Gen 3x4 NVMe SSD (2280)" were as some just state it as "M.2 SATA III Internal SSD." Which is it? I just want to know if I can put this SSD on the M.2 Slot 1. Any incite would be appreciated thanks!

 

[Lutfij]

The 960 is the NVMe drive without a doubt, the 850 drive you're asking about, is it this? Regardless, the 850 is non NVMe.

 

[CelicaGT]

To call M.2 a standard is to use the term loosely. 2280 refers to the dimensions in millimetres, there is a spec for component number and thickness and one for the edge connector. I believe it all is an evolution or extension of the older mSATA drives. Anyhow the 2280 size is very common and is if I'm not mistaken the correct one for your machine. As for NVMe and SATA just follow what is stated in the manual for where to put it, be aware however if you decide to boot from an NVMe drive you will likely have to download a driver in order to have it recognized by your Win10 install media.

 

[GTAPC]

The 960 is the NVMe drive without a doubt, the 850 drive you're asking about, is it this? Regardless, the 850 is non NVMe.

It is indeed that particular SSD I'm looking to put on the Slot 1

 

[Lutfij]

If you're going for a rolling upgrade, get the OS on the NVMe drive and then drop in the 850 M.2 drive in later for your games. As stated by CelicaGT, you will need to keep the drivers(if there are any) handy for when you want to install the OS on the 960 drive since I've had my fair share of troubleshooting with NVMe drives and the new OS.

You may not need it but it helps to be prepared.

 

[GTAPC]

To call M.2 a standard is to use the term loosely. 2280 refers to the dimensions in millimetres, there is a spec for component number and thickness and one for the edge connector. I believe it all is an evolution or extension of the older mSATA drives. Anyhow the 2280 size is very common and is if I'm not mistaken the correct one for your machine. As for NVMe and SATA just follow what is stated in the manual for where to put it, be aware however if you decide to boot from an NVMe drive you will likely have to download a driver in order to have it recognized by your Win10 install media.

I am very pleased with how the Asus laptop came with zero bloat ware and already all the drivers installed out of the box. I'm so used to downloading drivers and installing them but I checked and made sure and everything was downloaded as it should. Would this driver be by any chance a 3rd party?

If you're going for a rolling upgrade, get the OS on the NVMe drive and then drop in the 850 M.2 drive in later for your games. As stated by CelicaGT, you will need to keep the drivers(if there are any) handy for when you want to install the OS on the 960 drive since I've had my fair share of troubleshooting with NVMe drives and the new OS.

You may not need it but it helps to be prepared.

That is exactly how I plan to do the install. Was planning on migrating the NVMe drive with the OS side and the other for games. As of right know, the laptop has only be opened to be prepared and updated and made an image of the windows current state for recovery and waiting cloning once the SSD's arrive. I did install all the drivers and put them on a usb stick and will use them if needed.

Do you think it is best to just install fresh? I don't have a windows 10 key or CD/USB but I'm assuming it's tied to the motherboard, so I can just install it then apply all drivers?

 

[Lutfij]

Install fresh, it's been documented that cloning and just stamping them on causes more grey hair than if you were to install from scratch. Might I ask where you purchased the laptop from?

 

[GTAPC]

Install fresh, it's been documented that cloning and just stamping them on causes more grey hair than if you were to install from scratch. Might I ask where you purchased the laptop from?

Thanks for the information. I purchased this at Best Buy, I was looking any many options online and came across an an MSI GS63VR and saw that Best Buy had this option on display so I went to checked it out. While looking at it, There it was, aside from all others, it stood out like a boss...I just noticed that it even had GTX 1070 and from personal experience of having ASUS products (Graphic cards) they have never failed me and I was in familiar grounds. It really is slim and amazing. I just asked the employee to give me this model to which he told me it was out of stock. Another employee said that they checked and they had one left in stock and I took it home yesterday...well as of this writing, Saturday!

It's a thing of a beauty, very happy with the purchase.

 

[Lutfij]

Yeap, Asus have been the go to brand for me. Just been recently recommending my friends to other brands like EVGA. Good purchase!

Let us know how your progress goes with the SSD installation. Pertaining to the OS, you should be able to login with only your registered account. Licence keys shouldn't matter+yes if the OS came preinstalled, the licence key is tied in to the motherboard BIOS so unless you change the motherboard, you shouldn't loose the licence key on it. Regardless it's a good idea to confirm with your seller to see if the OS is genuine(but I'm skeptical whether they will know that bit or not).

 

[GTAPC]

Yeap, Asus have been the go to brand for me. Just been recently recommending my friends to other brands like EVGA. Good purchase!

Let us know how your progress goes with the SSD installation. Pertaining to the OS, you should be able to login with only your registered account. Licence keys shouldn't matter+yes if the OS came preinstalled, the licence key is tied in to the motherboard BIOS so unless you change the motherboard, you shouldn't loose the licence key on it. Regardless it's a good idea to confirm with your seller to see if the OS is genuine(but I'm skeptical whether they will know that bit or not).

Thanks, I will definitely be posting update when the SSD arrives and the installation experience. Yep, I figured the License key was tied to the motherboard. The OS should be genuine as I have no reason to believe retailer like Best Buy selling a sealed box from ASUS with fake OS. The wait continues for either today or tomorrow's arrival of the SSD. Thanks for the clarification!

 

[Lutfij]

You're welcome!


Also don't you think the answer for this thread was selected prematurely? I would be more than happy to leave this thread open and allow you to post of your feedback/thoughts on the process. So the Best Answer need not have been selected.

 

[GTAPC]

Current status: Packages were to arrive today and were delivered to wrong address. Called UPS and the driver is delivering to me within the hour. Can't wait to start posting progress with installation!

Edit: Package was delivered to a business address and that business is currently closed.... Will have to pick up tomorrow. This is absurdness lol

 

[Lutfij]

I can see you're already on the edge of your seat Be patient...all the wait will be worth it, I assure you.

 

[GTAPC]

I can see you're already on the edge of your seat Be patient...all the wait will be worth it, I assure you.

So I opened up the laptop and I don't see the second m.2 slot. I only see the m.2 slot with PCIe with SATA support but no m.2 slot with just SATA. My laptop model is GL702VS-BIN12 and I don't see a manual for it. There was no manual in the box as well just warranty and basic instructions to turn on the machine. I can only find one manual for the main GL702Vs line, which is located here: Asus Model GL702VS Manual Here is the image of my laptop when I opened it.

 

[Lutfij]

Since you didn't provide an SKU, I followed through the manual that was available from Asus's site, which is exactly the same link you've provided prior to answering your thread.

Your M.2 slot is also oriented in the other direction when compared to the manual. Regardless, how about you install the NVMe drive. It should work.
Follow through these links:
http://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/global/file/insight/2015/08/NVMeSSD_User_Installation_Guide_whitepaper-0.pdf
http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/guide-clean-install-windows-10-after-m-2-nvme-ssd-upgrade.787420/
and see if you can make progress.