M.2 vs SSD for laptop

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kiwifidget

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#257299 24-Sep-2019 22:57

Hello.

I have a HP Probook 430 G3. It came with a 256GB SSD which is dangerously full.

I did ask a while ago about replacing with a larger SSD of the 1-2TB variety.

Since then I have discovered that this laptop has a M.2 slot. Pretty sure it's not NVMe compatible.

Should I be considering M.2 as an option or just go with a regular SSD?

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#2324273 25-Sep-2019 05:14

if its not NVME (pci-e) then it will just use the same SATA bus that the current SSD is connected to so it wont be any faster than what you have, it will just allow you to connect a second drive.

kiwifidget

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#2324300 25-Sep-2019 08:06

@jase2985 Thank you.

So I could keep my OS and apps on its original SSD, and add a M.2 SSD as a secondary drive for data storage? That would work well for me, I had thought you could have one or the other, but not both. (I don't know why I think this, probably just some random conclusion I jumped to at some point.)

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#2324627 25-Sep-2019 15:06

ypu can have both, just install the new drive and you should be good to go.

kiwifidget

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#2324786 25-Sep-2019 19:32

From reading the manual for my Probook 430 G3 I determined that I would require a M.2 SSD that had the 3 prongs.

Upon having a peek inside I see the connector above, which is the 2 prong one.

Does that mean I could consider NVMe modules?

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#2324791 25-Sep-2019 19:42

M Key: uses a gap in the left side of the card (right side of the host controller), with five pins to the left of the gap. This configuration supports PCIe x4 bus connections for twice the data throughput.

whether your laptop supports it depends on the exact model number of the laptop

kiwifidget

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#2324793 25-Sep-2019 19:45

This is very confusing. Here is the manual for my laptop:

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c04825509

On page 43 it shows the 3-pronged module, but that's not what I see inside my laptop. What am I missing?

Edit : Also on the Crucial upgrades page it shows 3 pronged modules-

https://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible-upgrade-for/HP-Compaq/probook-430-g3-%28ddr3%29#SSDFilters

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Jase2985

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#2324795 25-Sep-2019 19:46

read the exact part number off the laptop

that just looks like a generic manual

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#2324796 25-Sep-2019 19:48

also M.2 cards with a B Key interface can only fit into a B Key host slot, and likewise for M Key. But cards with a B+M Key design can fit in either a B or an M host slot, since they have gaps for both.

https://www.howtogeek.com/320421/what-is-the-m.2-expansion-slot/

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#2324807 25-Sep-2019 20:05

@jase2985 Thank you for your help and advice so far, that link was very interesting. Now I know what NGFF means and what 2280 means. I'm still not sure what sort of module I can buy, my part number is T3M23PT#ABG which doesn't bring anything useful up in google.

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#2324819 25-Sep-2019 20:21

you should be able to use a M or B+M card

most NVME drives look to be B type which wont work, but there seems to be two (western digital and gigabyte) that look to be B+M type

though you dont see these mentioned anywhere :)

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#2324827 25-Sep-2019 20:34

@jase2985 It's starting to make sense now. If I search for "m.2 2280" on a supplier website I get a list of modules and pictures, but it's really hard to tell from the pictures if the module has 5(M) or 6(B) pins (the B+M being the 3 prong jobbies that are visually obvious). Is there any clue in the product descriptions or something else in the pictures that I can use to tell the difference?

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#2324829 25-Sep-2019 20:37

m has the cutout on the left b has it on the right when looking from the top, thats the easiest way to tell.

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#2324830 25-Sep-2019 20:38

Quickspecs document for this model: http://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/GetPDF.aspx/c04761984.pdf

It looks like SATA M.2 SSDs are supported, but not NVMe.

One thing I *love* about the Kingston.com web site is their massive compatibility table. ProBook 430 G3 (note there are DDR3 and DDR4 variants) search results showing RAM at the top and SSDs at the bottom https://www.kingston.com/en/memory/search?model=94830&deviceType=3&mfr=HEW&line=ProBook

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