[Closed] Which brand/model SSD upgrade for HP ENVY All-in-One Desktop 34-c0087c

[Buena_Vista]

HP makes it super easy to get at the memory and SSD slots in the 2022 HP ENVY All-in-One Desktop 34-c0087c (uncurved screen) , but I cannot find any details of what to put into those lovely and easy to get to slots.  I tried my best and upgraded the memory to 64gb (Kingston FURY Impact 64GB (2x32GB) 3200MHz DDR4 CL20 Laptop Memory Kit of 2 KF432S20IBK2/64--running way under their max speed.  Note that the HP 34 does NOT support XMP in the BIOS.)  I also tried to figure it out and bought 2 x PNY XLR8 CS3140 4TB M.2 NVMe Gen4 x4 Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - M280CS3140-4TB-RB.

I stuck one in and cloned the existing WD 512gb drive to it, swapped them, and it booted fine, no problems.  It has been running fine since.  It's in slot labeled "#2 (SSD Gen 3)" as was the original WD SSD.

But...another identical PNY SSD ran for about 5 to 8 hours (I started a data copy to it) then it dropped off the system and stayed off.  It's in the slot labeled "# 1 (SSD Gen 3/Gen 4)."  These SSD's are Gen 4 with down-level compatibility, so should work fine regardless of the slot type.  I got another identical PNY SSD, but it failed after about 3 hours of running and a white led kept blinking while it worked, then went solid after it failed.  I didn't leave the magnetic door open for the first trial so didn't notice the blinking led.  So, two PNY SSD's dropped dead in that slot, while a third identical SSD keeps ticking in the other slot.  I put the original WD SN530 SSD into slot #1 to test the slot and it runs fine, so I'm pretty sure it is not the slot that is failing, but a basic incompatibility in the HP controller for a Gen3/Gen4 slot at least with the PNY cards.

I really would like to be able to switch over to this sweet machine.  Can anyone recommend the fastest 4TB SSD that is nicely compatible with that slot?

Thanks!

😎

edit:  added non-generic model number.

[banhien]

@Buena_Vista 

What EXACTLY is your HP ENVY All-in-One Desktop 34-c0xxx  ? HP uses few different suppliers therefore you can use Device Manager to find out brand and model of existing drive(s)

Regards.

[Buena_Vista]

Thanks for your quick reply. 

The model number is 34-c0087c

The original drive in slot #1 was an NVMe WDC PC SN530 SDBPNPZ-512G-1006 

SSD slot # 2 was empty and it only had 16gb of ram.

I got the stripped down model thinking I could save a lot of money upgrading it by myself. 

Cheers!

[Buena_Vista]

@Banhien, thanks again for your reply which forced me to go out and check the shipping label and I found the exact model number.  Using that, I tracked the motherboard and using that I tracked that the two SSD slots on the HP Envy 34 are not quite identical.  It has 3 nvme slots:

• One M.2 Socket 1, type 2230 for WLAN
• One M.2 Socket 3, Key M, type 2280 for SSD (PCIe x4 or SATA x1) PCH
• One M.2 Socket 3, Key M, type 2280 for SSD (PCIe x4 or SATA x1) CPU

I am assuming that socket 3 repetition above is a typo on their part.  One SSD is connected to the PCH and one to the CPU.  Maybe this will help someone to figure out if there is some difference in the kind of SSD that I need to get?  Or, maybe, that it might be a defective chip on the motherboard. The original WD gen 3 512gb SSD does run in either slot, which is why I'm thinking it is some compatibility problem.  Folks on Amazon are selling these fully configured with 8tb, so it must be possible!

Thanks!

[Buena_Vista · Accepted solution]

Good news.  An Amazon reseller was kind enough to tell me the ssd's he was using to build his 2 x 4tb model:

XPG SX8100 4TB 3D NAND NVMe Gen3x4 PCIe M.2 2280 Solid State Drive R/W 3500/3000MB/s SSD (ASX8100NP-4TT-C) (an adata brand)

and I got one and installed it.  It is working like a champ.  I've uploaded about 1.5tb of movies etc. at about 2gb a minute from an external USB 3.0 HDD and no problems.  Adata has an app that says it's running fine, too.  Of course, it's only a gen3 rated at 3500/3000 but that's 3500 times faster than the Pny.

The original PNY, BTW, continues to work fine as the boot drive in the other SSD slot.

I'm going to close the request for assistance, but if anyone ever does see any reason for why I had 2 decent quality PNY SSD's fail, let me know!  Thanks,

😎