Replacing the ssd drive

[Rafaloks]

I have an HP Envy AIO computer (32-a0006nw) I would like to increase the disk capacity.
I am wondering about the speed of such a drive to be able to use it on par with those currently installed on the board.
Unfortunately, nowhere could I find information on what bus my hardware has. So I assumed that the speed of the currently installed drive (1TB Kioxia write/read about 3200 MB/s) is the maximum speed I can get. Today NVMe drives reach much higher (theoretical) speeds (up to about 7000 MB/s - https://www.lexar.com/global/products/Lexar-NM790-M-2-2280-PCIe-Gen-4x4-NVMe-SSD/), but such speeds are available with the appropriate version of PCIe (Gen4x4))
Does anyone know what PCIe bus this computer has? I would not want to overpay and buy a drive whose speed I will not use.....
Thanks in advance for any comments

[TheOldMan]

While doing the research on that model, I found the spec page

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c06639665

On that page it indicates the motherboard to be a HP Risotto.  While the spec page link does not work, I found what was listed as the replacement - Motherboard L65106-001 L65106-501 L65106-601 Compatible Replacement

Those motherboards use the Intel H370 (SR405) chipset, which is a PCIe revision of 3.0  .  If that means anything to you, I am not an expert, however from this page

https://www.crucial.com/support/articles-faq-ssd/pcie-speeds-limitations

Which PCIe Gen3 x4  M.2 indicates that the PCIE revision 3.0/3.1 can only support 4 GB/s on a  x4 slot.

While on the above mentioned page, it indicates PCIe speeds for the 4.0/4.1 revision is needed for speeds of 8 GB/s in the x4 slot is for High-speed NVMe drives.

Therefore. I would not expect the  (theoretical) speeds (up to about 7000 MB/s) needed to support the newer drives.

[Rafaloks]

Thanks for the reply Yes I also noticed that the links are inactive on the HP site (regarding the board) when I was looking for info about the PCIe version Thanks to you we now know that I should look for PCIe Gen3 x4 M.2 drives
I'm considering 4TB capacity Unfortunately, such drives with PCIe Gen3 x4 interface are very few Most 4TB drives already have PCIe 4.0 x4 (and buying such a drive in my case misses the point because I won't achieve those higher transfers anyway...)
What I found
Crucial P3 4TB
https://www.crucial.com/ssd/p3/ct4000p3ssd8
, but very hard with availability in Poland....

Unless I choose to buy one M2 2TB drive and one 2TB Sata 3 drive?

https://americas.lexar.com/product/lexar-nm620-m-2-2280-nvme-ssd/

or faster

https://americas.lexar.com/product/lexar-nm710-m-2-2280-pcie-gen4x4-nvme-ssd/

and to it something like

https://americas.lexar.com/product/ssd-ns100/

I still found Chinese models FanXiang, but I have no conviction in such a brand “No Name”

Can I ask for advice on what drive(s) I should buy to be the most cost-effective and not to overpay for performance that I won't use anyway....

[TheOldMan]

While I can do some research on these knowledge points, I am not knowledgeable enough to answer those questions.  I will tag @Paul_Tikkanen ( a HP forum Expert) as he may be able to answer your questions.  He has a wide range of expert knowledge on various subjects.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi, @Rafaloks 

I see that your PC comes with an Intel® Core™ i7-9700 processor and an HP 'Risotto' motherboard, which has an Intel H370 chipset.

HP ENVY All-in-One - 32-a0006nw Product Specifications | HP® Support

The Intel specs indicate that the H370 chipset has a PCI express revision of 3.0.

Intel® H370 Chipset

While a PCIe Gen 4.0 SSD will work fine, it will not run at its maximum advertised read/write speeds from your PC's motherboard's Gen 3.0 slot.

This table shows the maximum transfer speeds each PCIe slot generation can support:

PCIe Speeds and Limitations | Crucial.com

I don't know what the cost differences between the NVMe drive generations are in Poland but here in the USA you can find high quality PCIe Gen 4.0 SSDs almost the same price as a high quality PCIe Gen 3.0 SSD.

Take for example, these two well-known brands of NVMe SSD's:

The Samsung 980 1 TB PCie 3.0 sells for $75 USD

Amazon.com: SAMSUNG 980 SSD 1TB PCle 3.0x4, NVMe M.2 2280, Internal Solid State Drive, Storage for P...

The SK Hynix Platinum PCIe 4.0 sells for only $1 more at $76 USD

Amazon.com: SK hynix Platinum P41 1TB PCIe NVMe Gen4 M.2 2280 Internal Gaming SSD, Up to 7,000MB/S, ...

If I ever wanted to transfer the SSD to a newer model PC in the future, the decision to buy the Hynix drive over the Samsung drive would be an easy one.

Shop around...

[Rafaloks]

Undated:) I just saw that Paul wrote back 🙂

Thank you very much
Can I expect a reply from Paul here in the thread or did you write to him personally?

[Rafaloks]

Thank you Paul For your quick response;)
Yes I realize that I won't get the nominal PCI 4.0 speeds and that's why I was looking for a drive with PCI 3.0 to not overpay for something I won't use anyway. Nevertheless, when I started to look at the prices, then as you write the prices of PCI 3 and 4 generation drives are virtually identical. And while I do not intend to use the new drive in the future in other hardware, it is probably better to buy PCI 4.0 with the assumption that I will not use it to its full potential than to buy a PCI 3.0 drive.
In that case, could you recommend me some 4TB drive you have tested and recommend? Application typically home MS Office, YT etc:), sometimes games....
Or maybe as I wrote earlier a better option is to buy a 2TB NVMe drive and a 2TB SSD? If so, also which SSD would you recommend?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

I have not personally used a NVMe SSD beyond a 1 TB capacity (I have a Samsung 980) in my HP Elitedesk 800 G3 Desktop Mini PC.

However, I would look into the Crucial brand of NVMe SSD's which have various Gen 3 and Gen 4 models in a range of prices.

Since you don't plan on moving the drive, you may want to look into the Crucial P3 Gen 3.0 4 TB drive for example, or the P3+ Gen 4.0.

Here is the Crucial memory/SSD report for the model sold in Spain:

HP HP ENVY 32-a0006ns All-in-One | Memory RAM & SSD Upgrades | Crucial.com

[Rafaloks]

Hello Paul
I have definitely decided on this model - https://americas.lexar.com/product/nm790-with-heatsink-m-2-2280-pcie-gen-4x4-nvme-ssd/
Especially since I managed to find it in a nice promotion....

I just have doubts if this heatsink will fit into this my OIA Can you solve them and confirm if this drive will be OK?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

I don't believe that a drive with a heatsink will fit

Here is the link to the service teardown video:

Removing & Replacing Parts | HP ENVY All-in-One PC 32-a0000 Desktop PC series | HP Computer Service ...

It shows that the NVMe SSD is under a metal motherboard shield and has a thermal pad that makes contact with the metal shield.

I think you would be restricted to installing a SSD with no heat sink.