Solved: Re: SSD drive stacking - HP Support Community

michael432000 · ‎12-27-2020

Hi there.

I have an HP 8300 i7 in a CMT case with a 500GB HDD drive (F:) and a Burst 120GB SSD drive with Win 10 on it (boot drive C:).

I see there is a spare connector (please see picture) so can I somehow stack another SSD drive on top of the installed one (if so then how) and use that connector and then purchase a SATA cable and plug it into one of those slots on the motherboard?

Thank you; I’m a complete novice.

erico · ‎12-29-2020

@michael432000

Thanks for the image. In your case, since you do have available spare ports there should not be a problem.

I use SATA 3 M.2 SSD and put them on a PCIe x16 adapter because it is so much less hassle and makes for a nice clean installation.

The adapters are inexpensive. See the hyperlink below this line for a source.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/PCIe-M-2-Adapter/s?k=PCIe+M.2+Adapter

I am a volunteer forum member, not an HP employee. If my suggestion solved your issue, don't forget to mark that post as the accepted solution. If you want to say thanks, click on the Yes button next to the "was this reply helpful?"

View solution in original post

erico · ‎12-27-2020

I took a look at the image and I see both SATA ports are in use.

The image you provided is limited in that I can only see part of the motherboard.

You will need a SATA port for each SSD unless you use an adapter as described below.

That would mean that your best bet would be to use a PCIe adapter for a SATA3 SSD and put it in an available PCIe slot.

SATA cable do not plug into slots. They can only be plugged into SATA ports. The slots are PCIe.

I am a volunteer forum member, not an HP employee. If my suggestion solved your issue, don't forget to mark that post as the accepted solution. If you want to say thanks, click on the Yes button next to the "was this reply helpful?"

michael432000 · ‎12-27-2020

Thank you for the reply Erico. It’s all a bit confusing but I’m learning more all the time.

I found a diagram of my HP 3396 motherboard and it looks as though there are enough ports available.

HP system board connectors.PNG

HP system board connectors cont.PNG

Currently port 18 goes to the DVD-RW, 21 red lead goes to the SSD drive and 19 goes to the HDD drive.

So presumably I can use a duel SSD mounting bracket with the two SSD’s and plug that currently unused P5 connector into the new SSD drive. Move the DVD-RW cable from port 18 into 21 and then run a new SATA cable from the new SSD to port 18.

Not sure why the boot drive is connected to 21 which is 3rd hard drive.

erico · ‎12-29-2020

@michael432000

Thanks for the image. In your case, since you do have available spare ports there should not be a problem.

I use SATA 3 M.2 SSD and put them on a PCIe x16 adapter because it is so much less hassle and makes for a nice clean installation.

The adapters are inexpensive. See the hyperlink below this line for a source.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/PCIe-M-2-Adapter/s?k=PCIe+M.2+Adapter

I am a volunteer forum member, not an HP employee. If my suggestion solved your issue, don't forget to mark that post as the accepted solution. If you want to say thanks, click on the Yes button next to the "was this reply helpful?"

michael432000 · ‎12-30-2020

Ah, now that is interesting; I shall definitely try that. Thank you for drawing that to my attention otherwise I would not have known.

SSD drive stacking

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