Upgrade help and info

[Photoray002]

Good choice and good luck with everything. 👍

[Gruntwerkz]

The laptop is due to delivered today, but I wanted to let ya know I discovered from the company who shipped it that it’s the 17-cb0002ca” which is a Canadian model and shipped from Canada.

so to be exact it’s the 17-cb0002 with the 1660ti, 12gb, 128GB PCIe NVMe, and yes a 60hz panel.

did you ever hear from HP if any of the m2 slots will support 3x4? Just curious if they said anything yet. I’m gonna try as is anyway.

2, I know you said the GFX card can handle 144hz but do you think the chipset can send 144hz out both the HDMI and thunderbolt/display port? Before you mentioned the max res so curious if you heard anything about either port supporting 144 or is one better then the other to use? The monitor I shared supports 144hz on either port so I’d just need the proper cable, so I want to clarify before I order the monitor Or panel.

IF, and I mean IF if I chose to upgrade the ram, what models does HP support? My idea would be to replace the 4gig stick with a 16gig to give me 24, then maybe someday replace the other 8 with a matching 16 for “future proofing.” I also like to tinker. Is there an aftermarket brand that pairs best with the stock HP ram or will any quality 260 pin DDR4 so-dimm do the trick (2666mhz)? 

Ill let everyone know how I like it once she’s delivered later!

thanks again!

[Photoray002]

I am waiting to get some confirmation on the M.2 ports. Looks like they may be only NVMe (not sata compatible).

Question 2, I answered already. If your Video card supports 144Hz, your ports are a new enough version that they will too. You are good to go on that.

[Gruntwerkz]

@Photoray002

well it appears it must support SATA M.2 drives as the manual was misleading. the 128gb is liteon ca3-8d128-hp, which s quick google search on the specs shows it's a SATA m.2 and not a PCIe at all. this is a touch confusing as the manual states this model has a PCIe 2x3, then like we discussed the models with 256GB and up have PCIe 3x4.

So with that said I'm only getting SATA speeds - there for an upgrade is in order for sure because even if it topped out at PCIe 2x3 that's still much faster then SATA. other wise this thing is a beast and I love it, the 12 GB of ram seems sufficient for now but I still may add more.

the more pressing issue now is the main SSD being SATA over PCIe NVMe, so back to the first post - what drives are working well for everyone? Pretty much any PCIe NVMe or are there certain models not working?

next for installing, I would want to make a USB media for windows, which I already have, but how do I go about installing all the drives and HP software again, as well as my free 1 year trial of MacAfee? Is this what the HP back up tool is for? 

[Gruntwerkz]

I also noticed I don’t have the “hp recovery manager” on this laptop, I was checking older threads about SSD installs and seen this mentioned. Is this the software that allows you to copy your whole drive? I know I can clean install windows which I’ve done, but then I have to install all the extra software and drivers separately and chance stuff not working properly at first to do so. So my question is, can I download and install HP recovery manager and make a copy some how that will install everything as OEM, all the drivers and extra HP software, drivers, etc? Or am I forced clean installing windows and then installing all this stuff one by one?

thanks again

[Photoray002]

"So with that said I'm only getting SATA speeds - there for an upgrade is in order for sure because even if it topped out at PCIe 2x3 that's still much faster then SATA. "

OK thanks for the info on the sata m.2 drive. But what I'm mainly getting at is that I don't know if both slots are wired the same way. One might only be sata compatible, the other NVMe only. I'm waiting to find out if anyone can verify this and it might take some time.

Based on drive prices now days, 3x2 and 3x4 drives are about the same price, so I would still go for a full NVMe speed drive. If the speed is cut down to 3x2, its still much faster than SATA. I will say though that most of the time, a standard user wont physically notice a difference between SATA and NVMe (depending on the application).

Yes, HP is doing away with the recovery partition. There are various reasons for this decision and (rumor has it) some of its supposedly based on agreements with Microsoft. Secrets are secrets 😉.

You have two alternatives for re-installing Windows.

1. HP has a downloadable recovery option now, but it will take a 32GB USB pen drive to do it.

2. Or you could simply use MS's Media Creation Tool with an 8GB pen drive.

You will have to install a few HP Software's, but ONLY if you desire them. Now days, Microsoft Updates will grab most of what your system will need via its update process.

NOTE:  I don't know if the HP downloadable recovery will still install all of the Omen software. I don't have a system that qualifies to test with at the moment.

Either way, if you want the OCC reinstalled, I can help you out with that when your ready. 😀

1. Install Windows and verify it will work and get it fully updated.

2. Don't forget to put the original drive away in a safe place. You will have to put it back in if you have a warranty issue. The hardware has to be all original. Don't break anything during the upgrade or you will void the warranty. HP doesn't want you messing with the hardware, that's why the warning about don't open the case in the warranty clause. Just saying.

[Gruntwerkz]

@Photoray002

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c06162205

Are you speaking of this recovery tool for HP? I take it that’s the one that backs up all OEM software?

I see what you’re saying now on the m2 slots, even though the other models to have a NVMe drive we don’t know what slot it’s in, and the manual lists mine as NVMe too at 2x3 but device manager and google it’s showing other wise based on the drive.

As for performance - you don’t think the average person would see a difference from a drive that has 3-4x the read speed? I ask because I’ve never used anything besides HDD’s and SSD’s, so I have nothin to compare too. If you truly believe there’s isn’t much difference then maybe it won’t be matter to me. I am however going to replace the data HDD with a SSD for my storage, I can keep all my school files and media there then maybe I can get away with the 128gig primary. I just assumed I’d see some boost in load times or something, but curious to know you’re input having used both.

Thanks for checking on the ports too, one you find out will you let me know? I’m guessing one of them should supports PCIe3x4 or PCIe3x2, also curious if you were too install 2 m2’s if that reduces speed.

thanks so much again!

[Photoray002]

Yes that tool, but it doesn't backup your existing programs. Reinstalling the command center isn't a time consuming task and that's about all you would have to do with a couple of links I will provide.

Ive already gave my answer on the M.2 slot subject. I am waiting further info before I can fully answer.

Like I said, I would still purchase an NVMe 3x4 drive over 3x2 or SATA. Prices are all about the same now per capacity.

2 - M.2 drives shouldn't reduce the speed.

I will be out now, I will return if I get an update. Thank you.

[Gruntwerkz]

Thank you much sir! Check beck in when you hear something, in the mean time I’ll continue to play with it as is. I’ll likely order a 3x4 within a week or two, so I’ll post back when I have the drive to verify info on the command center and other software, for instance I’d like to get the HP support assistant back too.

I can always put the new drive in each slot then boot it and see how it’s reading.

[Gruntwerkz]

@Photoray002

I still haven’t ordered the drive yet - however I have a quick Q I can’t seem to find via google.

Can you install games, or even other programs or applications to a secondary drive, say your D; data drive? Meaning having windows on C, then installing a program on an empty drive, can windows still run a program like that or do your games have to stay on the same boot drive the OS is on? I ask because I’ve nearly filled my primary drive up now, this laptop games so well I’m playing all sorts of stuff now. Just curious if I can pull out the HDD and put my SSD in there (I know you can swap the drives) then install more games to the secondary drive.

if I can then I don’t need to rush the primary upgrade right away, or following the same concept I can install a second m2 drive and install my games there.

thanks again for your help.