HP Notebook 15-da0803no: Upgrade SSD?

[SimpleTom]

Hi,

I would like to upgrade the 256 GB M.2 drive in my laptop to a larger one. The current drive is SATA based and has what I believe is called a "B & M edge connector" (i.e. with two notches in the connector end). However, next to the SSD port in the laptop it says "PCIe NVME or (Key M) SATA":

Does that mean I can choose an NVME based drive? Or could there be potentially be other factors regarding motherboard/processor/bios that mean I should stick with a SATA drive? Any help is appreciated, thanks!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

Your notebook's M.2 slot supports both SATA and NVMe SSD's.

See chapter 1 of the service manual for the supported drive types.

HP 15 Laptop PC Maintenance and Service Guide

There is one thing to note and that is the NVMe SSD is only going to run at half of its advertised read/write speeds because for some reason only two of the PCIe lanes are available.

If you get a drive such as a Western Digital Blue SN570, even running at half speed would still be around 3 times faster than a SATA SSD.

[SimpleTom]

Hello Paul,

Thanks a lot for the quick reply. I'm a little embarrased to see that the information I needed is actually right there on the first pages of the Service Manual! I had actually tried searching for a manual for my specific model but hadn't found anything. Anyway, this is excellent news. Thank you also for suggesting the Western Digital Blue SN570 drive. I've had my eye on a Samsung 980 NVME - just because that drive has worked well for me in my desktop computer - but the WD is a bit cheaper so I may well try that instead.

Just one more question: The Service Manual only lists 256 and 512 GB drives, but that's just because none of the  HP 15 models come with larger drives from the factory, correct? No reason why I shouldn't be able to put a 1 TB drive in my machine?

Best regards,

Tom

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

You're very welcome, Tom.

Yes, the Samsung 980 is an excellent drive according to the reviews.

The WD Blue SN570 has got to be a very close second and for the lower price it may be a better option in your notebook since it can't run the drive at its fastest advertised speeds.

Normally, the drive capacities listed in the service manual are just what HP offered in the model series, not the maximum capacity supported.

The Crucial memory report for the 15-da0xxx model series indicates that they offer NVMe SSD's up to 4 TB in storage capacity.

HP - Compaq HP 15-da0803no | Memory RAM & SSD Upgrades | Crucial EU

[SimpleTom]

Mr. Tikkanen, you rock! Thanks.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Anytime.

Glad to have been of assistance.

Cheers,

Paul