Internal SSD Upgrade Port/Type Compatibility for Envy x360?

[dragoonboon]

Want to upgrade internal SSD to 1TB if possible, but not sure what connector/form factor will work.  I'd like to get the best spec'd SSD that my laptop can handle, but the alphabet soup of the latest options makes me concerned I'll get something incompatible/overkill.  Is there something better than M.2 2280 SATA that will work or is something like that my only option?

Bought laptop at Costco, if that makes any difference.  Here's the current SSD drive:

Manufacturer Samsung

Manufacturer Part # MZNLN128HAHQ-000H1

Performance Product Type Internal Solid State Drive

Form Factor M.2 2280

Capacity 128 GB

Flash Memory Technology Triple Level Cell (TLC)

Random Read IOPS 68000

Random Write IOPS 80000

Drive Interface Type SATA 6.0 Gbps

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

According to chapter 1, page 2 of the service manual, you could swap out the SATA M.2 drive for a faster performing NVMe M.2 drive.

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c05527167

[dragoonboon]

Hi Paul_T

Thank you for the quick reply and sorry for my slow response.

From the link you posted it looks like the largest internal SSD supported is 256GB? So I couldn't install a 512GB or 1TB... Am I reading that correctly? Thank you.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

The drive capacities listed in the manual are just what HP offered in the model series.

If you want to install a 500 GB or 1 TB NVMe SSD, that would be fine.

[dragoonboon]

Thank you. OK, that's what I thought, but I've burned myself making "safe" assumptions before! The only SSDs I've used up to this point are external ones, so a lot of this alphanumerical soup is new for me.

A few follow-up questions, if you don't mind:

1.  Would SSDs like the Crucial p5, or WD something, or Samsung evo 860/970 (plus?pro?whatever) be good replacement candidates? Suggestions?
2.  Does HP (or you?) have specific advice and/or instructions for migrating from an existing m2 SSD OS/boot drive to a new one? (I fear bricking my system, plus I don't think I own the hardware for an m2 to m2 transfer. Or could I make a USB recovery/boot drive of my existing system and xfer to the new drive that way?)
3.  Might it be sufficient /might I be better off (e.g., less chance of me bricking) simply replacing my existing 1TB mechanical HDD with a SATA-III SSD and just leave my m2 OS drive/migration alone? (I'm making the mistake of assuming it's a SATA-III connection.)

My goals are to shrink hardware bottlenecks a little bit where it's easy/not too expensive, and to maybe make a little more space for programs on the m2 OS drive so things don't get too cramped in there. I mainly use the laptop for making music and light photo/video editing, and despite my diligence, have slowly been creeping up to 60% capacity.

I should probably expand the memory while I'm at it, 16GB currently, but last time I opened the laptop up I wasn't able to pry the cover off the memory slots to see what was currently under the hood /what the upgrade potential was without fearing for the safety of the motherboard.

There are some good sales ending soon, so that's what's putting these annoying thoughts into my head. The more money I consider spending on limited-lifespan laptop upgrades the more I start thinking again about building a mini-tower, but that's a whole separate conversation...

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Having recently entered the territory of NVMe drives, there is one thing that I learned that I had no clue about.

They run hot.  They run hot because of the high read/write speeds.

Some run hotter than others.  So read the reviews and get one that runs the coolest, yet provides great performance.

Most have an operating temperature range of 0C - 70 C.

I bought the Crucial P5 for a Dell Optiplex 7050 MT business desktop.

Piece of cake to install.  I checked the drive temps and at idle it was running at 50 C and under any kind of activity, between 55 and 60 C.

So, I bought a 4mm strap on heat sink for it that came with a thermal pad.  That dropped the temp some 12 C.

So now it idles at around 41C and never goes above 47C.

You will not have the luxury of adding a fat heatsink to most notebooks.

Other than the heat issue the P5 is fantastic.  What speed, and I have read that the Samsung 970 is even better.

I cannot help you with transferring/cloning. 

I always clean install Windows on new drives and reinstall the drivers, software and my files.

On some notebooks such as yours, you could try the HP cloud recovery tool to create a bootable recovery drive, that will reinstall W10, the drivers and the software that originally came with your notebook.

A 1 TB 2.5" solid state drive will run cooler and faster than the 1 TB mechanical hard drive.

If you look at chapter 5, page 36 of the service manual, they have the procedure to remove the memory shield.

[dragoonboon]

Thank you for the advice and suggestions. I was reading the service manual (they should be provided w every new laptop!) after I last posted and I discovered that 16GB is the max memory for this laptop so no need to wrestle with that troublesome memory shield again! If anyone else wants to chime in w suggestions, I welcome them. I will mark this as "answered" and try my luck at buying and installing one or two new bits for this computer. Thanks for all your help Paul_Tikkanen.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Anytime.

Glad to have been of assistance.

Please reply back and let us know the results of any drive upgrades you performed.

[dragoonboon]

Thanks. Any brand/model recommendations for thin heat sinks? It's reaally tight in my laptop case, so I'd like to have a starting place if it looks like I might benefit from installing one. All the thin sinks seem to be cheap and made by the same mfg. Also, have you ever had a problem w the thermal pad getting permanently stuck/fused to an m2 drive? Will let you know how things turn out...

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

This is the 2mm version of the 4mm one I bought.  That is as thin as you are going to get, I'm sure.

I am very happy with it.

Amazon.com: icepc M.2 PCI-E NVME 2280 SSD Graphene Coating Copper Heatsink,High Performance SSD Radi...

Anything thicker may be a bit too much height for a notebook.  You'd have to measure.

The thermal pad is flexible and I don't believe it will permanently adhere itself to the SSD.

I'm sure I voided the SSD warranty on mine, because I peeled off the decorative sticker covering the chips and laid the thermal pad directly on top of the chips to get the best heat transfer possible.

Next time I will know better, and will buy a M.2 drive for a desktop PC that already comes with a heat sink.

Something like this...

Amazon.com: Western Digital 500GB WD_Black SN750 NVMe Internal Gaming SSD with Heatsink - Gen3 PCIe,...