SSD upgrade

[Phela]

I want to upgrade my SSD. I have a 256GB NVMe M2 PCIe3.0x4 (Gen3). I want a 1 or 2 TB drive, but also found the new 'faster' PCIe Gen 4 drives. I know they are 'compatible' but the higher speeds would only work if the "socket" is also Gen 4. How could I tell which socket my laptop has? On the website I only find conflicting information, and official HP YouTube videos showing how to replace the SSD completely miss the point, and even 'official' answers to users asking the question totally ignore it.

Please advise.

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

That's a good question for which I doubt you will find a definite answer.

That is because the Intel specs for your notebook's processor indicate while the i5-1145G7 processor is PCIe Gen 4.0 the chipset is PCIe Gen 3.0.

Intel Core i51145G7 Processor 8M Cache up to 4.40 GHz with IPU Product Specifications

However, when you look at the parts list for the general model series, you will find that HP supplied PCIe Gen 4 x 4 NVMe SSD in many of them (or at least offered them as an option).

HP PartSurfer

The general model specs indicate that they only came with PCIe Gen 3.0 NVMe SSD's.

HP Elite x2 G8 Specifications | HP® Customer Support

You can run the utility that I zipped up and attached below and see if it will let you know what Generation the M.2 slot is.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't see a significant difference in prices anymore between Gen 3 and Gen 4 SSD's.

For example:  The Samsung 980 3.0...$60.00

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

The newer generation Samsung 990 Pro 4.0...$80.00

Amazon.com: Samsung 990 PRO Series - 1TB PCIe Gen4. X4 NVMe 2.0c - M.2 Internal SSD (MZ-V9P1T0B/AM) ...

I'd gamble the $20 on it.

[Phela]

Hi, thanks for your detailed reply. Precisely the problem is that they offered so many different options, but can't tell exactly which ones you get. The part surfer showing G4 drive as an option, made me wonder if the slot/chipset could be G4 as well despite the G3 drive. Yes, I'm also finding out that the price gap is shrinking. About that utility, what exactly will it do? Scan the hardware on the laptop and give models/descriptions?

Thanks again.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

I just ran the HWINFO report on my HP notebook which has a NVMe SSD and when I click on the drive on the left side of the program, unfortunately all it tells me is the drive controller is NVMe PCIe 4x 8.0 GT/s and it doesn't tell me anything about the model of my Samsung drive, which is an HP OEM Samsung drive that is PCIe Gen 3.0.

So, it appears to me that utility will be of little help.

Other than that, it will provide all kinds of useful information as you indicated.