will my laptop utilize NVMe m.2 SSD

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glasshalffull

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i just purchased this laptop

http://www.microcenter.com/product/455707/ROG_GL552VW-DH71_156_Gaming_Laptop_Computer_-_ROG_Metallic

It has a m.2 slot and it looks like it has the intel hm170 chipset (http://ark.intel.com/products/90584)

I'm looking at buying an m.2 ssd drive and would like to know if this computer has the correct chipset to utilize the faster NVMe m.2 cards fully?

the m.2 drive will be for the Win10 OS and running video editing software from Adobe (after effects/premiere), the 7200rpm hdd will be used to save the data/projects to.

this is the m.2 i'm leaning towards, unless there is something better, what do you think?

http://www.microcenter.com/product/455999/950_Pro_256GB_PCIe_Gen_30_M2_Internal_Solid_State_Drive

thanks
 
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dudmont
Ok, looking at ASUS's webpage for the laptop, says that you're in business with the pcie 3x4 drives. Have fun with your speedy new boot drive in your laptop:).
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dudmont

dudmont

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the web page doesn't say whether the drive utilizes a pcie 3.0x4 interface. That is what needs to be figured out. If not, then it's a sata 3(6.0gbps), if it does, then you can use the new nvme drives(samsung 950 and friends).
 
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glasshalffull

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thanks for clarifying, dudmont, I'll contact Asus and find out.
 
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glasshalffull

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reading alot about this in the ROG forum and it actually looks like NVMe does not work. Confusing!!!

this is what the Asus support said:

"Based on the checks that I have made I am seen the storage of the notebook supports 128GB SSD (M.2 2280) and 256GB SSD (M.2 2280) PCIE*4 256G.

But has you stated that you wish to purchase a NVME M.2 SSD but I am not seen that the notebook supports NVMe devices. "
 
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dudmont

dudmont

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The pcie*4 is the piece of info that tells us what we need to know. NVME drives are pcie interface drives, rather than sata drives. What you'll need to do, after the physical install, is make sure in your bios, you have the boot drive set up as a UEFI hard drive, at which point you'll point the hard drive list to see the samsung 950 as the first drive and the other drive as second. I've played with the UEFI vs legacy modes of my bios, but I don't have the option of using a pcie drive in this guy(Z87 mobo). I'm going to bet that ASUS installs win10 on the HD, which means, you'll need to change the boot priority to UEFI USB key first, make sure you have the USB drive set up to be a win10 installer, then you'll delete the old win10 partition on the HD and setup new drives with the win10 installer, making sure that 950 is the c:\. I've never used a pcie SSD myself, but from what I've read, it will show in the win10 installation.
 
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glasshalffull

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that's fantastic info, dudmont.....i'd never have gotten close to figuring this out without your help....especially if i relied on Asus support's reply.

I'll dig into it.
 
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glasshalffull

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Hi dudmont,

Can't I just migrate the OS to the Samsung 950 pro using the samsung data migration software and not use a usb drive installer?

Asus support is telling me that the OS on the original hard drive is an OEM version, and the activation key on the unit will only activate that OEM version, thus it is best advised to purchase and install a Operating System with its own activation key.

I just bought this computer 2 days ago, I don't want to have to spend more money buying a new win10 OS.
 
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dudmont

dudmont

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You can do the migration, if you get the c:\(boot drive), down to less than 200gb(give or take, that's the size of the 950pro when it's initialized, it'll be a tad more than). Do that and you'll get it done, just follow the instructions to a T.
 
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dudmont

dudmont

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The chipset does support a 950 pro, it's a question of whether the mobo has an m.2 available. Let's do some more looking. Ok, after looking at Newegg's page for this laptop, it states that it has a PCIe ssd(for the particular version they're selling). That means that you're in business with a 950 pro. :)

 
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Jeetu_

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hi dudmont,
read all your helpful replies above , thanks

i had a similar doubt , hope you can help ..

im looking at buying this >> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?sdtid=9004783&Item=34-234-175&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-cables-_-na-_-na&cm_sp=&AID=10440897&PID=1225267&SID=3c9e6028608611e6922142e93818725f0INT

can i upgrade and add a nvme pcie ssd to it ?

thanks,
j
 
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dudmont

dudmont

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Ok, in the specs, it says the laptop comes with a ssd, combine that with a skylake cpu, and the initial answer is that possibly you can add an m.2 pcie drive, but let's dig deeper and turn that "possibly" into a yes or no answer. Looking at the product page(https://www.asus.com/Notebooks/ASUS-Vivobook-X556UQ/specifications/), no mention in the storage section, is made of PCIE drives, this is not a positive sign. Reading a quick review of the laptop, no mention is made of a pcie upgrade option either, although they do mention the possibility of upgrading the ssd drive. On top of that, they opened the laptop up and showed pictures of the innards. After a careful study of the pictures, I did not see any m.2 locations. I'm going to change my "possibly" to a no for this laptop.
That being said, if you're serious about this laptop, I would stick with it. So long as you're not doing graphics or cpu intensive work(heavy gaming or heavy video editing type of things), this laptop is a nice all-around machine.
 
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Jeetu_

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hey thanks a ton for ur effort .. in my search i came to a similar conclusion but i dont know much about MOBOs so thought id ask u !

thankss again !!
 
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