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Adding a 2nd M2 Drive

Post Date: 2019-10-23
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akshtray View Drop Down
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Posts: 9 		  Quote akshtray Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Topic: Adding a 2nd M2 Drive
    Posted: 23 Oct 2019 at 12:02pm
Hi,

The order for my Velox was placed just today and I am very excited about my first DS machine. I am moving on from the A********* Area 51 R2 which was a beast within its own right but it was time to move on and I was looking at something aesthetically different.

I went with an upgrade to the Mobo and went with a ASUS ROG Strix Z390-H Gaming (Intel Z390 Chipset) since it can support 2 M2 drives. My order is going to come standard with a 1TB M2 drive and I want to add a new one right away. While I am probably 3+ weeks away from receiving my order I want to understand how easy it is adding the 2nd drive? Is it simply plug and play? Do I need to mess around with some additional configurations to make sure I get the best possible R/W speeds from the 2nd drive?

Thanks.




.. removed competitor name ..

Edited by Snaike - 24 Oct 2019 at 1:51am
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HockeyBuck View Drop Down
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Posts: 1608 		  Quote HockeyBuck Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 23 Oct 2019 at 2:09pm
Welcome to the forum akshtray! Congrats on the new system order!

If you ordered the default DS Drive1 M.2 SSD, you might want to ask DS to change that as you missed an opportunity.   The standard M.2 SSD is just a SATA III SSD.   For 5X faster speeds you should use a Samsung M.2 NVME Evo Pro SSD or the fastest 970 Evo Plus.    M.2 NVME SSD utilize your motherboards faster PCIE bus.   About the size of a pocket comb, they lay flat on the mobo and plug in on one end...single screw secures them at other end.   Some boards will place heatsinks on top of them.   Other than having no data or power cables attached, the process for adding new storage drives in Windows 10 will be the same.    An easy upgrade in the 2nd M.2 port..

DS is very good to deal with on changes to your order, so call and ask about it....    



Edited by HockeyBuck - 23 Oct 2019 at 2:11pm
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akshtray View Drop Down
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Posts: 9 		  Quote akshtray Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 23 Oct 2019 at 2:59pm
Thanks for clarifying @HockeyBuck. You are absolutely right and not sure how I missed it. I ordered the '1x SSD M.2 (1TB Digital Storm M.2 Performance Series)' for my order. It says SSD right there, so not sure why I missed it.

Anyway, my current system has a 1 TB NVME drive already and I am looking at purchasing another one (2 TB) as well. Once, I get the system, I am just hoping to install both NVME drives in the system and re-install the OS. Should be pretty straightforward. I think? I have 4 SSD's on my current system too, so will be most likely moving those into the DS machine.

I was wondering about an additional thing as well, is there a link to the software suites (and drivers) for component likes the Chassis fan lightning, etc?

Edited by akshtray - 23 Oct 2019 at 3:01pm
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HockeyBuck View Drop Down
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Posts: 1608 		  Quote HockeyBuck Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 23 Oct 2019 at 5:29pm
So there are 2 flavors of the M.2, and both are SSD.
One is M.2 SATA III SSD... and using one will steal one of your mobo's SATA ports on the motherboard, meaning one seemingly open SATA port won't work...and then there is M.2 NVME SSD, which will instead use the way faster PCIE data pathway.

If you ordered one of the Corsair LL or ML Fan Upgrades which come with one Corsair Lighting Node Pro module, go to the Corsair website to look at Corsair iCUE software that you use to sync & control Corsair RGB equipped components & connected Corsair RGB peripherals like keyboard or mouse.   DS will probably already have it loaded, otherwise you can get it here....

https://www.corsair.com/us/en/icue

If you just ordered DS stock fans I believe they would just be plain black budget fans.

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akshtray View Drop Down
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Posts: 9 		  Quote akshtray Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 23 Oct 2019 at 6:22pm
Originally posted by HockeyBuck

So there are 2 flavors of the M.2, and both are SSD.
One is M.2 SATA III SSD... and using one will steal one of your mobo's SATA ports on the motherboard, meaning one seemingly open SATA port won't work...and then there is M.2 NVME SSD, which will instead use the way faster PCIE data pathway.

If you ordered one of the Corsair LL or ML Fan Upgrades which come with one Corsair Lighting Node Pro module, go to the Corsair website to look at Corsair iCUE software that you use to sync & control Corsair RGB equipped components & connected Corsair RGB peripherals like keyboard or mouse.   DS will probably already have it loaded, otherwise you can get it here....

https://www.corsair.com/us/en/icue

If you just ordered DS stock fans I believe they would just be plain black budget fans.



Thanks again. My goal is to have 2 M2 NVME drives once I get my system. Also, thanks for the Corsair related info. The transparency on hardware parts by DS will definitely make getting drivers and software easier than my Alienware system.

I am looking at making a tweak to my configuration tomorrow if possible by calling Sales. My order just went into stage I today so hoping there is time. Want to downgrade to the 500 GB SSD ($100 less) and add the Corsair cooling fan kit for CPU($90 more). I already got the Chassis fans upgrade with Corsair RGB fans but only got the DS fan upgrade for the CPU. And like you know I already made a wrong drive selection. Since I have 5 SSD’s at home already, I am just going to try and downsize to the smaller SSD.

I can eat the rest of the $10 difference or add some shirts :).

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hoserator View Drop Down
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Posts: 7966 		  Quote hoserator Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 24 Oct 2019 at 1:49am
Congratulations and welcome to DS. Awesome
Hockey Buck has you squared away and DS will work with you as to changes you want made. Not the first time they make changes on orders and you are early in the order process.
Enjoy. Big%20Smile
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akshtray View Drop Down
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Posts: 9 		  Quote akshtray Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 24 Oct 2019 at 1:29pm
Originally posted by hoserator

Congratulations and welcome to DS. Awesome
Hockey Buck has you squared away and DS will work with you as to changes you want made. Not the first time they make changes on orders and you are early in the order process.
Enjoy. Big%20Smile




Yep. Working with DS has been a pretty great experience so far. I have had Alienware machines since the mid 2000's and have had good luck with their staff but working with DS has been on another level. They have been able to accommodate my requests without a hitch.
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Cretae View Drop Down
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Posts: 7331 		  Quote Cretae Quote  Post ReplyReply bullet Posted: 25 Oct 2019 at 5:17am
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