Lynx 2021 Storage Upgrade

AFIK, you'll have a single m.2 slot on your motherboard. Some of the models may populate that with slow SATA M.2 SSD. If so, you'll want to clone that drive ASAP and replace it with an NVMe SSD. It'll be the best upgrade you'll ever have, and it'll be faster than your other storage by a good bit. Your mobo is PCIe 3 only, so don't overspend on a PCIe GEN 4 SSD. It'll work through backwards compatibility, but you'll never get Gen 4 speed. A 970 EVO PLUS in whatever size you like/can afford will be good. DON"t get a PRO! Not worth it.

You can shop other brands, there are good alternatives, but Samsung is consistently solid. Be sure to read reviews.

If you get a 1 or 2TB NVMe for your primary drive, PARTITION IT, for your "C" drive to just contain your OS, apps you use, and maintenance software. 200GB or less should do fine. The idea is to make "C" lean and mean for easy/fast back-up, easy/fast scanning for viruses, junk, malware, and protecting the whole rest of the drive from a Win disaster where you have to do a re-install. There is free 3rd party software and Windows has a partition wizard.

Make the rest of that drive your primary games library. You can back it up every now and then if you want, and scan it if you want, but not often, and it's pretty safe in it's own partition. Supplement that with a SATA SSD when you need more room for games. Games will load just fine from a SATA drive. Use the HDD for photos, videos, archives, text files, music etc.

Dual drives is obsolete. You can back up so quickly now, it's a waste of money. Just keep that primary drive small and you can back up frequently in a few minutes.   

That's an amazing amount of storage. I'm not sure how many cables you'll be able to use, (maybe just 4?) but I would suggest you add the secondary storage at a more leisurely pace than 4TB all at once. Remember if it takes a couple of years to fill up 2TB, you'll be adding a better drive at that point. PRO is overkill, stick with EVO unless the price is right.

I'd stick with the Windows wizard that's familiar. I used Macrium Reflect (free), but it was a few years ago when Win didn't have the option. I can't comment which is better, but I think if it works, it's pretty much set it and forget it.

It's logical to get to know your system before you go changing stuff, so take your time. The DS M.2 reads/writes at 545/525 MBps,versus the 970 EVO at 3500/3300 MBps. That's game-changing. If you've not experienced it, it's hard to believe.

Just have your virus scan looking at the mod downloads when they come in, and you should be okay. I'm pretty sure they have to be in the game directory to work. Won't hurt to point virus scan at your games library from time to time.   

would any of these enclosures work?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MNFH1PX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1



the below was recommended but it says it has to NVMe but the digital storm default pcie SSD isn't NVMe? just NVM? forgive my ignorance

Originally posted by Cretae The DS M.2 SSD is SATA. Old school storage. The mobo is PCIe Gen 3 enabled, but for the purposes of saving expense so they can hand you a fab 3080 at such a bargain price, the SSD is slow. At least one M.2 slot on a new motherboard will run either bus. The mobo specs I can look at are on the Level 2, but I don't think it's different for the Level 3 and 4. It only has the one slot, and it can run either SATA or NVMe. I didn't know they even made such a device as that external PCIe M.2 slot enclosure. Your mobo specs say there is a USB 3.2 Gen 1 port that runs up to 5GBps. The 970 NVMe reads at 3.5GBps, so it should work in theory, but IDK for sure. It also indicates you may run up to 3 devices off that port with some adaptation. (Like a USB 3 hub for example.) My assumption was you would just clone the M.2 SATA SSD, and replace it in the mobo slot with the Samsung, copying over the original DS set-up and Windows, and go from there. Your idea should work like a charm, but I think you should run it by DS tech to be sure. I think you'll get a quicker answer if you e-mail: [email protected] He's the tech guru that has invited questions from our crowd. 16GB of RAM is plenty for a gaming rig for the forseeable future. I wouldn't worry about increasing that until you think there's a need. It may be good for the life of the system.

I've sent him a email but havent gotten a reply yet.



I'm just being extra careful because this is the first time I bought a PC from a systems integrator/pre-built.


Can i just tilt the desktop to the side and unscrew it and pop my new SSD in? (given i turn the PC off, ground myself and format the drive).



And do you know if i can connect a 3rd storage option (SATA SSD) on here? I think the motherboard has the connectors from the manual I'm seeing but not sure where' im supposed to mount it.


Heres a pic of it









Edited by Darth Mando - 15 Oct 2021 at 8:25pm

Originally posted by Cretae "Can i just tilt the desktop to the side and unscrew it and pop my new SSD in?" Pretty much, yes. Many motherboards come with an indent or two in the back that will fit a 2.5" SSD.

THanks man,

Felt like I was bothering you too much. Im just super over cautious at this point lol.

Thank you both. It's really no bother. I like doing this. I just hope to be accurate and give good info.

Shouldn't be necessary. Up to you. TBH, I didn't know they were available as a separate purchase. The NVMe will spill heat into your case, but it should not be terribly significant. Normal airflow from your case fans will dissipate it. Check on your temps to be sure, but it should be fine. The spec is up to 85C for the SSD itself.