NVMe SSD BIOS support in Acer Aspire A515-52 series?

darijaki2310

Hello, I recently bought (Acer Aspire 5 A515-52G-55S2 NX.H15EX.011) - . I would like to know if this model has NVMe SSD BIOS support? Does the BIOS support booting the operating system from NVMe SSD? If I buy an NVMe SSD, will I be able to boot the operating system (Windows 10) from it?



I have contacted Acer Support regarding this, and they said I should expect a response within 48 hours, but that was 5 days ago 



Similar questions have been asked on these Acer community forums, but with no concrete and final answers regarding the NVMe SSD BIOS support in Acer Aspire A515-52 series, for booting the operating system from an NVMe SSD drive. If anyone has the answers, please help

These are Acer A515-52G-55S2 computer specs...

Kind regards,

Darijan


[Post edited to remove inappropriate or personal content -Acer-Harvey]

JackE

Yes, the 2.5' HDD SATA3 can be replaced with the 2.5" SSD SATA3. Or you can add an m.2 SATA3 SSD and boot from it as the C drive and use the existing 2.5" HDD as a D drive for a lot more storage capacity. I'd probably add the m.2 SATA3 if it were mine. Jack E/NJ

Jonjona

Hi, with HWinfo64 I do not see the port that the NVME slot uses, however I can confirm that I have installed a Samsung OEM version of the EVO 1 Terrabyte NVME drive and it runs at full speed (actually slightly higher than the rated speed) which means it  is running on 4 lanes. I partitioned it into drive C and D and boot from it and it works perfectly and has not affected my battery life over the sata 250Gb drive that it came installed with. Hope that helps... For those wondering, this model did not come with the 2.5" drive installed, it just has the empty space, no cable or caddy inside.

JackE

The mainboard's  m.2 slot is configured for SATA3 cards in the original specsheet. NVME cards should work if they have two key slots but only at SATA3 speeds.  You should be able to boot from the m.2 SSD by migrating the HDD system using freeware like MacriumReflect. Jack E/NJ

darijaki2310

JackE said:

The mainboard's  m.2 slot is configured for SATA3 cards in the original specsheet. NVME cards should work if they have two key slots but only at SATA3 speeds.  You should be able to boot from the m.2 SSD by migrating the HDD system using freeware like MacriumReflect. Jack E/NJ

Thank you so much for the answer, but it left me confused 

So that means I will be able to install an NVMe drive and boot my Windows 10 from it, but it will be bottlenecked by the motherboard's configuration, and only work at SATA 3 speeds?

This is how the slot looks like inside my laptop...




I found this diagram online that explains "M" and "B" socket and connector types for NVMe M.2 SSD VS SATA M.2 SSD...



Unfortunately I lack the knowledge to determine which one i have on my laptop 

JackE

Looks like M  to me. So an NVME should fit but don't expect 2x or 4x SATA3 speeds. You can download and try running freeware HWInfo64 to see if the slot is 2 or 4 lane PCIe. Jack E/NJ

darijaki2310

JackE said:

Looks like M  to me. So an NVME should fit but don't expect 2x or 4x SATA3 speeds. You can download and try running freeware HWInfo64 to see if the slot is 2 or 4 lane PCIe. Jack E/NJ

Thank you for the HWInfo64, this is a much more detailed programme than the one I have installed on my laptop. This is the information I was able to get on my motherboard capabilities..








There is the HWInfo Acer Aspire A515-52G system log file in the attachment of this message...

So I can definitely install an M.2 SSD drive, but two questions still remain:
1. Can I install an NVMe SSD drive which will run on the NVMe speeds, and it won't be bottlenecked by motherboard to run on SATA 3 speeds?
2. Will I be able to boot Windows 10 from that NVMe SSD drive?

Kind regards 

JackE

(1) An  NVME SSD will likely be bottlenecked to SATA3 SSD speeds.  Click on the PCI root complex to see more details in HWInfo64. If it was mine, I would not pay extra for an NVME card and expect to get more speed than SATA3 card. 

(2) Yes, as noted earlier, you should be able to boot from the m.2 SSD by migrating/cloning the HDD system using freeware like MacriumReflect or AOMEI Backupper. Just google the two names for downloading and installing.

Jack E/NJ

darijaki2310

JackE said:

(1) An  NVME SSD will likely be bottlenecked to SATA3 SSD speeds.  Click on the PCI root complex to see more details in HWInfo64. If it was mine, I would not pay extra for an NVME card and expect to get more speed than SATA3 card. 

(2) Yes, as noted earlier, you should be able to boot from the m.2 SSD by migrating/cloning the HDD system using freeware like MacriumReflect or AOMEI Backupper. Just google the two names for downloading and installing.

Jack E/NJ

This is what I get when I click on the "PCI root complex in HWInfo64", but I don't understand it 

Does it say anything about NVMe support and speeds?



I think I'm gonna go and buy a regular 2.5'' SATA SSD Drive, and replace the 2.5'' 1TB HDD Drive I have inside at the moment. The Acer Support is still not responding after numerous e-mails sent regarding this issue, and this proved too much of a hassle 

 Thank you Jack E/NJ for all your help, and answered questions, I really appreciate it 

Kind regards,

Darijan 

JackE

Yes, the 2.5' HDD SATA3 can be replaced with the 2.5" SSD SATA3. Or you can add an m.2 SATA3 SSD and boot from it as the C drive and use the existing 2.5" HDD as a D drive for a lot more storage capacity. I'd probably add the m.2 SATA3 if it were mine. Jack E/NJ

Jonjona

Hi, with HWinfo64 I do not see the port that the NVME slot uses, however I can confirm that I have installed a Samsung OEM version of the EVO 1 Terrabyte NVME drive and it runs at full speed (actually slightly higher than the rated speed) which means it  is running on 4 lanes. I partitioned it into drive C and D and boot from it and it works perfectly and has not affected my battery life over the sata 250Gb drive that it came installed with. Hope that helps... For those wondering, this model did not come with the 2.5" drive installed, it just has the empty space, no cable or caddy inside.

darijaki2310

Jonjona said:

Hi, with HWinfo64 I do not see the port that the NVME slot uses, however I can confirm that I have installed a Samsung OEM version of the EVO 1 Terrabyte NVME drive and it runs at full speed (actually slightly higher than the rated speed) which means it  is running on 4 lanes. I partitioned it into drive C and D and boot from it and it works perfectly and has not affected my battery life over the sata 250Gb drive that it came installed with. Hope that helps... For those wondering, this model did not come with the 2.5" drive installed, it just has the empty space, no cable or caddy inside.

Thank you Jonjona! This actually helps a lot. I have already installed Samsung 860 EVO 500GB 2.5" SSD SATA instead of 2.5'' 1TB HDD, but now after your confirmation, I can install additional NVMe drive in the M.2 slot that is empty at the moment, without the fear of it not operating at full NVMe speeds : ) 

Jonjona

darijaki2310 said:

Jonjona said:

Hi, with HWinfo64 I do not see the port that the NVME slot uses, however I can confirm that I have installed a Samsung OEM version of the EVO 1 Terrabyte NVME drive and it runs at full speed (actually slightly higher than the rated speed) which means it  is running on 4 lanes. I partitioned it into drive C and D and boot from it and it works perfectly and has not affected my battery life over the sata 250Gb drive that it came installed with. Hope that helps... For those wondering, this model did not come with the 2.5" drive installed, it just has the empty space, no cable or caddy inside.

Hi, you are welcome! I was very surprised, I expected it to work at the most on only two lanes but after installing it I had a very nice surprise!! And I don't know why but the bus for this somehow does not show in HWINFO64.. very strange. Please let me know how you get on, would be really great to know your results...    My motherboard only show PCIe express x1, not x4 so that's confusing..