Few components to upgrade my Aspire TC-780

System

This discussion was created from comments split from: Acer Aspire TC-780 (KBL) motherboard documentation - Does this exist?.

ZakS

Hi All,

So I have bought a few components to upgrade my Aspire TC-780

1. This is the Samsung SSD;

Currently I have 128GB SSD (one of thoese that's stuck on the board) and 1TB HDD that came with the pc. I understand that I can install this new SDD as an additional one. Can anyone please help me with links to instructions on how to do it? and would it be possible to clone existing 128GB on to this new one because the stock one is almost out of storage

https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B08D3ZXQWM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

2. This is the RAM I bought to upgrade from 16GB to 32GB;

These are same speed and DDR4, same as the 16GB that came with the PC, so I am assuming these will work?.

https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/product/B01CYILUB8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

3. Regarding GPU, can anyone give me links to 4GB and 6GB ones that would work with 300W PSU and also fit in the space (I have measured the space where current 2GB GPU is and seems like there is room for a GPU that would be no longer than 8.5 inches (sweet spot that is haha).

4. I also want to upgrade to have USB 3.1 ports, I have come across options which seems to go on motherboard, but I am unable to figure out where will I install these if I already have GPU installed in the PCI slot and will these support TC780?

https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/motherboards/accessories/81110-gc-usb-3.2-gen2x2?gclid=EAIaIQobChMImIry4IOC8QIVChsrCh3ZAg_fEAQYAyABEgJ4mfD_BwE

https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/kvm,-hubs-&-controllers/controllers/64475-sst-ecu03

https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/kvm,-hubs-&-controllers/controllers/89070-pexusb311ac3


Thanks

billsey

Your TC-780 has one M.2 slot on the motherboard for an SSD. It supports an M.2 SATA drive in pretty much whatever size you can afford. What I would do is get a USB external case for an M.2 SATA drive and a larger SSD. Put the new SSD in the case and use any of the various disk clone packages to clone the original small drive to the new big one. Once the cloning is complete shut everything down and swap the old with the new, then boot back up with the external case not connected. Once you have booted off the new drive and can put the old drive in the case, plug it in and use Disk Management to wipe the old partitions off then create a single new partition. You now have an external drive for your computer and a new, larger SSD that you run from. The drive you link is a 2.5" drive, which would replace the 1TB HDD you have now.

That memory won't work as you expect. It is XMP memory, so you only get the speeds advertised when overclocked with XMP. Since your motherboard doesn't support XMP overclocking it will have issues. Get normal JEDEC memory rated for the same speed as what's in there now (I thought it was 2133 on yours, but the later motherboards might have been 2400).

Your motherboard has two PCIe slots, the x16 slot that holds your GPU and an x1 slot closer to the edge of the board. If your GPU uses two slots width then you can't use the x1 slot. If your GPU is only single wide then you should be able to use the x1 slot for a card, but I believe for USB 3.1 speeds you need an x4 PCIe, not an x1. The three you link are all x4 cards, it appears.

ZakS

billsey said:

Your TC-780 has one M.2 slot on the motherboard for an SSD. It supports an M.2 SATA drive in pretty much whatever size you can afford. What I would do is get a USB external case for an M.2 SATA drive and a larger SSD. Put the new SSD in the case and use any of the various disk clone packages to clone the original small drive to the new big one. Once the cloning is complete shut everything down and swap the old with the new, then boot back up with the external case not connected. Once you have booted off the new drive and can put the old drive in the case, plug it in and use Disk Management to wipe the old partitions off then create a single new partition. You now have an external drive for your computer and a new, larger SSD that you run from. The drive you link is a 2.5" drive, which would replace the 1TB HDD you have now.

That memory won't work as you expect. It is XMP memory, so you only get the speeds advertised when overclocked with XMP. Since your motherboard doesn't support XMP overclocking it will have issues. Get normal JEDEC memory rated for the same speed as what's in there now (I thought it was 2133 on yours, but the later motherboards might have been 2400).

Your motherboard has two PCIe slots, the x16 slot that holds your GPU and an x1 slot closer to the edge of the board. If your GPU uses two slots width then you can't use the x1 slot. If your GPU is only single wide then you should be able to use the x1 slot for a card, but I believe for USB 3.1 speeds you need an x4 PCIe, not an x1. The three you link are all x4 cards, it appears.

Hi @billsey
Thanks for your response.
I have run test to check my current RAM and it shows the speed of 2400mhz.

Really useful tip about replacing M.2 Sata SSD, thanks for that. I will look into suitable USB external case for my existing M.2 Sata SSD.

Any idea about whether there are any limitations other than the length to fit into the case to which GPUs I can use if I am replacing the PSU to 700W?  

billsey

As long as you are running a UEFI system (pretty much everything since Windows 8 was released) you can put any GPU that fits in. Note the position of a HDD on that front plate. If you want a drive there it might reduce the height available for the GPU card.

ZakS

billsey said:

As long as you are running a UEFI system (pretty much everything since Windows 8 was released) you can put any GPU that fits in. Note the position of a HDD on that front plate. If you want a drive there it might reduce the height available for the GPU card.

Hi Billsey, do you think my motherboard will support M.2 NVMe SSD? and I wouldn't have any issues for the purpose you explained about cloning, etc?

ZakS

ZakS said:

billsey said:

As long as you are running a UEFI system (pretty much everything since Windows 8 was released) you can put any GPU that fits in. Note the position of a HDD on that front plate. If you want a drive there it might reduce the height available for the GPU card.

Hi Billsey, do you think my motherboard will support M.2 NVMe SSD? and I wouldn't have any issues for the purpose you explained about cloning, etc?

this one,

https://www.amazon.com.au/SanDisk-SDSSDXPM2-1T00-G25-Extreme-PRO-NVMe/dp/B07BSV7R67/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=SanDisk+Extreme+Pro+1TB+M.2+NVMe+SSD&qid=1624201106&sr=8-1

billsey

Nope, the specs say M.2 SATA only. The hardware is PCIe 3.0 with support for two lane, but trying an NVMe drive is up to you since they state SATA only.