Upgrading my new XC-1660 DTBGWEK.003 desktop machine

Hi all, I'm new here so apologies if I don't get the protocol right or the exact terminology for components. I have built many desktop machines in my time, but not within the past 10 to 15 years so I'm somewhat out of touch with developments in components like SSD's etc.

I bought a new XC-1660 model as above which came equipped with a 1TB spinning HDD, no optical drive or SD card reader. The processor is an 11th Gen i5 11400, MB is a B56H5-AD.

I've added an extra 8gb of ram in the second slot, but wish to go a bit further with upgrades before putting the machine in service to replace my old tower.

I would like to add an m.2 NVMe 250gb/256gb SSD, but have some uncertainty over what I should be installing. Looking closely at the board mounted connector it allows for 2x teeth, the smaller of the 2 has 4 pins. I was thinking an Integral M.2 Series 500GB SSD M.2 2280 NVME might be worth the investment as it appears to have the same corresponding pins (other posts suggest this is Gen3...am I thinking correctly?

I may also add a further 2.5" SSD mounted on the existing HDD cradle, using a spare SATA 3 on the board. My old tower has a Samsung 870 EVO which I intend to clean and swop over.

To complete the upgrades, I would like to install an internal optical drive...is there an ACER part number I should be looking for as I notice 12.7mm internal drives have a variety of mounting screw tab positions. I can see a spare USB 4 on data connector on the board for this and an existing power cable piggy backed off the HDD power cable installed. The other device I'd like to add is an SD car reader, again the case mounting screw holes are already there, but it seems searching online I can't find a card reader to match apart from used TC-895 UA91card reader on Ebay which appears to be exactly what I need...same question is there an exact Acer part number for a suitable component?

Any help or advice received would be greatly appreciated.

Accepted answers

William_mk2

@Nitrosxt37

Kindly go through the details captured from service manual designed for your computer.

Memory

 Support DDR4 2933 MHz SDRAM with Dual-channel architecture

 Accommodates two un-buffered DIMMs

 Up to 32GB per DIMM with maximum memory size up to 64 GB

Expansion Options The motherboard comes with the following expansion options:

 One PCI Express x16 slot for Graphic Interface

 One PCI Express x1 slot  One M.2 (2242/2280) for PCIe SSD and Intel Optane memory  One M.2 (2230/1630) for WLAN/Bluetooth with PCIe and USB signal

All comments

William_mk2

@Nitrosxt37

I would like to provide some additional info which will really help you.

Kindly go through the details given below. The info provided below will be very helpful to get the current memory and ssd details of your computer and the options to upgrade it.

Please visit the website given below. There is an option to "start your scan " and " select your computer " . Please chose the options and try it. It will show you the memory and SSD’s details and the best upgrade options for you..

https://www.crucial.com/

It will tell you what you currently have and what you can add for memory and SSD's.

Note: If you decide to buy you can always compare the prices by visiting other websites or stores and then you can decide. We are providing the info of scan app just to show you the upgrade options. You can even download similar scan apps from other memory upgrade websites too.

To check the compatibility of ram which you can use on your computer.. Get CPUz and check it with that in SPD section of all the RAM and specs that you have, its a quick and simple way to check all OEM specs and what you have in your system.

I recommend you to get a external optical drive. You can simply plug into external usb port and use it. If not needed you still unplug it. Now a days people are not using cds and dvds so manufacturer are not shipping optical drive along with the new computer.

William_mk2

@Nitrosxt37

Kindly go through the details captured from service manual designed for your computer.

Memory

 Support DDR4 2933 MHz SDRAM with Dual-channel architecture

 Accommodates two un-buffered DIMMs

 Up to 32GB per DIMM with maximum memory size up to 64 GB

Expansion Options The motherboard comes with the following expansion options:

 One PCI Express x16 slot for Graphic Interface

 One PCI Express x1 slot  One M.2 (2242/2280) for PCIe SSD and Intel Optane memory  One M.2 (2230/1630) for WLAN/Bluetooth with PCIe and USB signal