XC-895 I want to add an SSD drive. which connector and form factor of the SSD drive I need to buy

DimanPRO
DimanPRO Member Posts: 2 New User
edited December 2023 in Aspire and Veriton Desktops

Hello. I bought a computer Acer Aspire XC-895 2 years ago, and I want to add an M2 SSD drive to it, and I would like to clarify which connector and form factor of the SSD drive I need to buy. To be more precise, is it a Sata SSD or an NVMe SSD? If it's SSD Name, is it 3 gen or 4 gen? And what size should the SSD drive have, 2280 or 2260?

[Edited the thread to add model name to the title and add issue detail]

Best Answers

  • Puraw
    Puraw ACE, Member Posts: 14,021 Trailblazer
    edited December 2023 Answer ✓

    You have one M.2 2280 Gen 3 SSD slot and a bay for 2.5" HDD, there are 3 SATA ports in the motherboard. For a Sata SSD you need a cable:

    This Gen 3 512gb Kingston KC PCIe NVMe M.2 2280 (rbusns8154p3512gj) SSD was tested by Benchmark: https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/47188266#DRIVE and the Gen 3 Samsung 970 Plus up to 2TB will also work. Gen 4 will run at only half the speed advertised on a PCIe Gen 3 port.

  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 12,480 Trailblazer
    Answer ✓

    These are the specs and position for the normal size 2280 or the smaller 2242 type M.2 SSD PCIe3x4 drives for your Aspire XC-895 desktop:

    These are the PCIe Gen. 3x4 NVMe M.2 2280 type drives listed by Acer for the Aspire XC-895 desktop in its SG, you can also install Gen 4 M.2 SSD drives as they are backward compatible and will be an advantageous upgrade drive for your future PC.

  • Larryodie
    Larryodie Member Posts: 1,743 Community Aficionado WiFi Icon
    Answer ✓

    This is from Crucial

    How to Initialize Your SSD for Windows®

    Before you can use your new SSD you have to initialize and partition it. If you are performing a clean installation of your operating system, or cloning to your SSD, it is not neccessary to follow these steps. A clean installation of your operating system or cloning to an SSD will initialize and partition the new SSD.

    Note: if you simply need to format/reformat a drive, only steps 5-9 below will be needed, assuming your SSD has previously been initialized. 

    1. Attach the SSD as a secondary drive and load Windows from your existing drive.
    2. In Windows 7 and earlier, open Disk Management by right clicking on Computer and selecting Manage, then Disk Management.
    3. In Windows 8 and later, move the mouse to the lower left corner of your desktop and right-click on the Start icon, then select Disk Management.
    4. When Disk Management opens, a pop-up will appear and prompt you to initialize the SSD.
    5. Select GUID partition table (GPT) and click OKMBR (Master Boot Record) is best for certain legacy software compatibility, but GPT is better for modern systems and higher capacity storage devices.
    6. Right-click in the area that says Unallocated and select New Simple Volume...
    7. The New Simple Volume Wizard will open, click Next.
    8. Leave the Specify Volume Size as the maximum (default value) and click Next.
    9. Select a Drive Letter and click Next.
    10. In the Format Partition screen, decide on a Volume label (the name you want to give the drive) and click Next.


    https://www.crucial.com/support/articles-faq-ssd/initialize-ssd-windows

Answers

  • Puraw
    Puraw ACE, Member Posts: 14,021 Trailblazer
    edited December 2023 Answer ✓

    You have one M.2 2280 Gen 3 SSD slot and a bay for 2.5" HDD, there are 3 SATA ports in the motherboard. For a Sata SSD you need a cable:

    This Gen 3 512gb Kingston KC PCIe NVMe M.2 2280 (rbusns8154p3512gj) SSD was tested by Benchmark: https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/47188266#DRIVE and the Gen 3 Samsung 970 Plus up to 2TB will also work. Gen 4 will run at only half the speed advertised on a PCIe Gen 3 port.

  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 12,480 Trailblazer
    Answer ✓

    These are the specs and position for the normal size 2280 or the smaller 2242 type M.2 SSD PCIe3x4 drives for your Aspire XC-895 desktop:

    These are the PCIe Gen. 3x4 NVMe M.2 2280 type drives listed by Acer for the Aspire XC-895 desktop in its SG, you can also install Gen 4 M.2 SSD drives as they are backward compatible and will be an advantageous upgrade drive for your future PC.

  • DimanPRO
    DimanPRO Member Posts: 2 New User

    Thank you both so much

  • Larryodie
    Larryodie Member Posts: 1,743 Community Aficionado WiFi Icon
    edited December 2023

    This worked good for me on my TC-895, I used the data cable that was shipped in the plastic bag and the existing power cable from the Optic Drive.

    I tied it up with cable ties.

    I didn't use as a boot. So I partitioned per Crucial Disk Management instruction.

     Crucial MX500 (1 TB)

    I used the 1TB but Crucial goes to 2TB

  • Larryodie
    Larryodie Member Posts: 1,743 Community Aficionado WiFi Icon
    Answer ✓

    This is from Crucial

    How to Initialize Your SSD for Windows®

    Before you can use your new SSD you have to initialize and partition it. If you are performing a clean installation of your operating system, or cloning to your SSD, it is not neccessary to follow these steps. A clean installation of your operating system or cloning to an SSD will initialize and partition the new SSD.

    Note: if you simply need to format/reformat a drive, only steps 5-9 below will be needed, assuming your SSD has previously been initialized. 

    1. Attach the SSD as a secondary drive and load Windows from your existing drive.
    2. In Windows 7 and earlier, open Disk Management by right clicking on Computer and selecting Manage, then Disk Management.
    3. In Windows 8 and later, move the mouse to the lower left corner of your desktop and right-click on the Start icon, then select Disk Management.
    4. When Disk Management opens, a pop-up will appear and prompt you to initialize the SSD.
    5. Select GUID partition table (GPT) and click OKMBR (Master Boot Record) is best for certain legacy software compatibility, but GPT is better for modern systems and higher capacity storage devices.
    6. Right-click in the area that says Unallocated and select New Simple Volume...
    7. The New Simple Volume Wizard will open, click Next.
    8. Leave the Specify Volume Size as the maximum (default value) and click Next.
    9. Select a Drive Letter and click Next.
    10. In the Format Partition screen, decide on a Volume label (the name you want to give the drive) and click Next.


    https://www.crucial.com/support/articles-faq-ssd/initialize-ssd-windows