2021 Helios 300 PH315-54 - PCIe 3.0 & PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD slots

Hello,

With regards to the 2021 Helios 300 [PH315-54-760S], I need to validate my understanding of the PCIe NVMe SSD slots.

1. I believe the primary slot is a PCIe 4.0 one, and the 512GB SSD that comes with the laptop is a PCIe 4.0 SSD, whereas the secondary/empty slot is a PCIe 3.0 slot. Is that correct?

2. I have seen users putting a PCIe 4.0 SSD in a PCIe 3.0 slot, and the SSD ends up reading & writing faster than even the fastest available PCIe 3.0 SSD - which is the Samsung 970 Evo Pus 2TB - which reads at 3,500 MB/s & writes at 3,300 MB/s. Is it true that a PCIe 4.0 SSD can outperform a PCIe 3.0 SSD even though the former is being bottlenecked by the PCIe 3.0 speeds?

@Leostat I would love your take on this, if you don't mind. Thank you.

Accepted answers

Commodore_1995#

1) In this case, both slots are pcie gen4x4, see:

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/1y/oq68g5x43x1r.jpeg

GN20-E3/E5 SKU:

• Storage 1 : M.2: SSD1 2280 (PCIe Gen4x4)

• Storage 2 : M.2: SSD2 2280 (PCIe Gen4x4)

2) I think it will depend on ssd read and write speed too!

All comments

Commodore_1995#

1) This will depend on the version of the video card installed, see:

GN20-P1 SKU:

• Storage 1: M.2: SSD1 2280 (PCIe Gen4x4)

• Storage 2 : M.2: SSD2 2280 (PCIe Gen3x4/ SATA SSD)

GN20-E3/E5 SKU:

• Storage 1 : M.2: SSD1 2280 (PCIe Gen4x4)

• Storage 2 : M.2: SSD2 2280 (PCIe Gen4x4)

You should check this information:

2) Which link did you verify this information on? In my opinion, ssd speed will be limited to pcie 3.0 port speed.

KeyserTommasi

@egydiocoelho

1. Thank you for this thorough response. Since my laptop is still on the way as we speak, I have no way of checking which SKU I will get. I'll check it out when I get it. What different versions of the RTX 3060 does the PH315-54-760S model come with? I bought mine from here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B092YHJLS6/

2. I think I should have been clearer in my explanation. When inserted into a PCIe 3.0 slot, the PCIe 4.0 SSD will still be throttled by the 4 GB/s speeds of PCIe 3.0. However, the read & write speeds (especially the latter) can be a bit faster than a PCIe 3.0 SSD. For example, the write speed on a PCIe 4.0 SSD can be 3,500 MB/s as opposed to the 3,300 MB/s that you can get from the Samsung 970 Evo Pus PCIe. 3.0 SSD. This is perhaps because of the better flash &/or SSD controller. Is my understanding correct?

Commodore_1995#

1) In this case, both slots are pcie gen4x4, see:

GN20-E3/E5 SKU:

• Storage 1 : M.2: SSD1 2280 (PCIe Gen4x4)

• Storage 2 : M.2: SSD2 2280 (PCIe Gen4x4)

2) I think it will depend on ssd read and write speed too!

KeyserTommasi

@egydiocoelho Thank you very much! I'm so happy that my model has 2 PCIe 4.0 slots! Now I don't need to worry or think about PCIe 3.0 anymore since any future NVMe SSD updates are going to be PCIe 4.0!

One final question: Can you just confirm that this model has a 2.5" SATA III SSD/HDD slot/bay?