Acer Predator Helios 500 PH517-51/PH315-53 What is the maximum capacity and supporting connection?

xab
xab Member Posts: 4 New User
edited September 2023 in Predator Laptops

Hello!

I have two Acer Predator laptops. One is a Acer Predator Helios 500 PH517-51the other one is a Acer Predator Helios 300 PH315-53.

My question would be about upgrade options. What are my options in both laptop to change the RAM and the SSD. What is the maximum capacity and supporting connection?

Thanks

[Edited the thread to add model name to the title]

Answers

  • Jack22
    Jack22 ACE Posts: 4,200 Pathfinder

    @xab

    Below is the upgrades info

    For PH517-51

    For PH315-53

    Click on 'Yes' if the comment answers your question!
  • xab
    xab Member Posts: 4 New User

    Thank you @Jack22 the summaries!

    So if i understood well, that means for example a Crucial P5 Plus 2TB SSD M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 or a Samsung 970 EVO Plus 2TB SSD NVMe M.2 does not fit for example in the PH517-51as they are 2 TB?


  • Jack22
    Jack22 ACE Posts: 4,200 Pathfinder
    Click on 'Yes' if the comment answers your question!
  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 12,700 Trailblazer
    edited September 2023

    xab, the hard drive capacity in Windows OSs entirely depends on the format of the drive that the bios allows, and the windows formatting rules are as follows: the MBR/Legacy format can read/write to a max capacity of 2.2TB while the GUID (GPT) has a theoretical read/write limit of up to 8 petabytes (1000TB = 1 Petabyte which you won't reach😁) in your case the 2TB M.2 SSD to either of the above laptops, be it the Gen 3 x4 or Gen 4 X4 M.2 SSD drives, will work 100% and perfectly within these two laptops above respectively in either formats MBR/Legacy or GUID (GPT).

    The only M.2 SSD drives that I would be careful with are the 4TB M.2 SSD type drives, of either the PCIe3x4 or the PCIe4x4, as and if you want to use these high-capacity drives, I would consult the M.2 SSD drive manufacturers if their 4TB M.2 SSD drive would be compatible with the laptops above. But the 2TB M,2 SSD drives of either PCIe 3x4 or the PCIe 4x4 will work 100% and perfectly with the laptops above.

    Note: and just as an example, I'm using a Nitro AN515-56 and its SSD1 boot slot is a PCIe3x4 and I'm using a 2TB WD SN750 Black as the boot drive and its working 100% and its SSD2 slave slot is a PCIe 3x2 and I'm using a 2TB WD SN550 M.2 SSD drive and they both work 100% and perfectly in GUID (GPT) format. This laptop also has a 2TB 2.5" SATA-3 mechanical Seagate Barracuda formatted also in GUID (GPT) and is also installed inside this laptop, so this laptop has a total of 6TB of drive space from 3x different drives and they all work perfectly with all drives, so I can vouch that 2TB drives work. Good luck and hope this helps you out.

  • xab
    xab Member Posts: 4 New User

    Thank you @StevenGen and @Jack22 the replies but now i getting confused as you disagree about the compatibilities as a 2TB supported or not.

    I need to be honest the last time when i was changing things in a PC, SATA was not even a thing. So since the 90's things has changed so i would not call myself as up-to-date but i trying to get the whole picture. Bear with me. :)

    So my plan after all, in the case of the PH517-51 to get rid of the factory SSD and HDD and fill up the 3 open slots with SSDs.

    To refill the SDDs i checked the Crucial page about compatibility

    https://www.crucial.com/compatible-upgrade-for/acer/predator-ph517-51

    To switch the HDD i checked a Crucial BX500 SSD 2TB 3D NAND SATA3 or a Samsung 870 QVO SSD 2TB SATA 3 as they are about the same price.

    To fill up the 2 m.2 slots was thinking 2 pieces of Crucial P5 Plus 2TB SSD M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 or Samsung 970 EVO Plus 2TB SSD NVMe M.2 or Samsung 980 Pro SSD 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 as both Samsung are has the same price and they are cc 20 euros cheaper then a Crucial.


    Would my plan work out then? Would you choose the Crucial or the Samsung brand?

  • AnhEZ28
    AnhEZ28 ACE, Member Posts: 4,589 Pathfinder

    @xab you don't have to worry about the capacity, the capacity is unlimited for M.2 and 2.5 inch SATA SSD. The HDD is limited to 2TB because of the thickness (higher than 2TB still works but won't fit inside the laptop.)

    Regarding the M.2 SSD, I recommend the 970 EVO Plus because the PH517-51 only supports the Gen 3 SSD. Gen 4 SSD still works but run at the Gen 3 speed which wastes its performance

    Please remember to include @AnhEZ28 when you want to reply back to my comment so that I can check your response.
    Thank you and have a nice day!
  • xab
    xab Member Posts: 4 New User

    Thank you @AnhEZ28 ! thats a relief. about the 970 vs 980 has literally the same price (120€ vs 119€) i think i would go with the 980 even if its not using out the full performance but later in the future if i will have an other mashine which can use it out, i could pass it to the new one

  • xab I've explained to you clearly how capacities of hard drives are recognized and work in windows above, those are the theories. As I've said to you, I've been and I'm using a Nitro 5 laptop that has 2x 2TB M.2 SSD drives and a 1x SATA-2 2TB which is a total of 6TB of storage and all drives are working inside this laptop perfectly and 100%. For the 2TB drives that you intend to upgrade to, the Predator Helios 500 PH517-51 laptop will work perfectly, so go for it!