Does my laptop have a functional M.2 slot?

Aleksa18041998

Hello recently I have bought an Acer Nitro 5 model AN515-52-51AC that comes with a 1TB HDD and I'm looking to put the Samsung 970 EVO PLUS in the M.2 slot. Because some models of this laptop do not have an M.2 slot today I opend the laptop to see if there is one and there is. Then the only thing that had to be checked was if it's an x4 slot so that the SSD would hit the maximum speeds and so I found about HWiNFO64 which should list the M.2 slot's width under the PCI-e root port but under there there isn't an M.2 slot just an Ethernet port and a card reader. So does that mean that the M.2 slot isn't working at all and is defective or is it just some software problem so it doesn't list it there. Also my BIOS version is 1.22 if that is of any help.

Accepted answers

brummyfan2

OK, if you have a screw in place, you can install a M.2 SSD in the slot, as for the HWiNFO program, it's not reliable for newer model laptops, so you can ignore it. I think you can install a M.2 NVMe or SATA SSD. Please read my post in another thread:https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/555514/can-my-acer-nitro-5-an515-52-support-a-nvme-ssd
https://www.userbenchmark.com/System/Acer-Nitro-AN515-52/83703

All comments

brummyfan2

Hi,
It's strange that this model came without the slot, could you please check whether there's a screw or thread for screw in place where yellow circle.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6029997/uploads/editor/6q/00031lrugbm3.jpg

Aleksa18041998

brummyfan2 said:

Hi,
It's strange that this model came without the slot, could you please check whether there's a screw or thread for screw in place where yellow circle

brummyfan2 said:

Hi,
It's strange that this model came without the slot, could you please check whether there's a screw or thread for screw in place where yellow circle.

It's a screw it's just all blown up on the picture because of the camera flash, sorry about the quality.

brummyfan2

OK, if you have a screw in place, you can install a M.2 SSD in the slot, as for the HWiNFO program, it's not reliable for newer model laptops, so you can ignore it. I think you can install a M.2 NVMe or SATA SSD. Please read my post in another thread:https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/555514/can-my-acer-nitro-5-an515-52-support-a-nvme-ssd
https://www.userbenchmark.com/System/Acer-Nitro-AN515-52/83703

Aleksa18041998

brummyfan2 said:

OK, if you have a screw in place, you can install a M.2 SSD in the slot, as for the HWiNFO program, it's not reliable for newer model laptops, so you can ignore it. I think you can install a M.2 NVMe or SATA SSD. Please read my post in another thread:https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/555514/can-my-acer-nitro-5-an515-52-support-a-nvme-ssd
https://www.userbenchmark.com/System/Acer-Nitro-AN515-52/83703

Ok, thank you, I'll keep the post updated when I install one.

brummyfan2

You are welcome

Aleksa18041998

Alright so It's been almost a month and it's time for me to give an update. So yesterday I finally got the Samsung 970 EVO PLUS and it was time to put it in, the process was really hard in my case because everything was going against me, opening the back was way harder that the first time and once I opened the back it was time for me to put the SSD in the M.2 slot but there was one problem, the screw for the M.2 slot was really tight I couldn't move it a bit with my screwdriver and I didn't want to put too much pressure so that I don't strip the screw. I called a friend to see if he has a smaller screwdriver but with a deeper head so I could put more pressure to the screw and not strip it. After about half an hour of trying I was about to quit because I just couldn't make it move even a little bit, but then I found on the internet an idea to hold the screwdriver with a pair of pliers to get a better grip on the screwdriver, so I gave it a try. I've put in all my strength into pushing the screwdriver with one hand and turning it with the other while holding the screwdriver with the pliers and after some time I finally managed to unscrew it, I was really scared because I though I would break something but thankfully I didn't. I succeeded finally!!! After that everything was really straight forward and easy. Everything works, the SSD works perfectly, the M.2 slot is x4 lanes so I get the specified reeds and writes of the drive, and it's really, really fast so I am really pleased for the past 24 hours of the boot speed and the everything else, it's just way, way faster than the hard disk. That you brummyfan2 for the help if it wasn't for you maybe I wouldn't try to upgrade, thank you very much. Here are some pictures so everyone can see that the drive is indeed working and the speed of it.