Upgrades on the Nitro 5 an515-54 help and advice please

Unknownhost
Unknownhost Member Posts: 17 Troubleshooter
edited December 2023 in 2020 Archives
Hello there all 

So I am currently looking into many of the available upgrades I can perform on this laptop. I have been watching a lot of vidoes and reading alot , but im looking for some clarification on certain things before I go ahead and thought this might be the best place to get clear and concise info. Theres a bit im asking so hope its not to much, so sorry in advance.

So to begin with im looking at upgrading the memory as with 256GB I have filled it up already and need more. So I see alot of people saying that the Samsung evo 860 is a great hdd to use. I am also seeing alot of people saying that Crucial are good as well. So I guess my question is, does it really matter which one I go for , im after more space but on a buget and need to know it wont effect me to much. The next thing im unsure of is how much extra I can put in, along with if I can put a SSD in the HDD 2.5 slot or does it have to be HDD? Reason for size question is more because of the next question and need to know if there are limits as well with this if any.

Next up is onto the M.2 slot, I know that I have to have a SSD specific one in the spare slot as it does not run Pcle ( think that's right ) but I have seen reports that the second slot does not support anything more than 516GB ? is this correct or can I boost that up and get more into this as I see you can get alot bigger M.2 components. Need to be 100% sure before I go and spend money on something bigger that wont work. 


Lastly is onto the RAM , if I just put a crucial 8GB in the spare slot will this work ok along side the current one already in the laptop? I know it has to be the correct speed 2666 or something like that but will it make much diffence if I don't replace both to exactly the same component? 16GB of RAM will be good enough for along time currently and there is no need to boost it up to the 32GB I see that you can , just wanting to make sure the extra one will work alongside the current one well enough. 

Last question is more about crucial , which I hope is aloud as its not an acer product. It says they are compatible from the off , that you can just plug in and boom its all sorted. How is this diffrent from other brands? Also are they good components ? are they worth the money or should I go for a bit more cash and get something better? 

Well I hope what ive asked is aloud and that someone can clarify for me some points I have asked. 
Cheers all 


Answers

  • brummyfan2
    brummyfan2 ACE Posts: 28,457 Trailblazer
    Hi,
    You can use a 2.5" HDD in the bay, you already have a 256GB M.2 SSD as a boot drive, so you don't need a 2.5" SSD for storage, I would suggest you get a cheap HDD and use it for storage, you could also consider upgrading the current M.2 SSD to a 512GB NVMe SSD, I have seen someone installing a 1TB SSD, Samsung SSDs are reliable but slightly pricey, as for the memory, I would suggest you install CPU-z and find out the specs(speed, CL value, etc) of your current module and get another 8GB module with same specs, you can choose any brand but avoid any modules especially made for a particular brand of laptops.
    https://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html
    https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/569602/acer-nitro-5-an515-54-5692-ram-upgrade
  • Unknownhost
    Unknownhost Member Posts: 17 Troubleshooter
    Ok thanks for that info. As im going to be running games off the 2.5 HDD slot would it not be better to put in a SSD? I don't really care for the cost if the SSD is better, again  is there a limit of SSD or HDD memory I can put in though? can I go whole hog and put in the max in theory or is there a limit?  I know I said I want budget but want to get as much info as possible to make the right choices or if I change my mind on what to spend :) 

    Also could really use the info on what the Second M.2 slot can take. Im now seeing reports that both support Pcle and some saying the second slot doesn't support Pcle!!?? confusing to say the least haha, also on what GB I can put in it. Is the 512GB max true on the M.2 slot?

    If anyone else can shine some more light on this it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again.