1TB NVME WD Blk SN850

RussD · 14 Nov 2022 at 23:33

Hi Good Folks---I have a new PC from OCUK. MSI Pro Z690 DDR4 ATX Mobo, in there I have a WD Blk SN750 1TB ssd M2 2280 PCIe Gen4. I think it has a heat sink over it. Not sure as I can't see it as my Graphics card Blocks it out. I want to add another NVME of 1TB but I not got a clue which slot it goes in. There looks like 3 slots below the GPU.
I want this new 1TB NVME so I can Clone the OS on the first one C:.

Is that OK to do.?? OR should I just buy a 2tb SSD and clone to that???
I beginning to HATE the HUGE Noctua NH-D15 CPU Cooler as it BLOCKS most of the Mobo. I can't get to the RAM slots if I ever decide to slot in another 2 x 16gb rams. Is still under Warranty with OCUK, so if I post this PC to them would they take out this Cooler and put in a Water Cooler?? Is that a Wise Choice?? Or should I do it myself? Would that invalidate my Warranty????? Or leave alone. PC is going GREAT.
CHEERS.

Tetras · 15 Nov 2022 at 04:46

I would imagine OCUK used the slot above the graphics card, so it's probably underneath a heatsink.

Unfortunately I can't seem to get the manual from MSI, but the specs say M2_3 is only PCI-E 3.0, but the other slots are all PCI-E 4.0.

I'd avoid the one under the graphics card, which leaves the two above the third PCI-E slot.

Without the manual, I don't know if one of them is M2_3, but I suspect it is the left slot, so I'd put the M.2 in the right slot.

What do you want to clone the OS for?

I'd pretty sure installing a new cooler would invalidate your warranty, so I don't recommend it. If you ever want to, to get around it, you could buy 2x 32GB sticks and sell the old ones.

mickyflinn · 15 Nov 2022 at 11:33

Hi Russ hope ypur well.

Put the new m2 in the bottom right m2 slot marked m2_4 this runs at full pcie4 speed and should be easy to get to.

Adding a new drive wont invalidate you warranty but you can always check this which I would do so.

It's a shame about the cpu cooler as you seem to be worrying about nothing, you have 3 years warranty and Overclockers will help .

But it Looks like it's going to bug you so if you cant wait change it to an aio and get Overclockers to add the m2 drive at the same time.

RussD · 17 Nov 2022 at 16:23

Hi tetras--Thank you. Yes! First time EVER that I not had a book with a motherboard. Very Bad is that. The Online Manual is Rubbish. Best I ask in here as that way I'll NOt make any mistakes. I not going to touch anything inside this Tower as ALL is working great. Is just me that likes to see everything on the Mobo, but Cooler in the way. I'm Fussy LOL... I always Back up (Clone) my C: Drive in case of a Ransomeware or a Breakdown of hard drive. I might buy a ssd instead as that is easy to slot in and I can still clone the nvme (I think) Though this mobo being a UEFI the nvme would/might be better. I shall wait a little while as then I might cool down n not be too fussy. lol... Hi again mickyflinn==Thanks for this.I can NOT read anything on this Mobo as every bit of writing is tiny. So the last two on bottom I can see and get too easily..So the one on Right is the one to use. THANK YOU..

Tetras · 17 Nov 2022 at 16:33

RussD said:
I always Back up (Clone) my C: Drive in case of a Ransomeware or a Breakdown of hard drive. I might buy a ssd instead as that is easy to slot in and I can still clone the nvme (I think)

Umm, wouldn't you be better off with an external SSD for this purpose? Since, if the drive is permanently connected, wouldn't it also be corrupted?

RussD · 8 Dec 2022 at 00:47

Sorry tetras I been busy of late. Well I was thinking about what I did on this older PC. I cloned another 500gb ssd and put it in a draw in case I need it. But thought would it be better to clone another nvme whilst it is installed. OR would it be better to buy a 1tb nvme and put it into an external case then clone to that?? and put it to one side if ever needed.

Tetras · 8 Dec 2022 at 01:27

How often are you updating the image? If this is a one-off and then taking it out for months, or years, SSDs are not suitable, because they need be powered up to retain what you stored.

Mcnumpty2323 · 9 Dec 2022 at 13:29

Could clone to
Or store compressed images on a sata drive
Normally you can disable those in the bios
To isolate from the OS
I also use a fast USB drive to store images
Samsung t7 so 1GBs doesn't take forever to restore
Interesting @Tetras wasn't aware of ssds needing power to retain data
I have disconnected mine for a long time
Connected them and data was still there
Wouldn't that also include usb flash drives?

I use macrium for images
It also has a feature you can turn on/off
To prevent changes being made to your images
To prevent corruption ,ransomware ,virus etc to them
Main rule if its important back it up to as many places as possible
So I use a combination of usb,disabled sata,extra nvme and windows storage spaces
Yeah 4 backups is a bit overkill perhaps
But if its something you can't afford to lose better safe than sorry

Tetras · 9 Dec 2022 at 20:09

Mcnumpty2323 said:
Interesting @Tetras wasn't aware of ssds needing power to retain data
I have disconnected mine for a long time
Connected them and data was still there
Wouldn't that also include usb flash drives?

As far as I know, this is what influences it:
The NAND (QLC retains data a lot less effectively/reliably than TLC, TLC a lot less than MLC)
The memory tech (iirc floating gate retains data better, but charge trap has better endurance)
The wear (older, well-used drives lose data quicker than new drives)
The temperature it is stored at (lower is better)

MLC had pretty good data retention (enough it wasn't really worth worrying about, measured in years), but TLC & QLC it could theoretically be an issue for long-term offline backups. When the drive is powered, it refreshes the cells periodically, but when off the algorithms can't do anything.