Adding more storage to an old PC using U.2?

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Deleted member 68110

Deleted member 68110

Wondering if anyone can help... I have an old PC and just want to add some more fast storage. I bought the PC (from OCUK) pre-assembled, and want to run minimum risk of ruining the machine. I have vague memories of trying to add another regular HDD and not being able to get it to power up. A solution that can get its power from the board seems more straight-froward.

Looking at the motherboard (a Gigabyte Z170X Designare), it has a U.2 socket. It looks like this might be an option.

Custom Intel i7-6700K @ 4.5GHz System
  • MB-54B-GI Gigabyte GA-Z170X-Designare Intel Z170 (Socket 1151) DDR4 ATX
  • Motherboard
  • CP-582-IN Intel Core i7-6700K 4.0GHz (Skylake) Socket LGA1151 Processor -
  • OEM
  • HD-087-IN Intel 600P 256GB M.2-2880 PCI-e 3.0 x 4 NVMe 3D NAND Solid
  • State Drive (SSDPEKKW256G7X1)
  • HD-36K-SE Seagate BarraCuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache HDD
  • CA-057-SF Super Flower Platinum King 650W 80 Plus Platinum Power Supply -
  • Black

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jmvwjw5.jpg

Looking at OCUK's HDDs I can't determine what spec I need to look for. Can anyone help?

Thanks a lot for any assistance.
 
It's should be no problem connecting a regular hard drive or SSD to your pc they are both connected with a sata cable and different power cables. Your power supply has the connections you need I've checked.

Did you connect the power cable and the sata cable to the drive and then connect the sata cable to the motherboard sata port?

Did you check the bios to see if the drive was listed ?
In windows you have format the drive .

This is your psu below and all cables.

www.overclockers.co.uk

Super Flower Platinum King 650W 80 Plus Platinum Power Supply - Black

Order Super Flower Platinum King 650W 80 Plus Platinum Power Supply - Black now online and benefit from fast delivery.
www.overclockers.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk
 
mickyflinn said:
It's should be no problem connecting a regular hard drive or SSD to your pc they are both connected with a sata cable and different power cables. Your power supply has the connections you need I've checked.

Did you connect the power cable and the sata cable to the drive and then connect the sata cable to the motherboard sata port?

Did you check the bios to see if the drive was listed ?
In windows you have format the drive .

This is your psu below and all cables.

www.overclockers.co.uk

Super Flower Platinum King 650W 80 Plus Platinum Power Supply - Black

Order Super Flower Platinum King 650W 80 Plus Platinum Power Supply - Black now online and benefit from fast delivery.
www.overclockers.co.uk www.overclockers.co.uk
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Thanks a lot for the response which definitely makes sense. I appreciate it's a bit eccentric, but, ideally, I'd like to avoid dealing with the power cables since they didn't behave as I expected last time around.

Is U.2 not really a runner?
 
garnett said:
Thanks a lot for the response which definitely makes sense. I appreciate it's a bit eccentric, but, ideally, I'd like to avoid dealing with the power cables since they didn't behave as I expected last time around.

Is U.2 not really a runner?
Click to expand...
It is but your still going to have to install it so why pay out when you already have what you need.

Guide to install a SSD or hard drive

 
I feel like you run more risk of running into problems unscrewing the current U.2 drive and installing a new one, then having install a fresh copy of windows.

A SATA SSD would be much much easier, also what do you need this high speed storage for?

If you don't need the high speed storage your mobo supports Thunderbolt3 so that could be an even easier option to just plug in something external.
 
Megahurtz400 said:
I feel like you run more risk of running into problems unscrewing the current U.2 drive and installing a new one, then having install a fresh copy of windows.
Click to expand...
He hasn't got a u2 SSD drive he wants to add one but agree adding a sata SSD is easy.
 
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Whata about a m.2 bay drive using your spare pcie lanes?

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £97.98 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

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Double the storage

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £214.97 (includes delivery: £0.00)​

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More expensive than the sata but much faster. For an extra fiver pre drive you can add a m.2 heatsink.

My basket at OcUK:

Total: £8.99 (includes delivery: £3.99)​

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As Armageus says be careful buying PCI-E to M.2 cards as many don’t negotiate PCI-E properly/the way that’s implied.

I would avoid anything with a SATA connection as it’s almost definitely not a HBA card and probably not even M.2

PCI-E bifurcation might also come into play for cards that can support multiple drives.

For plain sailing a card that supports a single M.2 is the way to go. For multiple drive support you want a proper M.2 HBA with a switch chip.

U.2 is just a different type PCI-E so you could brake that out to an M.2 drive though you are colouring outside the lines a little here and the cabling could become pretty novel.

TBH SATA is probably the best bet. Cheap, easy and just works. U.2 is fast and simple-ish, but pricey and cabling can become hit and miss adding to the expense.
 
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jigger said:
As Armageus says be careful buying PCI-E to M.2 cards as many don’t negotiate PCI-E properly/the way that’s implied.

I would avoid anything with a SATA connection as it’s almost definitely not a HBA card and probably not even M.2

PCI-E bifurcation might also come into play for cards that can support multiple drives.

For plain sailing a card that supports a single M.2 is the way to go. For multiple drive support you want a proper M.2 HBA with a switch chip.

M.2 is just a different type PCI-E so you could brake that out to an M.2 drive though you are colouring outside the lines a little here and the cabling could become pretty novel.

TBH SATA is probably the best bet. Cheap, easy and just works. U.2 is fast and simple-ish, but pricey and cabling can become hit and miss and expensive.
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This kind of thing?

My basket at OcUK:
Total: £11.99 (includes delivery: £3.99)​
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Also, it seems m.2 drives are usually backward compatible - is that right?​
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Thanks again to everyone who replied.

The adapter worked excellently, and the exercise also prompted me to replace and upgrade my OS m.2 (to a 4 times larger, faster Adata m.2), clean out the machine (which was filthy) and replace my other storage (replacing 3 2TB Seagate barracudas with a single 8TB) at the same time.
 
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