Which ssd should I get?

[DC]

My hard drive in my nitro 5 is currently dying. So I was looking into ssd to replace my drive

I found two ssd that are really reliable and good for its price. 

They both are 500gb. Samsung 860evo and Crucial MX500. They both are selling for similar price around $80.

Which one should I get? Someone told me these two brands are one of the best in ssd area.

[Mira Yurizaki]

If the recent security SNAFU doesn't bother you, then either or is fine. Otherwise Intel's 660P is another one to look at.

[SupaKomputa]

How do you know that it's dying?

Nitro 5 is a relatively new laptop, and drive warranty is at least 3 years.

Why don't you just plug in a NVME SSD in the M2 slot, if you haven't already.

[Dedayog]

Harddrive is dying?  Didn't the Nitro 5 come out in 2018?

 

 

[DC]

1 minute ago, SupaKomputa said:

How do you know that it's dying?

Nitro 5 is a relatively new laptop, and drive warranty is at least 3 years.

Why don't you just plug in a NVME SSD in the M2 slot, if you haven't already.

My drive just got really slow all the sudden, and started sound like an airplane. I had hard drives die on me few times and it has same "symptoms".

I could send it to get my drive replaced. But I'm in college so I need my laptop everyday. Also, I'm starting coding and computer aided design so I would prefer to have ssd. And replacing hard drive to ssd is simpler than putting nvme 

[SupaKomputa]

that's just wasting a good port.

if i were you i make use of all ports that i can have.

i would plug a m2 ssd for boot drive and a big sata hdd for storage.

plugging a m2 is just a screwdriver away. really easy.

 

why don't you test your hdd with some diagnostic software like hddsentinel.

it will tell you how bad your drive are.

if your drive really dying, i suggest you claim the warranty, hdd should be warrantied at least 3 years.

 

[Dedayog]

5 minutes ago, DC said:

My drive just got really slow all the sudden, and started sound like an airplane. I had hard drives die on me few times and it has same "symptoms".

I could send it to get my drive replaced. But I'm in college so I need my laptop everyday. Also, I'm starting coding and computer aided design so I would prefer to have ssd. And replacing hard drive to ssd is simpler than putting nvme 

To answer your question, both those SSD's are fantastic.  Can't go wrong with them at all.

 

If you're going to clone the drive, grab an external SATA cable set too.

 

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HJZJI84/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[DC]

Just now, SupaKomputa said:

that's just wasting a good port.

if i were you i make use of all ports that i can have.

i would plug a m2 ssd for boot drive and a big sata hdd for storage.

plugging a m2 is just a screwdriver away. really easy.

 

why don't you test your hdd with some diagnostic software like hddsentinel.

it will tell you how bad your drive are.

if your drive really dying, i suggest you claim the warranty, hdd should be warrantied at least 3 years.

 

I'm not sure if my nitro 5 has nvme or m.2 spot. I wasn't able to check with my specific model.

It is acer nitro 5 an515 53 52FA. I know that hard drive port is accessible right away. But I don't know where m.2 slot is in my laptop. I assumed that I have to take entire bottom of my laptop to install m.2

[AngryBeaver]

OP,

 

If I was you I would make use of your M.2 port. Grab a 500gb m.2 and toss it in. Then RMA that other drive and when you get it back toss it back in and use it for storage. If you are going in to coding and computer aided design then you can always use the extra storage.

 

Below is a comparison of what you are getting. The Samsung equivalent in m.2 or the Intel 660p. Now the 660p isn't as fast as the Samsung m.2, but it is a great deal faster than the 860 evo 2.5" variant. I would suggest the 660p for 7 bucks more and retaining your drive bay.

 

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fCNQgw
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fCNQgw/by_merchant/

Storage: Samsung - 860 Evo 500GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($82.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung - 860 Evo 500GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($107.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Intel - 660p Series 512GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $280.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-06 13:35 EST-0500

[DC]

1 minute ago, AngryBeaver said:

OP,

 

If I was you I would make use of your M.2 port. Grab a 500gb m.2 and toss it in. Then RMA that other drive and when you get it back toss it back in and use it for storage. If you are going in to coding and computer aided design then you can always use the extra storage.

Yeah I want to add m.2 after reading through. But I just looked up the video and I have to take apart my laptop and I kind of don't want to risk voiding warranty. Will it void? Also, what m.2 do you recommend that is compatible with my laptop?

[AngryBeaver]

4 minutes ago, DC said:

Yeah I want to add m.2 after reading through. But I just looked up the video and I have to take apart my laptop and I kind of don't want to risk voiding warranty. Will it void? Also, what m.2 do you recommend that is compatible with my laptop?

I revised my post with a recommendation right as you posted this

 

As to the difficulty of this... It is just having you remove the bottom of the laptop which is maybe 8-12 screws total. This isn't a hard one. If it was having you remove the keyboard and such then I would probably advise you to have it done by someone with experience, but this one is super easy..

[SupaKomputa]

39 minutes ago, DC said:

I'm not sure if my nitro 5 has nvme or m.2 spot. I wasn't able to check with my specific model.

It is acer nitro 5 an515 53 52FA. I know that hard drive port is accessible right away. But I don't know where m.2 slot is in my laptop. I assumed that I have to take entire bottom of my laptop to install m.2

All gaming laptops should have an M2 tuck away. MOST if not all 2017-2018 laptops have m2 slot and sata slot.

By seeing the website, it has different configurations which has nvme ssd.

Then your's should have it too..

 

I don't know if Acer's give you permission to open the case (like other brands) without voiding warranty.

At worst 1 or 2 of the screw hole will have a stickers on top of it.

Your options would be :

A. Bring it to acers along with your M2 ssd and ask them to install it. It's your right to install anything inside the laptop.

B. Carefully strip the warranty stickers, so then you can put it back after you're done installing.

There's many method to do it (youtube it), one of my favorite is blowing the sticker with a hot hairdryer, so the glue will soften.

And then to scrape it, i used a fresh piece of paper to carefully scrape it while it still hot.

 

i found a video that maybe usefull

 

[seagate_surfer]

22 minutes ago, DC said:

Yeah I want to add m.2 after reading through. But I just looked up the video and I have to take apart my laptop and I kind of don't want to risk voiding warranty. Will it void? Also, what m.2 do you recommend that is compatible with my laptop?

Get the one you like the most and look for the best price/offer you can find so you don't guilty in the future when you see it cheaper in another store (Classic! ) but just take into consideration that you need the warranty, so get one that offers you good warranty too.

[SupaKomputa]

26 minutes ago, DC said:

Yeah I want to add m.2 after reading through. But I just looked up the video and I have to take apart my laptop and I kind of don't want to risk voiding warranty. Will it void? Also, what m.2 do you recommend that is compatible with my laptop?

any M2 ssd would be compatible, i suggest Crucial MX500 for the best price to performance.

Be aware that there are 2 types of M2 SSD: NVME or SATA.

Sata based m2 ssd is basically the same sata ssd in m2 form factor, it will have the same bandwidth limit of a sata3 hdd (6gbps).

NVME used pci-e lane to communicate which will have more bandwidth than sata3.

Sata ssd is cheaper than NVME.

I suggest you install the NVME one for long term usability.