Adding storage

[kremlyn]

Hi
I have the below and would like to add storage space. Primarily some larger games and movies. Not sure if I need a second HDD or SSD storage? And what's the difference? And how RAID works?

Ideally just want it seamless, without having to move items around too much, or move files from one HDD to another to install

Was looking at adding

1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3300 MB/R, 2900 MB/W

Thanks a lot

Case	PCS P209 ARGB MID TOWER CASE Change to: COOLERMASTER SILENCIO S600 QUIET MID TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)	Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-12500 (3.0GHz) 18MB Cache
Motherboard	ASUS® PRIME B660-PLUS D4 (DDR4, USB 3.2, 6Gb/s) - ARGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)	16GB PCS PRO DDR4 2666MHz (1 x 16GB)
Graphics Card	6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 SUPER - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st M.2 SSD Drive	512GB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (3300 MB/R, 2200 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive	NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply	CORSAIR 650W RM SERIES™ MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable	1 x 1.5 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling	PCS FrostFlow 80 V2 Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste	STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card	Creative Sound Blaster® Audigy™ FX
Network Card	10/100/1000 GIGABIT LAN PORT
Wireless Network Card	ASUS PCE-AX3000 Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) 2400Mbps/5GHz, 600Mbps/2.4GHz
USB/Thunderbolt Options	MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System	Windows 11 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00027]

 

[TonyCarter]

You have a few options (and you can either get them from PCS via your account/upgrade page, or from another online electronics emporium). Cheapest will be one of the HDD options (e.g. 4TB for less than £100), but you can also get 2TB m.2 SSDs for £100 now.

1. External HDD (either USB-powered or mains-powered)
2. External SSD (usually USB-powered)
3. Internal SATA HDD, simply placed in one of the 3.5" drive bays
4. Internal SATA SSD, simply placed in one of the 2.5" drive bays/mounting points
5. Internal NVME m.2 SSD - fastest option, and should simply click into a spare m.2 slot on the motherboard (see pic below)

 

[kremlyn]

You have a few options (and you can either get them from PCS via your account/upgrade page, or from another online electronics emporium). Cheapest will be one of the HDD options (e.g. 4TB for less than £100), but you can also get 2TB m.2 SSDs for £100 now.

1. External HDD (either USB-powered or mains-powered)
2. External SSD (usually USB-powered)
3. Internal SATA HDD, simply placed in one of the 3.5" drive bays
4. Internal SATA SSD, simply placed in one of the 2.5" drive bays/mounting points
5. Internal NVME m.2 SSD - fastest option, and should simply click into a spare m.2 slot on the motherboard (see pic below)

View attachment 36737

Thanks a lot! That's great

I should have specified internal, so I'll go for
Internal NVME m.2 SSD - fastest option, and should simply click into a spare m.2 slot on the motherboard (see pic below)

It's been about 15 years since I installed any hardware myself but I imagine I could just about manage that

Thanks again

 

[TonyCarter]

The only thing that might look a bit different will be because you have an add-in wifi card, which may well be in the PCIe slot just above the M.2 slot. You should be able to get the M.2 in past it, but it's just a single clip holding it in the slot anyway.

No need for the latest gen5 m.2 either, as your motherboard can't make use of the extra speed...so a gen3 will probably suffice and be as fast as your PCS boot drive.

For example...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crucial-PCIe-Gen3-NVMe-Internal/dp/B0B25MJ1YT/

 

[Martinr36]

You have a few options (and you can either get them from PCS via your account/upgrade page, or from another online electronics emporium). Cheapest will be one of the HDD options (e.g. 4TB for less than £100), but you can also get 2TB m.2 SSDs for £100 now.

1. External HDD (either USB-powered or mains-powered)
2. External SSD (usually USB-powered)
3. Internal SATA HDD, simply placed in one of the 3.5" drive bays
4. Internal SATA SSD, simply placed in one of the 2.5" drive bays/mounting points
5. Internal NVME m.2 SSD - fastest option, and should simply click into a spare m.2 slot on the motherboard (see pic below)

View attachment 36737

To add to this external nvme m.2 using one of these plugged into USB C port

UGREEN M.2 NVMe SSD Enclosure, USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gbps NVMe External Enclosure, Aluminum Tool-free Hard Drive Enclosure Support UASP & TRIM, NVMe Pcie Adapter for M and M&B Key in 2230/2242/2260/2280 SSD https://amzn.eu/d/gzNBZk7