HP Desktop M01-F2001na upgrades

roytom2

I have an HP Desktop M01-F2001na which has the Intel Core i3 processor. It came with 256 GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD. I'm surprised to find (I think) there's only one M.2 SSD slot, which is occupied. The Motherboard in the HP spec sheet is named as Groot3 (so far I haven't found an annotated picture of this board)

This Windows 11 PC is quite fast but I'm considering possible future upgrades.

The System Memory supplied (8 GB DDR4-2666 MHz RAM (1x8 GB) occupies one slot and there's a spare slot to upgrade this, presumably to 16 GB - would this have an impact on performance?

Upgrading the SSD - would I have to replace the installed 256 GB M.2 SSD or is there another option? There are some things I don't understand about this - next to the DVD writer there appears to be a spare power and data cable - any ideas what this could be used for?

There's an unused blue socket on the motherboard that's labelled SATA2 next to one in use SATA1 - can the used socket be used for upgrades?

TIA

roytom2

I've just discovered this info on the HP website about my Desktop PC under MB specifications...

    note: The configuration might vary depending on your model.

    One PCI Express Gen 3 x16
    One PCI Express Gen 3 x1
    Two M.2 expansion slots
        One M.2 socket 1, Key A
        One M.2 socket 3, Key M, (2280/2242)

However when I opened the case I couldn't see where the other M.2 slot was.

TIA

TadleyBaggie

Is your model either 2280 or a 2242?

roytom2

TadleyBaggie said:

Is your model either 2280 or a 2242?

Sorry, I cant find this information. Would it be printed on the MB?

TadleyBaggie

I think the Fnnnn is the model number, so yours is a 2001. HP do make a M01-F2242nf which appears to be a different spec model and the extra M.2 slot probably only exists on that  and another one.

facade

The second M2 slot is for a wireless card (Key A) and takes the very short cards. An SSD won't work in that slot.

(It is between the battery and the memory slots, directly in line with the earphone jack)

Fitting another identical memory module will speed it up slightly as it will run in dual channel mode, and have more space to cache files.

You can swap the 256GB SSD for a 1Tb module- something like a Samsung Evo 970 is around £60 now as everyone wants the (inferior) Evo 980. But you will either have to clone the existing disk, or get hold of the system restore image for USB from HP. It may even be capable of fully restoring itself from t'interweb if plugged in via ethernet and you play tunes on the function keys, newer Dells can do it, so I'd expect HPs to as well.

Or you can fit a SATA SSD by adding a cable from one of the SATA ports on the motherboard and using that spare power cable if you just want more storage.  You likely won't notice that it isn't as fast as an nvme drive in normal use.

Bonhomie

Cannot see clearly the slots next to the battery. M.2 2280 is not the only form of SATA SSD. There is also M.2 2242 & M.2 2260 There is also the possibility for SATA 2.5 SSD.

facade

Hp always used to colour code the SATA ports, the dark blue was the fastest, but I doubt if that is an issue nowadays, it was dark blue = port 1 to HDD, and light blue to DVD.

Thanks to Bonhomie for the picture

roytom2

Many thanks for all the help and the brilliant photos - excellent work 

In my HP the first of the pair of MB SATA connectors (white) is labelled SATA 1 and the wiring loom goes to the DVD writer - but there’s apparently (tied up for neatness) another twin set of SATA cables with plugs for power and data for another device. I guessing theses are also off the SATA 1 socket that serves the DVD writer? Is that at all possible? Or am I missing something and these are spare unconnected cables? Would they do that?

I’m still unclear what the purpose of the other blue (SATA?) socket is used for? This is located at the securing screw end of the M.2 card inserted on the MB and my line of sight was obscured by cables so I missed it.

TIA

roytom2

The supplied system RAM that occupies the first socket is labelled as follows 

SO4VA4014632F063B3
8GB 1Rx8 PC4-3200AA-UA2-11
M378A1K43EB2-CWE

I’m nervous of ordering another stick of 8GB RAM to put in the spare socket in case I get my hands on the wrong type.
TIA

roytom2

I’m considering my options for an internal 1TB SSD drive for my HP Desktop and saw this at Argos - it’s surprisingly £54.99. Would this be a reasonable choice?

Thanks

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/9300299

Samsung 870 QVO 1TB SSD Internal Hard Drive item code # 930/0299