Hey everyone! I just scored an Acer GX-781 from a family member, but it needs a hard drive since there isn't one in it at the moment. I'm really not sure what type of hard drive I should be looking for. Can I choose any hard drive as long as it meets certain specs? This PC is a bit older, so I don't expect it to run the latest games like Genshin Impact, but I'd love to play something less demanding like The Sims. Sorry for the beginner question, and English isn't my first language, so I hope I'm asking this right! Any help would be greatly appreciated!
3 Answers
You'll want to go for a SATA drive, which should work just fine for your needs. A 2.5" SATA SSD is also an option, but they're a bit less common. Still worth considering for speed!
I recommend picking an SSD over a traditional hard drive. Almost any PC from the last 20 years will be compatible with 2.5" SATA SSDs. However, make sure to check if your model supports M.2 NVMe SSDs, which are more modern. They might fit in terms of shape, but the connection type matters!
I found one that might fit—the Kingston NV3 PCIe 4.0 NVMe 1TB M.2 SSD. Do you think that would work for my Acer? It at least looks similar to the original shape of the hard drive it had before.
Unfortunately, that won't work. You need a SATA M.2 SSD instead of an NVMe one. They might look similar, but they use different interfaces. A 2.5" SSD could also be a good alternative since they perform similarly.
To help you out further, here's a list of compatible options: [link to PCPartPicker]. It should show you what's available!