I want to replace my main drive with a 500GB to 1TB SSD and would prefer to use an M.2 drive since I already have one installed. My system has an Intel Core i5-7500 and an ASRock B250M-HDV motherboard. I'm considering creating a bootable Windows USB installer for a fresh installation, but I'm unsure whether this motherboard supports NVMe drives or only SATA-based M.2 SSDs. What types of SSDs are compatible, and what would be the best upgrade options in the United States?
3 Answers
You can reinstall Windows by downloading Microsoft’s installation media tool on another computer, creating a bootable USB drive, installing the new SSD, and booting from that USB. Back up anything important first. If you want to keep your current setup instead of starting over, cloning the existing drive is another option.
The exact motherboard model is what matters more than the processor. The ASRock B250M-HDV has an M.2 slot that supports both SATA M.2 SSDs and PCIe/NVMe M.2 drives, including the common 2280 size. A 500GB or 1TB NVMe drive should work, and you can also use a standard 2.5-inch SATA SSD if needed. Check the motherboard manual for the slot’s lane and SATA-port sharing details before installing.
For the simplest upgrade, choose a reasonably priced 500GB or 1TB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD. It will be compatible with this board, although newer PCIe generations will run at the older speed supported by the motherboard. There’s no need to buy an especially expensive high-end model for this system.
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