I'm planning to build a new PC instead of buying a laptop because my current one is on its last legs. I have some old laptops lying around that I haven't disposed of yet, and I've read that certain SSDs and hard drives from laptops might work in PCs too. I'm not very tech-savvy, so I've been trying to figure out if the drives I have are compatible with a new build. Can anyone help me understand what types of drives these are and if they can be used in my PC? I also have images of the drives, which I've posted on Imgur.
4 Answers
You should be able to use those SSDs in the M.2 slots on a motherboard without any issues. The Kingston drive is an NVMe, while the Lite-on is a SATA. Most modern motherboards have slots that support both types, but it’s smart to double-check your specs just to be safe.
The Kingston drive should fit right into any modern system since it’s NVMe. The Lite-on SSD is SATA, and while many current motherboards might not support it directly, you can use an adapter to get it working.
From what I see, those look like SATA M.2 SSDs. Compatibility might depend on your motherboard, though. Some newer boards don’t support SATA M.2 drives, so you'll want to verify that.
Those look to be M.2 SATA SSDs. Just a heads up: they'll be a bit slower compared to NVMe drives, but typically they'll work in most M.2 slots. Just keep in mind to review the manuals because there can be exceptions. By the way, that Kingston model indicates it’s a Gen 3 NVMe, so it should be good for most setups, although it's rather low in capacity.
Thanks for the heads up! I'll make sure to check my motherboard specs.