SSD’s are an essential part of every PC build,
but if you are a new builder you might have some questions about installing them. In this
video I’ll walk through installing both M.2 and 2.5-inch SATA SSD’s and give some
tips to consider - let’s get started. This video is sponsored by SK hynix, the maker
of fastest-in-class SSDs. SK hynix developed the world’s first 128-layer NAND-based consumer
SSD and is the world’s 2nd largest memory manufacturer. But what really sets them apart
is incredible performance at affordable prices, surprising power efficiency,
and 5-year warranties. In fact, SK hynix makes PCWorld’s top picks for
best all-around SSD and best NVMe SSD. Grab the Gold P31 or S31 on Amazon
and give your PC a big upgrade! Luckily, installing an SSD
is easier than picking an SSD or even understanding how they work. Now
I’m not going to cover any of that here, but if you want to watch more on the topic of
SSD’s check out the links in the description. Assuming you already have an SSD in hand, let’s
get to installing! I have both an M.2 NVMe SSD and a 2.5-inch SATA SSD from SK hynix here, but the
steps should apply to almost any model. I’ll start with the M.2 SSD because it’s a bit more tricky
to install and there are some things to research before you do it. Also I’m going to install this
drive in a motherboard outside of a case but this can be done even if you’ve already built your
PC. It’s just easier for me to show it this way. The first thing you want to do is find
where the M.2 slot is on your motherboard. In order to orient ourselves I’m considering the
side of the motherboard with the back IO connections to be the left side. With that
in mind you are looking for a slot about one inch wide that protrudes from the
motherboard about a quarter of an inch. It is not always labeled. Now every motherboard is different, but
the most common locations are below the CPU and around the PCIe slots in the lower half of the
board. If you are struggling to find the placement you can always consult the part of the manual that
shows the motherboard layout. Some motherboards even have a pre-installed shield in place that
serves double duty as a nice piece of visual flair and a heat spreader. This will obviously have
to be removed before you access the M.2 slot. If your motherboard supports two M.2 SSD’s you’ll
need to consult your manual to see which slot is the recommended place to install your boot drive.
Each slot might offer different performance levels while others might turn off a PCIe slot
if used. Basically read the manual first. Once you’ve found the right slot, find the screw
about 3 inches to the left that is inserted into a standoff. The standoff is there because when
the drive is inserted there will be a gap between the SSD and the motherboard, so the standoff
plays a crucial role of keeping the drive flat. If your motherboard doesn’t have the
screw or standoff look in the box it came with where there might be in a small
plastic bag. If your motherboard features an M.2 shield you will need to find two
screws that mount it to the motherboard. Now it’s time to touch something metal like a
piece of furniture in order to ground yourself, and then grab a screwdriver. Unscrew the
screw from the standoff and place it somewhere safe - you do not want to lose a screw or
have it roll around on your motherboard. For those of you with shields, unscrew
it from the motherboard but take note of the underside where there should be a
thermal pad with a piece of plastic over it. Do not remove the plastic yet, just
place the shield somewhere safe. Now, the most common M.2 size is
80 millimeters, like this Gold P31. To confirm, you can hover the drive over the slot
and take note of the length. There are other sizes of M.2 drives available and if you happen to have
one of them you’ll need to use pliers to loosen and move the standoff to the appropriate length.
Once it’s in the right position make sure the stand off is screwed in fully - you don’t want it
spinning while we are trying to install the screw. For those of you with shields you
most likely don’t have a stand off specifically to screw the drive
into. Instead there should be a brace of some sort for the drive to rest
on while the shield holds it in place. In either case the next step is to insert the
drive. What I’m considering the top of the drive there is usually a sticker that is ok to leave on
- it's actually recommended. The side with the gold contact points is what we are going to
insert, and the side with the semi-circle cut out is what is going to be held in place by the screw.
Note the notch where the contact points are, you’ll want to line that up with the slot on the
motherboard with the top of the drive facing you. Insert the drive firmly at about a 15 degree
angle until there is no more give and let go. If you have a screw and standoff based system
you’ll want to press down on the drive so that it lies flat and the semi-circle
cut out lines up with the standoff. While holding the drive flat insert the
screw and tighten it to a comfortable point. Take care to not overtighten or you risk
damage to the drive, the screw, or the motherboard. If you’ve installed it correctly
the drive should not shift in place at all. For those of you with shields
you’ll have a bit more to wrangle, so take your time through these next steps.
Since there is no screw to keep the drive flat you’ll have to hold it down while you place
the shield over it or get help from someone who can lay it flat while you handle the shield.
If you would like to do a dry run without taking the plastic off the thermal pad that is a great
idea, just be sure to not leave it on permanently! When you are ready, take the plastic off and
lower the shield straight onto the drive. It’s important to lower it straight onto
the drive because the thermal pad is tacky and may cause the drive to slide out of it’s slot
if you shift it after it’s adhered to the shield. If that does happen don’t panic. Carefully remove
the SSD from the thermal pad and start over. The hardest part here is lining the screws up
to the standoffs so one trick is to hold the screws in place on the shield as you lower it.
This allows the screws to touch the standoffs before the thermal pad touches the drive. Once
the screws are lined up lower the shield into place and tighten the screws down. Again, no need
to over tighten them, it just needs to be snug. And with that, your M.2 NVMe SSD
is installed and ready to use! The last thing to note here is that there
are some M.2 SSDs that feature their own built-in heat sink. If your motherboard
has a shield you don’t want to place that over the included heat sink, just store the shield
somewhere safe in case you need to use it later. The Gold P31 I used does not have a built
in heat sink but don’t fret, it’s still an energy efficient SSD that emits low heat and
should perform great in any configuration. Now let’s move on to installing a 2.5-inch
SATA SSD. This installation is much more dependent on the PC case you are using and
where you want to place it - which varies wildly. So instead of an exact step by step
guide I’m going to cover the basics that will always apply to every installation. Once
again I’m assuming you already have a drive in hand, if not check out the link in the
description for help deciding what to buy. The two most common options for
installing the drive in a PC is either to put it in a hard drive cage
or to secure it to the case itself. Drive cages usually have some sort of method to attach
the drive to the tray that slides into a cage. Mounting it to the case can either
involve screwing the drive to the metal or putting the drive into a tray first and
then attaching it. Either way take care to make sure you have enough cable length to
safely route the cables inside the case. When installing a 2.5-inch SATA SSD you will
always need two things: a SATA data cable and access to a SATA power cable. Most motherboards
include a SATA data cable in the box, this is used for data transmission from the drive to the
motherboard. Look for a long, thin, and flat cable - sometimes with an L-shaped connector at the end.
The SATA power cable, which provides power to the drive, will be included with the power supply
and usually have multiple connectors in-line. In order to use the SSD you will need to have both cables attached and secured
to the drive at all times. Plugging in both cables is simple -
look for the end of the drive that has the connections and note there are two.
The shorter port is for the interface cable and the longer port is for the power cable. And
if you look really close, each port is keyed with a tiny notch that indicates the correct
orientation for the cable to plug into. Because of this there is only one way to install
the cable, so line them up and insert firmly. The interface cable includes a primitive locking
mechanism that gives a subtle click when inserted. The power cable does not lock in so be sure to
press it in all the way for a secure connection. The interface cable will then need
to be plugged into the motherboard. In this orientation you will find the ports on
the right side of the motherboard, somewhere between the middle and the bottom. There will most
likely be multiple ports to choose from so now is another time you should consult your manual.
To get the maximum bandwidth out of your SSD you’ll want to connect to the SATA 6Gb/s ports
but the slower 3Gb/s ports will work fine as well. In this example you can see that this
motherboard features six SATA 6G ports, and they are stacked - so three columns of two ports.
Typically you’ll want to use the ports in order, so if the numbering starts at one,
choose that and identify which port it is on the motherboard itself. On any remotely
modern PC, the performance should be the same but using the first port on an older PC is
usually the highest performing. When the ports are stacked like this sometimes it can be
a bit confusing knowing which number is which, so just take your time and look close.
Once again, this cable will lock into place so after you insert it in enough you will
hear a subtle click to know you are secure. And like that you have attached your 2.5-inch
SATA SSD! A couple more things to note - like I mentioned before some of the SATA data connectors
feature an L shaped plug. This is for situations where you need to keep a low profile so the cable
doesn’t get pinned somewhere - but either cable offers the same performance. Also, the SATA power
cable will most likely have multiple ports on it. This is to allow you to attach multiple
drives or peripherals onto the same cable. Which plug you use will depend on the length you
need to reach to plug in the drive and whether or not that cable also needs to reach other
ports. All the plugs will work just the same. Wow. Who knew this topic would be so involved!
But of course there is even more that I could be covering, but hopefully this should be enough
to get your PC up and running. I’ll leave you with one last tip before we wrap up. If
you are installing both an M.2 NVMe and SATA SSD you might be confused as to which drive
is which when it comes time to install Windows. One way to get around that is to keep the SATA
SSD unplugged while you are going through the installation process so there is no other
option for installing Windows to something other than the higher performance NVMe SSD. After you are up and running, plug the drive
back in, format it, and you are ready to roll. Well that’s it for this how-to, be
sure to subscribe to PCWorld for more PC hardware videos. I’ll
catch you in the next one!