Adding an SSD to laptop.

[Satoshi Nakamoto]

There is a spot to put a 2nd SSD in my laptop. The one I have now is only 256GB.
If I put a second one there, does it have to be the same one? Or could I put in a different brand 1TB SSD?

Same question for RAM.

[LongingLukes]

You can put SSD from any brand in the laptop but for the RAM it should be the same brand or atleast same speed and size.

[Supafly]

Ram wise you should check the laptops specs. Need to know max RAM and how many slots available and how many used. if you need to remove the installed module specs aren't an issue but if you have say 1x4Gb installed and could add another 4GB module you should aim for the same speeds. If they are not the same the slower specs will get used for both.


For example if you have a 3200Mhz module and get a
2400mhz module they'll both run at 2400Mhz
3600mhz module they'll both run at 3200Mhz

[Haruspex]

As already mentioned, any SSD, any brand, any capacity. You're good to go.

RAM is different. You'll want to get in there and look at how many RAM slots you have, and how many are filled. Standard is 2 slots, and both are filled. You want the sticks to match, brand, speed, and timings. It will still work if they don't match, but at the speed of the slowest stick. It's not uncommon to see only one stick even when you have two slots though. My own laptop is weird. I have one slot that came with 4GB, and another 4GB soldered directly to the motherboard acting as the "second stick". I replaced the stick with a 16 GB for a total of 20, and it works well, though probably not as efficiently as if it matched.

You also want to look up what RAM speed and timings are suggested for your CPU. You can go faster, but it's best practice to stick with the recommended speed, as going faster is technically overclocking and can effect stability. If the RAM you bought is too fast, you can always downclock it in the BIOS.

[Jamebonds1]

As my experience, I have 500 GB for os and priority games, and 2 TB for general games and program. It is no concern except for RAM which should be same.

[Decathect]

If you install another SSD and it shows up in your bios, but not in Windows you'll need to go to Partition Manager and it'll show up there where you can assign the drive a letter.

Just something to watch out for.

[_I_]

windows disk management, assign it a letter, format it, and then it will show in explorer (but windows may default to hide empty drives)

[Poobah Gorg]

Most laptops only have a single SSD slot. I'd suggest you check out how long the one you have is and buy one in the same form factor.