GL553VD Upgrade (SSD + RAM + M.2)

[gUzAnO]

Hi all! I've been reading a lot on this matter in this forum, but I haven't found answers to my questions. The thing is, I want to upgrade my GL553VD i5, with a M.2 Crucial P3 Plus 1TB Gen3 x4 (for O.S.), a Crucial BX500 2TB (for storage) and a 32GB (16x2) DDR4-3200 RAM. The issue is that I haven't found anywhere if the laptop supports Gen4 x4 and how to achieve it if available. Also, will it be able to support the 2TB SSD? I read some thread that suggests upgrading the BIOS to the 308 version will "unlock" the cap storage size for both M.2 and the SATA3 interface, but it refers to a SAMSUNG 970 EVO 1TB Gen3 x4 and a 1TB M.2.

I appreciate your insight on this before I buy the components. Thank you in advance.

Thread referral: https://rog-forum.asus.com/t5/rog-strix-series/gl553vd-and-ssd-samsung-970-evo-compatibility/m-p/736... 
User: @boeingfixer 

[DVR]

Tell pliz you experience @gUzAnO 

I want to update my gl553vd i7 7700 too. I think I have more oportunities coz the 7th generation. But wanna set a better RAM and SSD. But dont know which. Anyone could help, I have RAM 16,0GB Single-Channel Unknown @1197MHz , ¿How many MHz could I use max?

¿can it supports SSD PCI Express NVMe? and ¿generation 3x4 and 4?

Here,  I found some information about SSD M.2

https://www.laptopmain.com/laptop-m-2-ngff-ssd-compatibility-list/

https://laptopmedia.com/laptop-m-2-ngff-ssd-compatibility-list/#series83518

[RemusM]

I've just upgraded them all (with excellent results):

1) 128GB M2 to 1TB M2

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08439RNGW

Be aware: it has to be M2 SATA, not  M2 PCIe !!!

2) 1TB HDD to 2TB SSD:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BWXK95PY

3) 16GB RAM to 32GB RAM:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B019FRCV9G

[izy]

for reference gen4 nvmes should be backwards compatible with gen 3

you just dont get the max rated speed just the max gen 3 speed

[RemusM]

Gen 3 or Gen 4, the M2 PCIe drives do not work on most of the GL553VD (the european versions from 2017).

You need an M2 SATA drive (same as the original 128 or 256GB) in order to get a bootable drive.

[DVR]

I have upgraded my GL553VD with this next items: July 12/2023

-Extra space motherboard with 16GB RAM. Same card as fabric.

Hynix HMA82GS6AFR8N-UH 16GB DDR4-2400 SODIMM

-Change HDD to M.2 SSD 480GB

Kingston SSD

-Extra SSD space on the motherboard with a SSD card 1TB PCIe Gen3 NVMe

Crucial P3 1TB PCIe Gen3 3D NAND NVMe M.2 SSD

Works great but gets very hot on the top left side when used with a big performing game or program.

The ASUS online support service confirmed that this version supports up to Gen3 Nvme cards. I have not corroborated, nor tested the Gen4.

I bought the laptop in 2017 in the ASUS USA SHOP online.

Hope, I will help someone.

[RemusM]

Probably your Kingston SSD is the bootable device.

Because is all our tests with GL553VD and various M2 PCIe (NVMe) drives none of them was able to boot.

Again, on GL553VD (european 2017 version) only the M2 SATA (or normal SSD SATA3) can be bootable devices.

[RemusM]

If you try an M2 PCIe (NVMe) drive on GL553VD as bootable device, this is what you get:

https://forums.tomshardware.com/threads/laptop-asus-rog-gl553vd-doesnt-recognize-m-2-ssd.3713728/

There was neverending loop with this fail -> automated reset -> fail -> automated reset...

[gUzAnO]

I have upgraded my pc as follows:

- P3 Crucial nVme 1TB PCIe (booting device)
- Crucial RAM DDR4 2666Mhz 2x16GB
- Crucial BX500 2TB SSD (Storage device)

As far as I know, sometimes I get an error on the GPU driver (working on the newest driver version) I assume it is due to heat problems. I dont get it always but I need to rest my pc a couple of minutes to get it running again (I use a laptop base fan, for "extra cooling").

[RemusM]

Another interesting reading:

https://tomantosfilms.com/15044/m2-ssd-upgrade-laptop-asus-gl553/

Although it is possible to buy the much faster (4-5 times) PCIe Gen3X4 m.2 SSDs that will fit into the m.2 slot in the laptop, I would not recommend doing so. As far as I know, all models of this laptop sold in North Amercia do not support PCIe (i.e. the motherboard does not support it)