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BramC · ‎05-10-2015

Does the GL551JW-DS74 allow for the 128gb SSD (included) to be upgraded and switched out to a 500gb SSD?
I'm afraid that it's buried beyond reach and will not be replaceable.
Any brother out there own the GL551JW-DS74 that can help?

Thanks!
Cheers

amkas90 · ‎05-27-2015

Not having opened it up, just from reading elsewhere I am under the impression that the 1TB HDD is easily swapped out. The 128GB SSD is actually a half size mSATA SSD that is kinda buried into the hardware. I could be wrong. I'm interested too. I got the DS71 with the idea that I could add a higher vvolume SSD and save some money but it looks like the 1TB drive is the one that'll need to be swapped.

Zombievac · ‎05-27-2015

It can be, but you need to get a special PCIe x4 SSD for the primary slot. They're VERY expensive (though arguably worth the price considering they're twice as fast as SATA3 SSDs - truly top-end performance).

My new Samsung 850 EVO 1TB SSD in my desktop PC maxes out at about 575 MB/s (approx), and these PCIe SSDs clock in at 1175 MB/s. Huge increase! I get boot times into windows 8.1 from off (no hibernate or sleep) in 2 SECONDS on the G751 w/ the 256 GB PCIe SSD. Amazing. My much more powerful desktop PC takes literally 10-20x as long (though it would be faster if I crippled it to use EFI, but that removes most capabilities and settings so it's not worth doing on most ASUS products that I know of.

amkas90 · ‎05-27-2015

Zombievac wrote:
It can be, but you need to get a special PCIe x4 SSD for the primary slot. They're VERY expensive (though arguably worth the price considering they're twice as fast as SATA3 SSDs - truly top-end performance).

My new Samsung 850 EVO 1TB SSD in my desktop PC maxes out at about 575 MB/s (approx), and these PCIe SSDs clock in at 1175 MB/s. Huge increase! I get boot times into windows 8.1 from off (no hibernate or sleep) in 2 SECONDS on the G751 w/ the 256 GB PCIe SSD. Amazing. My much more powerful desktop PC takes literally 10-20x as long (though it would be faster if I crippled it to use EFI, but that removes most capabilities and settings so it's not worth doing on most ASUS products that I know of.

This is for the primary slot, meaning replacing the HDD yes? This is the one accessed by removing the panel under the PC? The secondary SSD is the one hidden within the PC I think.

JMac6 · ‎07-01-2015

I also have a GL551JW-DS74. ASUS told me that the 128 SSD is upgradable, but not by them. I would have to get a third party or do it myself.
They told me the SSD is a 128GB MSATA HC KINGSTON/RBU-SMSM151S3/128GD.

I can't find images of where this is in the machine and don't want to take it apart without some idea of where it is, etc. I would like to upgrade the 128 GB to a 500 GB SSD. 128 is just way to small. Any info or images of what I might be getting into.

jdborges · ‎01-22-2016

I too have the same issue. I bought a 240 gb SSD from Crucial, cloned the C: drive and though I opened the bottom opposite the battery, There is no visible open slot for an SSD, only that which is taken by the HDD which I want to keep. I have searched everywhere for information on the location of the 128 gb SSD with no luck. It seems that it is buried under the rest of the casing. I have also had no luck in finding a how-to.

JoeCorrado · ‎02-01-2016

The ASUS GL551 has one bay to accommodate either a HDD or a SSD. Mine came with the 256GB SSD installed and which is easily upgradeable. First, I always remove the battery, just to be safe. Then, simply remove the two screws from the rear panel (opposite of the battery compartment) and slide the cover off exposing both the memory and the drive bay. Either of these components will now be easily accessible. To remove the drive, simply remove the retention screws, use the tab to pull the drive free of the sata connections and lastly, remove the drive from the carrier.

I replaced the original 256GB SSD with the Samsung EVO 850 500GB SSD. I used the included Samsung Clone software to clone the original drive to the new drive before replacement. I had no issues with booting after the swap. Note that the Samsung Clone Software will NOT copy the system recovery partition to the new drive. Not a big deal for me since I will keep the original ssd on hand for backup.

ASUS has a FAQ on upgrading the GL551 located here:

http://rog.asus.com/376092014/g-series-gaming-laptops/g551-upgrade-guide/

Hope this helps.

Djdubuque · ‎03-22-2016

BramC wrote:
Does the GL551JW-DS74 allow for the 128gb SSD (included) to be upgraded and switched out to a 500gb SSD?
I'm afraid that it's buried beyond reach and will not be replaceable.
Any brother out there own the GL551JW-DS74 that can help?

Thanks!
Cheers

I will be adding the same drive to my GL551JW, the how to install is on youtube below is the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKaRMs0Mmio&index=1&list=PLf4eArGqXZ6nibbLWa77FOVI1IZbJXrOy

Djdubuque · ‎03-22-2016

Djdubuque wrote:
I will be adding the same drive to my GL551JW, the how to install is on youtube below is the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKaRMs0Mmio&index=1&list=PLf4eArGqXZ6nibbLWa77FOVI1IZbJXrOy

FYI, the internal mSATA is a 30mm mini msata ssd not a mSATA and it only comes in a 128GB version at this time. If I find one that will fit I'll post a link.

U2Desire · ‎02-24-2017

This thread has a link to a video of a teardown for this model
https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?61085-HELP-SATA-based-SSD-or-PCIe-based-M-2-SSD-for-ASUS-R... bottom post.

GL551JW-DS74 SSD ungradable or not??