New G20CB-B10 ... M.2 PCIe Gen3 x4 SSD...more questions than answers...

[Quanty]

( please also reffer to the pictuered post, 4 posts from here )
Hallo,

I upgraded my G20CB with an M.2 drive the other day and I hope I can answer your questions:

1.) Does the G20CB-B10 have a M.2 PCIe Gen3 x4 connector on the motherboard ??? Have you seen one ??? Can you post a jpeg??? Where is it located ???

Yes, the G20CB has an M.2 PCIe Gen3 x4 connector 2280, which supports NVMe, and I have seen it.
Getting there is a little tricky, though. Watch this video at the 4 minute mark to get a first impression.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1BO6FUnI-8&t=4m
- remove the top cover
- remove the side panel ( one top and one bottom screw, pay attention to the attached cable, which is required for the LED goodness )
- remove 3 screws for the backplate
- remove the Graphics card ( 3 screws ), to be able to remove the CPU cooler (!)
- remove the gpu blowers ( 5 screws )
- remove the dvd drive ( 1 screw )
- remove the cpu cooler ( 4 screws near the cpu, 2 of them can be reached when removing the sticky lid on the top, 1 more screws on the top of the case)
- remove the drive cage ( 2 screws on the outside of the cage, holding the ssd in place, 1 more screw on the top )
- et voila, an M.2 2280 connector

re-assemble in opposite order, remember to clean the cpu-cooler from thermal paste and apply some new

2.) There seems to be different M.2 key configurations, widths, lengths... What fits this machine ???

yep, formfactor 2280.

3.) Is this machine NVMe compatible ??? Does it need an update ??? Where do I find that ??? Did not see it on Asus Support Site...Can I use SAMSUNG 950 PRO M.2 512GB PCI-Express 3.0 x4 Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-V5P512BW ???

Yes, the drive runs at NVMe. Sorry, I don't get your concerns regarding an update.
Though, you cannot use an 950 Pro. Why, you will ask? The M.2 on the G20CB is limited to 250 Gigabytes, and the 950 Pro minimum size is 500 Gigs.
Your options are 850 Pro, or the new 960 Evo

4.) How do I transfer the recovery files to a flash drive ??? Want the M.2 to be the OS / programs drive...saw an article that said Windows will need to have two SATA drives dedicated...huh ??? I have not found a legit manual for this machine...

Many M.2-Sticks come with a data transfer software, so the samsung drives. That one is easy, give it a try.

[chilinmichael]

How's it running? Any heat issues? The 256GB limit is kind of a killer...I wish it could handle 512gb.

[scoobs25]

When installing the M.2 drive you shouldnt need to take off the Heat sink on the CPU. Just remove the brace that is holding the big black brickthat helps cool the cpu and you can bend the cords of the cpu cooler. This will allow you to take out the CD drive without having to remove the heat sink.

[Quanty]

How's it running? Any heat issues? The 256GB limit is kind of a killer...I wish it could handle 512gb.

Kinda chilli with the copper heatsink, which comes with the 950s/ 960s

Feels a little cooler to me, after I've applied the firmware update with Samsung Magician

Real issues? Well, it is almost impossible to perform any tasks between switching on the machine and the time the OS is up and running.
Windows 10 x64 is kinda 70 gigs-is, yeah, not much room for anything else, though you would have the other drives free for your videos and stuff

[Quanty]

When installing the M.2 drive you shouldnt need to take off the Heat sink on the CPU. Just remove the brace that is holding the big black brickthat helps cool the cpu and you can bend the cords of the cpu cooler. This will allow you to take out the CD drive without having to remove the heat sink.

Uhm,... though you managed to remove the drive cage? I guess you got to do that in order to get to the M.2 slot.
How did you manage to do that? I am curious

[Quanty]

I guess I got you something. I thought my CD-ROM was disconnected. So I dug into my machine, merely to find out,
I missed a BIOS setting. So I dug all the way through, to give you guys an idea on how this might work

Remove the top lid


Remove the top screw


Remove the bottom screw


Slide the side panel open


Pay attention to the RGB high voltage cable


3 screws for the backplate...


...and 3 more for the GPU


Slide up the GPU (still the most difficult part for me) and disconnect the power cable


5 screws to remove the CPU blower and the CPU heatsink holder


Pay attention to the CPU-fan-connectors


Remove screw 1, which holds the CD-Rom-drive, slide the drive a forward a little, disconnect the cables, and you got access to 1 of 4 CPU heatsing screws


These are the other 3; back screws can be accessed through the heatsink after lifting the duct tape-thing.


Orange: last screw holding the heatsing in place. Green: one of 4 drive cage screws


The other 3 screws; 2 of those are HDD screws, don't mix those up later


CD-ROM out, drive cage out


YAY, done

[Quanty]

...a post is limited to 15 pictures, and here is fabulous 16.

[chilinmichael]

The drive in the "Drive cage" won't work with the M.2 used, correct? I think I've read this

[Quanty]

The drive in the "Drive cage" won't work with the M.2 used, correct? I think I've read this

Hi chilinmichael,
all 3 drives work perfectly for me, at the same time.
When installing the m.2-drive, go to bios -> advanced -> onboard devices and make sure, M.2 is enabled.
If not, enable it, save bios and reboot. Remember that the m.2 on the g20cb only takes up to 250 Gigs.
Cheers

[chilinmichael]

Appreciate it! I'll be purchasing the 960Evo soon. That being the case, the stock SK Hynix will then be replaced with another 1TB Samsung 850 Evo as well, so (2) 1TB 850 Evo's and the 960Evo 256GB.