The gaming notebook GL553VD comes with a slow Sandisk Z400s 128GB SSD M.2. This 128GB storage unit is the boot / system disk. Let’s replace this 128GB drive by a faster and larger one: a Samsung SSD 960 PRO 512GB M.2.
Article index
The Samsung 960 PRO is a NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) storage unit. The NVMe interface is designed to fully exploit the capabilities of high-speed SSDs devices to perform many I/O operations in parallel. More information about NVMe interface can be found HERE.
1 – Gallery
The 960 PRO box:


Inside the box of the 960 PRO:

The 960 PRO in M.2 format:


The 960 PRO plugged into ASUS GL553VD gaming notebook:

2 – Benchmark
Do you remember the CrystalDiskMark results of the Sandisk Z400s 128GB? read speed: 538MB/s and write speed: 182MB/s.
Let’s look at the CrystalDiskMark results of the 960 PRO:

3136MB/s in reading and 2056MB/s in writing. Wow! Awesome! More than 6 times faster in reading and more than 10 times faster in writing!!! These values
Windows 10 is ready in few seconds and now there is a lot of space to install all the programs I need.
And to end up this article, the screenshot of CrystalDiskInfo:

What about nasty noise after fresh Windows install? Thanks for that article.
The article is coming…
my GL553VD shows only AHCI on the BIOS, is there an update for NVMe support? thanks
M.2 drive can use PCI-E or SATA links and only PCI-E links allow to use NVMe ie. not all M.2 SSD supports NVMe.
And there will not be a SATA mode option in BIOS because M.2 SSD with NVMe is a PCI-E device.
//Sorry for double comment.