Summary: I researched using SSDs in a z800 before posting. I think I covered the salient points.
Q1: Did I miss any important points wrt installing an SSD in a z800?
Q2: Anyone know if I can just boot a live USB stick, install to the SSD and the reboot w/o issues?
Samsung's 850 EVO is a known good choice for the z800. The company's newer (and cheaper) 860 EVO improves upon the 850, but uses a different controller. It might not work. The 860 does have better support for Linux distros, though.
I would appreciate any help. Thank you.
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I intend to upgrade my z800 to use an SSD. I currently use a USB stick to boot a debian-based Linux OS. I found quite a bit of useful advice reviewing the forum posts on the topic, although some were a bit dated. Most of it remains relevant, though.
1) Determine the z800s' generation - first gen or second gen? Do this by checking the boot block date, which is listed in the BIOS
2) Update the BIOS microcode, if needed, to v3.60;
3) Load the correct storage controller, namely 9.6.0.1014;
4) Ensure SATA emulation is set to RAID + AHCI in BIOS;
5) Enable option ROM for the PCI/PCIe slots AND disable compute. It shipped from the factory with those settings, but they could have been changed by a previous owner;
Choosing an SSD || NB: z800s came w/ SATA I and SATA II support, not SATA III. And certainly not NVMe support.
1) Buy a SATA SSD, not an NVMe. A hacky-ish workaround exists to use an NVMe with the z800, but it is an additional hurdle to overcome;
2a) Buy a 2.5" SSD. Install it into a PCIe slot w/ a SATA III adapter card. Buy a SATA extension so one of the HDD SATA cables can reach the PCIe card.
OR
2b) Buy an M.2 form factor SSD; User @SDH has (or had) a Kingston Predator M.2 working on his machine. @SDH follows a specific set of steps to set up the Predator M.2, but I'm not sure if those steps are required or suggested;
OR
2c) Buy a 2.5" SSD that is backward compatible to SATA II. These might be pretty scarce as of Jan 2019. This option requires a carrier tray for the SSD to fit correctly in the larger HDD slot;
3) The SSD needs to have an AHCI controller <-- opting for the SATA interface should cover this, especially since the other controller option is the ancient IDE technology;
Various Kingston SSDs have been recommended, but the recommendations were made in late 2016, so the products may not be available. Samsungs are also popular, including the 850 Evo (but not the Pro). User @Knight_Phi recommends "... more old fasion same era as the Z800 pci-e ssd like fusion drive and revo drive pci-e ssd's "