GT73VR with no Pcie slots...

Update 1: So apparently this laptop has an Msata hd installed in the NVMe Slot, while the Msata slot is empty. I relocated the regionally installed Msata to the first slot and I installed the new NVMe instead.
Now my Bios does see all my HDs (one sata III, one Msata, and one NVMe) but I can only see the original hard disks in the drivers list...I am guessing this could be related to a Bios setting which I could not find.

Update 2: Everything is working properly now.
Lessons learnt :

1. Not all GT73vr has the exact M.2 panel.
2. GT73VR NE-1080 models has an mSata HD installed in the NVMe slot for absolutely no logiscal reason.
3. GT73VR NE-1080 models has only 2 m.2 slots, one NVMe and one Msata.
   
4. When you buy a new Samsung SSD care to install the lastest Samsung Magician software or else it will show the new HD as not genuine.

I am here, sitting with my new 1tb 970 evo pcie HD, my opened GT73VR, and with absolutely ZERO PCIe slots available... One Kingston HD is on the msata slot and then and empty space (where my first Pcie slot should've been and then an unknown slot which is neither PCIe nor M sata( Update: Actually it is mSata slot ).
What is this please???

 

Where did you get this laptop?

 

Newegg, New and I just broke the factory seal...

 

From right is probably the PCIE1 and left is PCIE2.

 

I wahcted and read all about this minor upgrade before I do it. For some reason my M. 2 pannel has no PCIe slots. And has one slot that I have no clue how to use.
Would highly appreciate it if an expert can at least identify what looks like an inverted PCIe slot doing in my M.2 pannel.

 

Could it be possible that I have two Msata slots and no nvme?

 

rofl what a dirty trick for msi to leave 1 slot out. if this is what they do then i will forever be afraid to puchase a lower end sku barebone.

 

lol! well I would not take this that far ... I've had this laptop for a year now and it is really flawless... An empty slot is weird though...

 

What is the exact model of your laptop, including the alphanumeric combination after GT73VR?

 

for people who wanted to get extra storage and can't, cause now they'd either have to do the soldering themselves or buy a new mobo. i dont think soldering m.2 slot is possible and run the risk of shorting mobo/ssd, just too much for consumer. buying a mobo would mean buy a new cpu because cpu is soldered too, expensive just to get an extra SSD.

 

It is a Gt73evr NE-1080.

 

What if this is for an adapter? I saw somewhere an M.2 adapter for sale, maybe on Newegg, and I wonder if this is a header for something like that?

 

Which drive is installed in which slot is up to whoever installs the drives.
But the GT73VR is supposed to have this configuration:

2x M.2 combo slots. (Combo slots will accept either a PCIE m.2 drive or SATA m.2 drive. PCIE m.2 is also known as NVME.)
1x SATA m.2 slot (will NOT accept a PCIE drive. SATA only).
1x SATA 2.5" (for slim 2.5" traditional SSD or slim HDD (thicker 2.5" HDD's will only fit in the "slave" MXM video card slot area, using a SATA extension cable for this connection: something like this, then you can use 4 TB HDD's https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L9R3AKA/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_6?smid=A2OCOGC9B25845&psc=1 ).

There is apparently a '4th' mSATA slot and power connector on the board (labeled HDD1 or HDD2, I forgot) that is actually powered, but it uses a proprietary connector that no one has been able to figure out what works there, and MSI won't provide any information. Some have said a GT72 SATA power cable will work (e.g. from an older GT72s laptop), but no one has access to one. A Dell one burnt out and didn't work. Another brand didn't do anything at all. Maybe if you VERY politely ask Tom Ho for this connector, he might be able to sell you one under the table. 98% chance of failure, though.

 

Thank you for the great reply. what you said makes perfect sense,the config you mentioned is exactly what I expected... HOWEVER
As you can see in the picture, my laptop has only two slots.
I expected that the factory installed mSata HD should be installed in an mSata slot. This was not the case the the mSata HD was installed in the ONLY combo m.2 slot in my laptop leaving me with one empty mSata slot.
I relocated the original SSD HD to the mSata slot and I installed my new 970 evo in the Combo slot and all is going fine... HOWEVER
When I accessed my BIOS, I found that the BIOS has two NVMe slots, one filled with me 970 EVO and the other is empty.

Now, the big question is, how can my BIOS recognize a second NVMe slot that does not exist in the real world ( you you can clearly see in the photo in my original post)?

 

Wait a minute....
ONLY TWO SLOTS??

The third slot (which is also supposed to be NVME) ...what happened to it? the middle slot....right?
it's ...not even soldered on? The connector is removed?

Is this a CM238 chipset GT73VR or a HM175? (HM175 is known as "GT73EVR" outside of USA).

If your question is correct, your bios can NOT recognize the 2nd NVME. The physical slot is removed. The GT73VR CM238 and HM175 models use the exact same Bios. So it's configured for two NVME and one SATA M.2 in the base bios. The Bios has no idea the connection is removed.

 

Your second part of the reply makes everything clear. Only the two slots issue remains unsolved. Why do I have an empty middle space in my panel ??
My laptop's exact model is GT73vr TITAN PRO NE1080.
the chipset is HM175 ... in this link you can find the exact specs of my laptop.

 

That's probably why.
HM175 has some 'concessions' compared to CM238.
I don't know the full details. But originally the HM175 version came with a 7700HQ, not a 7820HK.
Eventually later versions came with a 7820HK.

I also don't know if this was a regional thing or not. e.g. if a GT73"EVR" only came with a 7700HQ. There was some discussion awhile back on the GT73VR thread about this. About the CM238 version being "discontinued" and the HM175 version being the only one in production, then the CM238 version suddenly appearing again.

I know that the HM175 version does NOT have an SLI configuration for 2x GTX 1070. I don't know if the board has this connection disabled electrically or not. However the HM175 version uses a different EC version--17a1EMS1.112. This EC Can be flashed on the CM238 version (remember it's the same basic mainboard), however when I was messing around with the unlocked Bios, I found that there is a hard coded 330W power draw limit on the HM175 EC. If you set PSYS_PMAX to 2700 (divider of 8, = 337.5 watts) and put ANY load at all on the video card, the CPU instantly gets cut down to 800 mhz without any throttling flags appearing anywhere.

On the CM238 EC (17A1EMS1.108 or 17A1EMS1.109), if you do this, nothing happens (gone up to 8191, which is 1023 watts).

I was not aware of the HM175 version removing a M.2 slot however. This is the very first time I heard of this.

 

I guess I learnt something new today...

 

hm175 chipset: 2x M.2 SATA SSDs or 1x M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe SSD

 

https://www.ixbt.com/portopc/msi/msi-gt72s-6qe.shtml

 

https://www.ixbt.com/portopc/msi/msi-gt72s-6qe/photo/small/ssd.jpg

 

Dont use that board, it was made for that model, because the m.2 connector on the laptop mobo has a lot of PCIe and SATA lanes, and the board does the correct routing, using that in a laptop not designed for it will either not work or fry the SSD's or even the motherboard..

 

Isn't that thing simillar with GT72- S and GT72- VR? Compare the chipsets guys.

GT72S - intel CM236


GT72VR(barebone ms-1785 also) - intel HM170


And about the "board" which Plinius showed us, it is only for GT72- S. GT72VR motherboard lacks some sockets:



The power section of the processor in the gt72-S model is also more powerful but it is probably due to the possibility of using integrated graphics, which is deactivated in the VR model.

So VR series = very rubbish...
especially for gt72:
- less m2 drives
- no switchable graphics

Ok end of off topic.