We've already talked in-depth about the Asus VivoBook 15 F512JA-AS34, we did a review on this laptop a few months back and most recently we covered a nifty guide on how to do a RAM upgrade on the F512JA-AS34. Having said that, while upgrading the RAM should definitely be on your list if you're a power user, upgrading the storage is also something worth looking into when the laptop is limited to 128 GB as is the case here.
In this specific case, we don't have an open PCIe NVMe slot but we do have a 2.5-inch SATA slot to upgrade the storage through either an HDD or an SSD module. Today, in under 3 minutes, we're going to walk you through how to do it. Don't worry, next to upgrading the memory it's one of the easiest upgrades you can do to the Asus VivoBook 15 F512JA-AS34.
Asus VivoBook 15 F512JA-AS34 Storage Upgrade (HDD or SSD)
What type of storage can I use?
This particular laptop features a 2.5-inch bay where you can insert either an SSD or an HDD that come in this form factor. We would recommend getting a 2.5-inch SSD since read/write speeds are up to 5 times faster than a 2.5-inch HDD. There's really no good reason for getting an HDD these days.
A few years back it could be justified due to the price gap but these days they're very similarly priced. Since this isn't a gaming laptop it doesn't come by default with a SATA connector so you're going to need to buy one.
How Do I Upgrade the Storage capacity?
You're going to need to make use of a Philips screwdriver, a pry tool to help you pry open the laptop, and the aforementioned SATA connector. It should be pointed out that there's very little chance of you getting a little bit of static but in the event that you want to be 100% sure you won't get any static discharge then you could use anti-static gloves.
You should also get double-sided foam tape to make sure the SSD sticks to its place since this laptop does not feature a dedicated 2-5-inch caddy.
Step 1: Before doing anything on the F512JA-AS34 you want to make sure the laptop is turned off and disconnected from the power source. Once that's done you're going to go ahead and flip the laptop on its back and remove all the screws located at the bottom.
I would urge you to draw up a diagram of each screw since they're not all identical and this way you can have an easier time re-assembling the laptop.
Step 2: Once the screws have been removed, make use of the pry tool and gently but firmly start to press it against the hinges and slide it all around the laptop to remove the lower case.
Step 3: Now that the interior of the laptop has been exposed you're going to be able to quickly locate the SSD slot on the side of the battery. You'll see it has a couple of foams, remove them.
Step 4: Insert the SATA connector on the storage unit you've bought. You're going to connect the storage to a connector that's located right below the NVMe module and above the slot for the 2.5-inch storage unit.
Step 5: Place the cable of the SATA connector in its place as is depicted on the image below and press down to make sure the cable is properly connected to the port.
Step 6: Now, to make sure that the storage unit doesn't wobble you're going to go ahead and place a double-sided taped foam so that it attaches itself to the case and doesn't leave much margin for it to wobble like so:
Step 7: Finally, once the storage unit is secured you're going to place the cover back on using the screws diagram you did in step 1 and attach the bottom lid back to the laptop. Turn the laptop back on and go ahead and create volumes and partitions to finish up with the process of formatting the storage unit.
As you can see, it was a pretty simple process. Basically, you open up the laptop, place the SATA connector to the drive, place the drive in the available slot, connect it to the port, attach foam to keep it from moving, and place the lid back on. Not much more to it really.