Lenovo Legion 5 SSD Upgrade [Full Guide]

The Lenovo Legion 5 is a top choice for gamers as it offers great performance without a huge price tag. It's powerful, with fast processors and graphics cards, and it stays cool even during intense gaming sessions.

While the Legion 5 is excellent, its storage space can be a problem. Modern games are massive, and the SSD that comes with the laptop can fill up very quickly. So, a huge number of users want to upgrade SSD in Legion 5 for more storage, or a performance boost.

Even more surprisingly, many Legion 5 models have a second slot for an extra SSD, making this upgrade simple and effective. All you need is a compatible SSD and reliable cloning software. This is also a key focus of this article.

Can You Upgrade Lenovo Legion 5 SSD?

Yes, you absolutely can upgrade SSD in Lenovo Legion 5(e.g., 15imh05h, 2021, 15ach6, etc). In fact, it's one of the most common and beneficial upgrades for this series.

Most Legion 5 models are designed with user upgrades in mind and come with two M.2 NVMe SSD slots, or a 2.5-inch SATA HDD/SSD slot. This is a major advantage because it gives you 3 options for upgrading your storage:

Select a Compatible SSD for Lenovo Legion 5

When choosing a new SSD, you'll want to check your specific model's specifications to see what form factor and interface it supports (e.g., M.2 2280/2242, 2.5-inch SATA, PCIe Gen 3 or Gen 4). Most modern NVMe SSDs are compatible and will provide a significant boost in storage and performance.

For M.2 2280 NVMe SSDs:

Category	Model	Interface	Sequential Read (MB/s)	Sequential Write (MB/s)
High Performance	WD Black SN850X	PCIe Gen 4.0	Up to 7,300	Up to 6,600
High Performance	Samsung 990 Pro	PCIe Gen 4.0	Up to 7,450	Up to 6,900
Best Value	Crucial T500	PCIe Gen 4.0	Up to 7,300	Up to 6,800
General Use	Samsung 980 Pro	PCIe Gen 4.0	Up to 7,000	Up to 5,000
General Use	WD Black SN770	PCIe Gen 4.0	Up to 5,150	Up to 4,850
Best PCIe Gen 3	SK hynix Gold P31	PCIe Gen 3.0	Up to 3,500	Up to 3,200

For M.2 2242 SSDs:

Category	Model	Interface	Sequential Read (MB/s)	Sequential Write (MB/s)
High Performance	Sabrent Rocket Nano 2242	PCIe 4.0 x4	Up to 5,000	Up to 4,400
Corsair MP600 MICRO	PCIe 4.0 x4	Up to 5,100	Up to 4,300
Timetec Premium 2242	PCIe 4.0 x4	Up to 5,100	Up to 4,800
Best Value	Samsung PM991a	PCIe 3.0 x4	Up to 3,100	Up to 2,000
General Use	Sabrent Rocket NVMe 2242	PCIe 3.0 x4	Up to 2,500	Up to 2,100
General Use	Timetec 2242 NVMe	PCIe 3.0 x4	Up to 2,100	Up to 1,600

For 2.5-inch SATA SSD:

Category	Model	Sequential Read (MB/s)	Sequential Write (MB/s)
High Performance	Samsung 870 EVO	Up to 560	Up to 530
High Performance	Crucial MX500	Up to 560	Up to 510
High Performance	WD Blue SA510	Up to 560	Up to 520
Best Value	Crucial BX500	Up to 540	Up to 500
Best Value	PNY CS900	Up to 550	Up to 500
General Use	Kingston A400	Up to 500	Up to 450

⚠️Notes:
✔ Some older modles may use Gen 3.0. A Gen 4 drive is backward compatible with a Gen 3 slot, but it will only operate at Gen 3 speeds.So it’s unnecessary to get a Gen 4.0.
✖ The M.2 2242 SSDs typically support capacities up to 512GB, while the M.2 2280 slots can handle drives up to 1TB or more, depending on the specific model and generation.

How to Perform Lenovo Legion 5 SSD Upgrade

Here’s how to upgrade SSD in Lenovo Legion 5 in 3 methods. Before starting, you need to prepare Phillips #1 screwdriver, a plastic pry tool, and, optionally, an external SSD enclosure for cloning.

#1: Add a Second SSD in the Empty M.2 Slot

Most Lenovo Legion 5 models have two M.2 slots (one occupied, one empty). So it’s normal to add a second SSD in the empty slot (without affecting the OS).

Step 1. Shut down the Legion 5, unplug the AC adapter and all peripherals, and remove the battery if possible (or disconnect it internally later).

Step 2. Flip the laptop over. Remove the 10 screws securing the bottom panel using a Phillips #1 screwdriver. Insert a plastic opening pick into the lower right corner at a 45° angle and slide it along the edges to release the clips.

Step 3. Gently lift the cover and locate the empty M.2 slot on the motherboard. Insert the SSD at a 30° angle into the slot until it seats fully, then press it down flat. Secure it with the provided screw.

Step 4. Reconnect the battery cable, align the back cover, and snap it into place. Reinsert all screws.

Step 5. Initialize and format the new SSD

• Restart your Lenovo Legion 5. Then, press Win + X and select Disk Management.
• Right-click the new SSD (listed as unallocated) and select Initialize Disk. Choose GPT (for modern systems) or MBR, then click OK.

• Right-click the unallocated space and select New Simple Volume. Follow the wizard to assign a drive letter and format as NTFS drive.

#2: Swap the Main SSD with a New, Larger One

This replaces the primary drive on Lenovo Region 5 (e.g., 15imh05h, 2021, 15ach6, etc), so cloning is essential to transfer OS and data. AOMEI Cloner excels in this area.

Step 1. Download and install AOMEI Cloner for cloning. Meanwhile, connect your Legion 5 using an M.2 enclosure or adapter and be sure it’s recognized.

Step 2. On the main page, click Clone> Disk Clone to get started.

Step 3. Select your main SSD as the source drive and the new SSD as the target drive.

Step 4. This software will resize the target drive to full capacity (if it’s large) automatically. You can click Edit Partitions to confirm this and, optionally, check the option to convert MBR to GPT or vice versa. At last, for the best performance, it’s suggested to enable SSD Alignment.

Step 5. Review all the cloning settings and click Start Clone.

After cloning, you still need to swap the main SSD and replace it with new SSD. The process is similar to adding a second SSD, but starts with removing the old SSD from the primary M.2 slot. Once completed, start Legion 5 from a new SSD and perform a boot test.

Power on and enter BIOS (press F2, F10, ESC, etc.,during startup). Set the new SSD as the first boot device in the Boot menu. Then, press F10 to save changes and exit. It will navigate to the Windows desktop just like the old SSD.

#3: Replace HDD with SSD (Older Models)

Older Legion 5 variants (e.g., some 15ACH6H) include a 2.5-inch HDD bay alongside an M.2 SSD. Be sure to check this and then get a compatible SATA SSD for an upgrade. To transfer everything from HDD to SSD, cloning with AOMEI Cloner is the easiest method. Don’t mix the old HDD and new SSD, and be sure to check your data after cloning.

Conclusion

To perform Lenovo Legion 5 SSD upgrade, it’s crucial to select a compatible SSD (M.2/2.5 inch SATA) and find a reliable cloning software - AOMEI Cloner for data migration. Considering that these laptops typically feature two drive bays, there are 3 different upgrade options available, with specific steps outlined above. You can swipe up to see them.