M.2 NVMe Device Specifications and Upgrade Requirements for Precision, OptiPlex, Latitude, and XPS Systems

The original SATA protocol was designed to maximize the performance of platter (physical spinning) hard drives. With the proliferation of SSD drives, the SATA storage management protocol has become a limiting factor. The NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory) protocol has been designed for solid state drives and uses the PCIe bus for optimal performance. An M.2 drive may support SATA or PCIe/NVMe but not both. Depending on the drive, and what the computer can support, not all M.2 drives work in all computers.

M.2 storage devices are classified numerically based on performance. The higher the Class, the faster the overall performance:

Precision Systems

System	Maximum internal drives supported	Drive configurations supported (max)	PCIe lanes	Parts needed to install a M.2 device into a M.2 slot	Parts needed to install a M.2 device into a 2.5-inch bay	Additional information
7710 7720	3	3x M.2 1 x 2.5-inch 2 x M.2 + 1 x 2.5-inch	M.2 slots support 4X. 2.5-inch supports 2 x.	1 x HR8P8 - Thermal cover (includes cover and thermal pad) 1 x 4270E - Screw (secures cover on top of the M.2 drive).	1 x 745TM - 2.5-inch metal bracket (most units already include this part). 1 x Y1WJX - M.2 bracket (mounts to 745TM). 4x 2864D - M3X3 screw(most computers include these. These secure the Y1WJX M.2 drive carrier, or a 2.5-inch drive into 745TM) 1 x WPTND - M.2 Interposer Board(installs into Y1WJX) 5x 4270E - M2.0*3 L screws 1 x HR8P8 - M.2 thermal cover	Find instructions on the Dell Community Forum page.
7510 7520	2	1 x M.2 1 x 2.5-inch 2 x M.2 1 x M.2 + 1 x 2.5-inch	M.2 slot supports 4X. 2.5-inch supports 2 x.		1 x 745TM - 2.5-inch metal bracket (most computers include this part). 1 x Y1WJX - M.2 bracket (mounts to 745TM). 4x 2864D - M3X3 screw(most computers include these. These secure the Y1WJX M.2 drive carrier, or a 2.5-inch drive into 745TM) 1 x WPTND - M.2 Interposer Board(installs into Y1WJX) 5x 4270E - M2.0*3 L screws 1 x HR8P8 - M.2 thermal cover	Find instructions here on the Dell Community Forum.
5510 5520	2	1 x M.2 1 x 2.5-inch 1 x M.2 + 1 x 2.5-inch	M.2 slot supports 4X. 2.5-inch bay is wired as SATA.	1 x 88DJK - Thermal pad (no plate required) 1 x 4270E - M2 x3 screw	1 x XDYGX - Cable 2 x 3XYT5 - Rubber side isolator 1 x 3FDY3 - Metal hard drive bracket (some units may already have this installed even if a 2.5-inch drive was not ordered from Dell originally).	Discussed on the Dell Community Forum page.
3510	1	1 x M.2 1 x 2.5-inch	M.2 slot supports 4X. 2.5-inch bay is wired as SATA.		1 x X3YR8 - M.2 end bracket 1 x 1 x2MT - Thermal cover 2 x 4270E - M2 x3 screws	Discussed here on SpiceWorks
3520	2	1 x M.2 1 x 2.5-inch 1 x M.2 cache drive + 1 x 2.5-inch	M.2 slot supports 4X. 2.5-inch bay is wired as SATA.		1 x 2FFR0 - End bracket 1 x X3DN4 -Thermal plate 1 x 4270E - End screw

Latitude Systems

System	Maximum internal drives supported	Drive configurations supported (max)	PCIe lanes	Parts needed to install a M.2 device into a M.2 slot	Parts needed to install a M.2 device into a 2.5-inch bay	Additional information
E5270 E5470 E5570	1	1 x M.2 1 x 2.5-inch	E5270 supports 2 x. E5570 supports 4X (w/ H processor). E5570 supports 2 x (w/ U processor). E5470 supports 2 x (w/ H or U processor). 2.5-inch bay is wired as SATA.		1 x X3YR8 - M.2 end bracket 1 x 1 x2MT - Thermal cover 2 x 4270E - M2 x3 screws
5280 5480 5580	2	1 x M.2 1 x 2.5-inch 1 x M.2 cache drive + 1 x 2.5-inch	5280 supports 2 x. 5580 supports 4X (w/ H processor). 5580 supports 2 x (w/ U processor). 5480 supports 4X (w/ H processor). 5480 supports 2 x (w/ U processor). 2.5-inch bay is wired as SATA.		1 x X3YR8 - M.2 end bracket 1 x 1 x2MT - Thermal cover 2 x 4270E - M2 x3 screws
E7270 E7470	1	1 x M.2	M.2 slot supports 2 x.	1 x DJ69P - Thermal cover 2 x 4270E - Screw M2 x3 (most computers include one of these).		Discussed here on SpiceWorks.
7280 7480	1	1 x M.2	M.2 slot supports 2 x.	1 x R6TGF - Thermal cover 2 x VJYP9 - Screw M2 x3 (most computers include one of these).

XPS Systems

OptiPlex Systems

Other M.2 Resources

Operating computer Install Notes:

There is an updated storage driver (IRST F6) to include PCIE support. (to enable Windows to recognize the drive during installation):

• Intel 14.8
• Dell 14.5

Obtaining an ISO Image from the Windows Operating Systems Support Site.

M.2 Knowledgebase Articles:

• Imaging M.2 solid state drives in Intel Skylake Chipset Systems
• Interposer Card Only Detects One solid state drive (SSD)
• NVM Express SSD drive not detected on startup or reboot on Precision 15 5000 (5510) or XPS 15 9550
• PXE Booting with M.2 solid state drives
• How To Distinguish the Differences Between M.2 Cards
• BIOS Option to Set a Hard Drive Password on M.2 SSD

Recommended Articles

Here are some recommended articles related to this topic that might be of interest to you.

• How to Install an Intel Optane M.2 NVMe Accelerator into your Existing Dell OptiPlex, Inspiron, Precision, and Alienware Computers
• OptiPlex 3050 support for PCIe M.2 SSD hard drives
• Frequently Asked Questions Regarding NVMe Solid-State Drives (SSDs)
• Imaging M.2 Solid-State Drives in Intel Skylake Chipset Systems
• PCIe SSD M.2 Interposer Card FAQ