1)The stated "Up to 2TB" comment exists because Dell only publishes based on validated configurations it sells. Well that makes sense. Having said that, aftermarket drives of >2TB should not be an issue and will require a GPT format. Great!
2) The 2TB SATA drive identified in the option will be 3.5" and will occupy the only standard 3.5" location available in the chassis. I'll look into the reconfiguration suggestion by markburv.
Yes. A great suggestion to leave the 3.5" cage vacant for an after marked drive of substantially larger capacity. Again credit markburv for the thought.
Nothing like good advice from experienced folks....thanks!
Sounds to me like you are thinking about buying an Aurora
I would suggest you configure with just a single 1TB NVME drive, no Optane and buy your HDD drive later aftermarket.
You only have one space for a 3.5" HDD as standard, upper front bay, you may be able to get a hold of another HDD cage and replace one of the SSD cages on the case floor, otherwise your 2TB HDD spinner in the config is redundant.
Yeah, the 2TB platter drive is 3.5". Dell doesn't sell the Aurora with 2.5" sata drives.
The 2 TB is referring to Dell validated configurations (and they only validate configurations they sell). There's otherwise no limitation that would prevent you from installing and using a storage drive larger than 2TB. However, if you install a boot partition larger than 2TB, you need use GPT when you set it up.
Just some afterthought, if you are interested in some tips, I buy in this manner from AW:
Min memory and GPU, fastest but sufficient size boot drive - currently 512GB-1TB, no other drives, Max CPU, Max PSU, Watercooling,
I order in parallel:
compatable memory, needs researching as depends on the MB R
additional SATA SSD for storing games, may require additional SATA data cable
I upgrade the GPU later.
If the configuration is not available on a specific choice:
I call Dell sales and encourage a hybrid configuration from different online choices
They send me a proposal
I review the proposal and refine once as they sometimes add stuff I do not need like AV, I already have my multi-device AV subscription
They send me a second proposal
Usually this is enough, they are a great customer focused service and I got exactly what I wanted with my AW17 and R8.
@r72019 advised me during my GPU upgrade adventure that the cages are swappable and that my HDD would be better in one of the SSD places beneath the GPU. Better still, when I was wanting to improve airflow @r72019 and @Anonymous advised me to add an upper front intake fan, requires a Y PWM splitter. a significant difference.
I would have never expected such flexibility from Dell regarding a custom configuration for an order of one unit. Good on them and thanks for these ideas.
The service manuals are surprisingly open and wonderfully illustrated on these units. Have you seen adverse impact on the warranty for modifications a this modular level?
I have never needed to use the warranty, but afaik, adding storage/ram does not have an effect, you can always remove them if you have to send back the machine, most repairs are done on-site which is cool.
Out of the blue couple of months after my purchase, Dell called me and said my R3 MB needed replacing with a revised MB due to a general malfunction. The technicien came, removed everything connected, replaced the MB and reconnected everything.
G_Day_Mate
1 Rookie
•
25 Posts
1
March 27th, 2021 13:00
Thank you Vanadiel, 5 Rhenium, and markburv,
In summary:
1)The stated "Up to 2TB" comment exists because Dell only publishes based on validated configurations it sells. Well that makes sense. Having said that, aftermarket drives of >2TB should not be an issue and will require a GPT format. Great!
2) The 2TB SATA drive identified in the option will be 3.5" and will occupy the only standard 3.5" location available in the chassis. I'll look into the reconfiguration suggestion by markburv.
Yes. A great suggestion to leave the 3.5" cage vacant for an after marked drive of substantially larger capacity. Again credit markburv for the thought.
Nothing like good advice from experienced folks....thanks!
markburv
2 Intern
•
569 Posts
0
March 27th, 2021 11:00
Hi @G_Day_Mate
Equivalent doc for my R8 max 1TB
I dropped a 4TB HDD in my R8:
1) So I would presume "No", doesn't make sense anyway, I expect this refers to configurations sold by Dell
2.5" HDD spinners are for old laptops, even rarer are 2,5" 7200RPM spinners
2) I would presume 3.5"
Someone may surprise me and answer the opposite
Vanadiel
6 Professor
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7.1K Posts
0
March 27th, 2021 12:00
I have an R10 and the partition table was in GPT format.
Maximum supported size should be 256 TB per disk.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/windows-and-gpt-faq
markburv
2 Intern
•
569 Posts
0
March 27th, 2021 12:00
Sounds to me like you are thinking about buying an Aurora
I would suggest you configure with just a single 1TB NVME drive, no Optane and buy your HDD drive later aftermarket.
You only have one space for a 3.5" HDD as standard, upper front bay, you may be able to get a hold of another HDD cage and replace one of the SSD cages on the case floor, otherwise your 2TB HDD spinner in the config is redundant.
r72019
6 Professor
•
5.3K Posts
0
March 27th, 2021 12:00
Yeah, the 2TB platter drive is 3.5". Dell doesn't sell the Aurora with 2.5" sata drives.
The 2 TB is referring to Dell validated configurations (and they only validate configurations they sell). There's otherwise no limitation that would prevent you from installing and using a storage drive larger than 2TB. However, if you install a boot partition larger than 2TB, you need use GPT when you set it up.
markburv
2 Intern
•
569 Posts
0
March 28th, 2021 02:00
@G_Day_Mate
Just some afterthought, if you are interested in some tips, I buy in this manner from AW:
Min memory and GPU, fastest but sufficient size boot drive - currently 512GB-1TB, no other drives, Max CPU, Max PSU, Watercooling,
I order in parallel:
I upgrade the GPU later.
If the configuration is not available on a specific choice:
Usually this is enough, they are a great customer focused service and I got exactly what I wanted with my AW17 and R8.
@r72019 advised me during my GPU upgrade adventure that the cages are swappable and that my HDD would be better in one of the SSD places beneath the GPU. Better still, when I was wanting to improve airflow @r72019 and @Anonymous advised me to add an upper front intake fan, requires a Y PWM splitter. a significant difference.
G_Day_Mate
1 Rookie
•
25 Posts
0
March 28th, 2021 09:00
Hey MarkBurv,
I would have never expected such flexibility from Dell regarding a custom configuration for an order of one unit. Good on them and thanks for these ideas.
The service manuals are surprisingly open and wonderfully illustrated on these units. Have you seen adverse impact on the warranty for modifications a this modular level?
Thanks as always for your sage advice.
markburv
2 Intern
•
569 Posts
0
March 28th, 2021 10:00
Yeah the service manuals are awesome
I have never needed to use the warranty, but afaik, adding storage/ram does not have an effect, you can always remove them if you have to send back the machine, most repairs are done on-site which is cool.
Out of the blue couple of months after my purchase, Dell called me and said my R3 MB needed replacing with a revised MB due to a general malfunction. The technicien came, removed everything connected, replaced the MB and reconnected everything.