17 R5, are both SSD slots NVMe capable?

Hi @Anonymous!

Two out of the three M.2 slots support NVMe M.2 SSD's. For more information, check out the system specifications on this link: http://topics-cdn.dell.com/pdf/alienware-17-r5_users-guide_en-us.pdf

Thank you for the quick repsonse. Just 1 follow up question (as the manual does not specify exactly), can either slot that supports NVMe be used for the boot drive?

Why do the older Alienware Laptops have more slots for NVMe cards? (my older one has 4 x 2280 slots)
My newer laptop (R4) has 2 x 2280 slots and 1 x 2242, and it looks like the R5 has the same?  I have zero use for that 2242 slot.
Really wish I could put 4x2280 cards in a new R5 laptop. Is the size limit for NVMe really only 1TB cards?

Been waiting for the new model to come out, hoping it had 4 x 2280 slots and could take larger cards.  Guess I'll have to look at something else..

Also, can you explain more what the Intel Optane storage is for?  It's a full length M.2 2280 slot, but only supports 60Gb and 120Gb configurations?  I see that Intel has drives up to 960Gb with their Optane SSD line. 

Thanks!

Hello! Do both slots support m2 Sata also? I know they support NVME, however do they both support m2 sata? 

If your SSD is m2 sata it the slot should automatically detect it as m2 and not NVMe. Thats usually how it is.

I wanted to know can I install Samsung 970 EVO Series 2TB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD in R5

same here.

I'm interested to know how to install the install Samsung 970 EVO Series 2TB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD for storage, not to replace my main drive.

Has any one been able to do this???

Samsung 970 EVO Series 2TB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD for storage

Yes, the 2280 slots can hold larger than 1TB.

My AW 17 R4 has a Samsung 960 PRO NVMe 2TB as the boot drive.

I plan to install two 970 EVO 2TB NVMe 2280s in my next laptop AW 17 R5 that I expect to get in the next few weeks.

I tried to install a crucial mx 500gb nvme 2280 m.2 into the other ssd slot. However the drive was unstable causing blue screens and crashes during game play. Any suggestions on what I did wrong or what I can do?  System is AW 17 R5

are you sure?, because the user manual for aw 17r5 says up to 1tb for both 2280 drives slots.

Did you have any issues with fitting double sided m2 SSD in eg bending? I’m asking because I really want to fit either the 970 Evo 2TB into my AW13R3 or the Intel 760P 2TB. Problem is both are double sided so wasn’t sure if they fit into the slot without bending.

If you don’t mind how exactly did you do the boot drive conversion?  I have spoken with a Dell tech guy and it sounded as if he was searching the internet after each question as I was.  I would think it would not be that difficult a transition but have tried many things and just can’t get there.

I have the 17r5 model and want to use the Samsung 970 NVMe 1TB drive as my boot drive.  

I can install and configure the drive but can’t figure out how to make it the boot drive and use the factory drive as storage.