Area-51m R1, SSD upgrade

https://www.amazon.com/Silicon-Power-Gen3x4-000MB-SU001TBP34A80M28AB/dp/B089M1MSSC/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=NVMe%2Bm.2%2B1Tb&qid=1594144008&sr=8-10&th=1

Try that Bad Boy out!

PCIe Gen 4x4 With 3D NAND technology for Reliability and NVMe for Speedy Storage.

Comes with a 5 Year warranty and a Free Disk cloning software on the back.

Sorry for delayed response. I did check this product, but it seems that it is not available in my country for 1TB/2TB configuration. Maybe due to the current situation around the world. 

Another point I wanted to mention was that Area 51M R1 supports only PCIe Gen 3x4, is there any benefit of using PCIe Gen 4 products.

Considering compatible PCIe Gen 3 SSDs, I have shortlisted Samsung 970 EVO Plus and Sabrent 1TB Rocket NVMe 3/4 Gen.  

Another point I wanted to get some information was regarding shelf life of an SSD. I read many articles regarding SLC, MLC, TLC and QLC NANDs. So called superiority of SLC and MLC SSDs in terms of long term usage. Do not know how much of it works out in day to day activities. 

Hence wanted to get opinions from other members regarding performance and shelf life of these SSDs.

Thanks

Well in my opinion the more cells a NVMe ssd has for each block it, the more the shelf life and use lifespan greatly increases while also making performance more higher.

The 970 EVO and the PLUS model are just the same SSD just with a higher capacity and a bit more read and write speed.

Thanks man.

@Alienware Area-51 ALX 2006 @kromastorm 

Hi there, would you be able to help me out on an issue. I wish I had come across this page before making a purchase. So I just recently bought the Seagate Firecuda 520 series 2TB but it hasn't come in yet. I also have an Alienware Area51m R1 and I was looking to upgrade my SSD to 2TB from what I have currently which is 512GB. Do you think this will be compatible? Thanks in advance. Here is the link to the SSD:

https://www.seagate.com/www-content/datasheets/pdfs/firecuda-520-ssd-DS2024-1-1909US-en_US.pdf

Even though it’s a GEN 4 SSD it’s fully backwards compatible with GEN 3 which means the speeds are going to be the same.

Great choice btw.

@Alienware Area-51 ALX 2006 

 Oh ok got it! I'll decide it I should keep it or not after it comes in. I really appreciate your help!

Could I use a wd_black sn750 for my Alienware Area 51 model laptop

Yes. That will work just fine.

Hi there! I have the Area-51m R1 and I recently installed Samsung 980Pro 1TB as main NVMe with Windows 11, Samsung 980 1TB as second NVMe for my files and Samsung 860 EVO 1TB as SSD. It works like a charm!!

This is not true.

First to the original poster- I have a alienware area51m and have tons of parts around my house for my youtube channel.  My model supports only 3rd generation pcie which means your wasting your money buying 4th gen m.2 drives.  However, we are literally coming up on the 5th generation of motherboards and you could always use the new drives you buy now, with a newer system down the line for performance gains.

There is only one drive I buy and it has never failed me , but it isn't the fastest drive you can get and that is the 1TB Samsung Pro 980 nvme m.2 gen 4 drive.  They on average have read speeds around 7200mb/s  (The fastest gen 4 m.2 drives are around 7500mb/s, but i can't tell you how long they will last you)  I dont even think you can buy generation 3 m.2 drives anymore, but they are super cheap now anyway.  The 1TB Samsung Pro gen 4 nvme m.2 drive is usually around $120.  I would recommend spending less then $100 more and get the 2TB version of the drive.

However, the information you were given is not correct. Yes, you can put a 4th gen drive into a 3rd gen motherboard , but your speeds are going to be capped out around 3500mb/s.  Still fast, but not as fast as gen 4 speeds.  Also no matter what you end up doing do not get anything lower then 1TB in your m.2 drive.  Don't ask me why , but drives under 1TB cannot reach the full speeds of the pcie lanes its given.  Maybe someone else can tell us why on that one. 

UPDATE: Right now I have installed 1 Samsung 980 Pro 1TB NVME, 1 Kingston Fury Renegade 2TB NVME, and 1 Samsung 860 1TB SSD. In my opinion the fastest one is the Kingston drive!