Do both of the XPS 8910 M.2 slots support NVMe SSDs

i have an 8910 and i have a 850 samsung in the slot thats dedicated for these m.2 ssds and i also have a 950 pro attached to a pcie express in the x4 slot. both are 500GB in capacity.

i still have the wireless card in its own slot.

Still need to know:  Can I use BOTH m.2 slots for NVMe SSDs?

Yes, I wish to ultimately have TWO m.2 NVMe SSDs

AND I'll also use the 4x PCIe slot for more NVMe SSD.

PLUS, I'll still use the SATA slots for high capacity (4+TB) drives.

I do a lot of video editing and need the speed and capacity.

I have just bumped memory to 32GB and will shortly (with budget) go to the full 64GB memory.

Is the m.2 slot 4X?  What about the other (2nd) m.2 slot?  Is it NMVe?  I have searched all over the Internet for this information and have not found it.

From a recent Chat session with DELL:

James Smith        So, at least one of the two m.2 slots support the NVMe. Now, is it 1X, 2X, or 4X?

TIP_Paulo DC Do you mean the interface? It is x4 (up to 32Gb/S) NVMe 1.1

James Smith       That is what I wanted to know !!!!

James Smith        Only with x4 does one get the full potential of the NVMe SSD

James Smith        Now, what about the other m.2 slot? NVM2 with 4x?

James Smith        Is this documented anywhere? a URL?

TIP_Paulo DC Yes, it will be the same with the 2nd slot.

From this conversation, it seems that the two M.2's are x4 (up to 32Gb/S) NVMe 1.1

I am still waiting on DELL to provide actual documentation on this matter!  Where is the documentation?

Currently, the second M.2 contains a communications card (WiFi + Bluetooth), which has nothing to do with SATA.

Dell's published specifications do not agree with what the representative told you.

downloads.dell.com/.../xps-8910-desktop_reference guide_en-us.pdf

I have studied this manual (22 pgs), as well as the DELL XPS 8910 Service Manual (116 pgs).

Neither document goes beyond indicating the existence of the M.2 slots -- two of them.

Specifically, the reference guide provides:

M.2 Card

•  One M.2 card slot for SSD

•  One M.2 card slot for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combo card Communications

The XPS 8900 is pre-NVMe (only SATA SSD support).

From non-DELL documentation< supposedly, the XPS 8910 (I have two of them) does provide NVMe support:

1. via the m.2 slots for SSDs

2. via the 4x PCIe slot is supposed to support

So far, it seems at least one of the two m.2's supports NVMe, but at what level?  4x?

But what about the other m.2 slot.

I have NO use for the current wireless card that is using the 2nd m.2 slot.

I really would like to have it for additional NVMe SSD support.

I am very disappointed that DELL cannot produce the documentation that is needed to make intelligent purchase decisions, and follow-up installation of said item.

Thank you, Saltgrass. I'm getting closer to what I need.

Samsung now has a 960 PRO 2TB NVMe SSD -- costs $1200+ at the moment, but I'm watching.

Their 960 EVO 1TB NVMe SSD is only $479, which is the minimum I would consider getting.

It is a shame if the SLOT1 M.2 is a priori so constrained.

At least there is ONE M.2 NVMe slot.  So, I'll have to plan to max it out when I get my SSD.

How about booting from this M.2 slot SSD?  

The NVMe drive is bootable.  The other M.2 slot won't be.  If you need more SSD storage, 2.5" SATA SSDs are the way to go.

Thanks, Ejn63.

You used the term "NVMe" to describe the bootable M.2 slot.  THANKS!

Now, how about the other M.2 slot -- what are its specifications? Forget it currently is doing wireless functions, which I do not need in the XPS Tower with its own 1GB ethernet.

Also, rather than go with SATA SSDs, I will first use the NVMe M.2 for bootable replacement of my current C drive.

I was thinking of going with the new Samsung 960 EVO 1TB NVMe SSD @ $479, and later and another.

BUT if the other M.2 cannot support NVMe SSDs, then I'll have to go ahead with the single Samsung 960 PRO 2TB NVMe SSD.  

That means spending more $$ in one purchase, rather than going with 2@1TB SSDs, if I could use both M.2's.

THEN, later I will populate the single 4X PCIe slot with more NVMe SSD capacity!  The longer I wait, the more capacity that will be available at lower $$.

Then there is the USB 3.1 that could be used for "fast" SSDs (someone will create a case to hold NVMe's there).

The second M.2 slot is designed for a wireless card - it's just about certain you can't use it for an SSD.  It's not something Dell ships or supports.

So, I will plan my upgrades around a)  1 NVMe M.2 slot -- which is "bootable" b)  1 PCIe 4X slot that also supports NVMe That will be all the NVMe support I'll get, at least for this box. The next opportunity (not there yet, but surely will come) likely will to utilize the USB 3.1 slots

Some MoBos disable some I/O ports when others are in use. 

Hopefuly dell wired up the M.2 slot -- AND -- the PCIe 4x slot AND the USB 3.1 to use different super IO lanes from the chipset.