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Installing Samsung 960 EVO M.2 as boot drive in Dell XPS 8900 possible?
I know the M.2 slot in my computer is limited to 1x in the 8900, but I just want to know if it is possible to install and boot from this NVMe ssd drive. Thanks.
Dan-H
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April 13th, 2017 18:00
en.community.dell.com/.../19657565
page 5 of this thread above had folks setting up an NVMe SSD in a PCIe x4 adapter as the boot drive.
It wasn't clear if you wanted to install it in the M.2 slot or not, and I don't know if it will work in the M.2 slot. Samsung doesn't list SATA 3 on the spec's only PCIe x4 and NVMe 1.1.
If you are wanting an M.2 form factor SSD for an 8900, why not go with an Evo 850 as it will have almost the same performance as the Evo 960 at a much lower cost.
And for me, If I'm going to use SATA 3, I'll get a 2.5" form factor SSD. I find these are much easier to swap around from system to system.
michael2415
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April 13th, 2017 19:00
Hi Dan. Thanks for the response. I've learned a ton from your contributions here.
Yeah EVO 850 is the obvious choice. I'm in the market for the 250gb and the price difference is negligible <$20 right now. I will definitely use an adapter in the near future but I just wanted to know if the built-in M.2 slot in the 8900 motherboard is capable of using it and booting from a NVMe card.
According to what you found from Samsung, it seems like it won't work since the motherboard is only capable of SATA3 through that M.2. I'll try asking Dell support too and report back.
michael2415
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April 13th, 2017 19:00
I believe the M.2 slot even though it is limited to 1x, can support up to 800 MBps. The EVO 850 goes up to 500 BMps I believe. The benefit is marginal when compared to 2000+ I'd get using an adapter.
Dan-H
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April 14th, 2017 16:00
I believe the M.2 slot is only wired for SATA 3 on the 8900
en.community.dell.com/.../19989764
If you need the performance of the Evo 960, it would be best to put it in a PCIe slot with an adapter.
I think the 8900 has a PCIe slot that is x4 speed towards the bottom of the case.
I don't have an 8900 to check.