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September 24th, 2021 06:00

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G15 5511 2nd M.2 Drive Issues

I have got a Dell G15 5511 (Intel i7 1180h, geforce 3060 rtx, 16gb ddr4 memory, etc) that I really enjoy using but doesn’t seem to like my second m.2 drive.  

Laptop came with only one drive - 512mb PCIe Gen3 NVMe.  I installed in the empty slot a 1TB Gen4 NVMe - WD SN850.  I realized I was in getting gen 3 speeds with the gen4 drive in that slot so I switched slots.  The gen3 drive is in the second slot and the gen4 drive is in the primary slot.  When the gen4 drive displays it shows it as gen4 speeds per crystal mark, however the drive disappears in Windows from time to time. 

I read this language in the G15 5511 Setup and Specifications - “NOTE: If you have ordered only one solid-state drive, it can be upgraded to the solid-state drive of the same form factor but an additional solid-state drive is not supported. If you have ordered two solid-state drives, they can be upgraded to the solid-state drives of the same form factor respectively.”

Does this mean I can only use one slot in my laptop? That would be very frustrating.  Please let me know if you have any ideas.  I’ve tried updating the chipset and firmware for both the bios and the drive.  Drive is detected consistently in the bios without fail. 

Thanks.

5 Practitioner

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2.4K Posts

September 24th, 2021 08:00

@Calchalati  Furture proofing is good (for desktops) as almost every component is upgradable,  

Your processor and GPU can not be upgrade since they are soldered on the motherboard. 

I still think its' too early for Gen4 SSDs. We are yet to fully utilize Gen 3 SSDs. Yes its fun running  Crystaldismark  and seeing those high numbers. But apart from them you never see SSD being utilized that much. Again these are my personal perceptions and just recommending other users not to pay double price for Gen4 SSDs yet 

 

For you step 1 should be replacing the SSD you bought (if it's under warranty or return period) as dell technical support would ask for that. Once you have replaced it and issue is not resolved. You can ask for a motherboard replacement. 

September 24th, 2021 08:00

It’s actually the first slot that’s NVMe Gen4, not the second.  Tested that by putting the drive on the second slot and it was running at Gen3 speeds.  

I did buy the heat shield and bracket and have that installed.  You may be right about not seeing the performance differences (yet) but I am attempting to future proof my pc as much as possible.  

I appreciate the reply but everything I am thinking is that this is software related not hardware as there are no Bios issues and the diagnostic displayed no errors.  Interestingly enough, I noticed when the drive disappears the nvm standard express controller (in windows) also disappears.  A diagnostic has showed that to fail. 

5 Practitioner

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2.4K Posts

September 24th, 2021 08:00

Have installed 2 NVME SSDs without fail

However I didn't overspend for a Gen 4 SSD. It's my personal perceptions that we do not have the processing power (yet) to utilize 7000 MBPS speed. 

 

Slot 1 had m,2 2230 by factory 

I installed a Corsair MP510 (1TB)  as secondary SSD. I am not sure which country you are in. But for India dell didn't supply SSD bracket and copper heat shield for Second SSD and I had to purchase it myself. I contacted Customer care and they informed me that SSD bracket and Shield are only supplied if I purchase dual SSD configuration  

 

XPS_Man_0-1632496276534.png

 

 

More over the specification says 

1 Gen 3 and 1 Gen4 

However they didn't tell you which slot is gen 3 or Gen 4. I would assume second slot is Gen 4

XPS_Man_1-1632496474577.png

 

September 24th, 2021 16:00

Yep I just tried a 980 pro and it gave me extremely slow speeds at around 11 mbps.  Something is going on with this PC

5 Practitioner

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2.4K Posts

September 25th, 2021 03:00

Update BIOS if not updated. 

After an SSD installation RESET bios to default to get it's optimal speed. 

980 Pro should give you somewhere 3500 MBPS

1 Message

November 2nd, 2021 17:00

Hello! I've been searching for accurate info on adding a 2nd SSD in  a G15 5511 that was only configured with 1 SSD, like the original post, and where to get the mounting hardware. 

Can all this come from Dell, or only a 3rd party? Links greatly appreciated.

14 Posts

November 5th, 2021 12:00

I had the exact same experience. When the 980 Pro is in slot 1 (where the drive that came with the computer initially was) I only get 11MB/s read write. When the drive is in slot 2 it gets the gen 3 speeds, about 3500MB/s. Tested using the Blackmagic Design Disk Speed utility. 

The machine is on the latest firmware version (1.5.0) and Windows 10 is updated. Hopefully this can be fixed with a firmware update.

14 Posts

November 5th, 2021 12:00

I called Dell support and they were able to look up the part numbers. Unfortunately they were out of stock on the bracket and screws. I got the 280 heat spreader from them though. It was listed on the invoice as " ASSY,BRKT,SSD,THRM,2280,SIF". The rest of the parts I found on eBay.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/304148591236

 

16 Posts

November 6th, 2021 16:00

I have the same problem with a WD SN 850 in slot1(0). System have low Mb/s, USB problems and collapse by heay usage. In slot 2(1) the drive in PCIE 3.0 deliver good performance and stable in Bios 1.5

14 Posts

November 8th, 2021 06:00

That's good to know that it is happening with a WD drive too and not just the Samsung. So it's probably not related to the drive itself but rather the computer. Anyone know if there is any way to get Dell's attention on this thread so they can get it fixed? Perhaps with a firmware update?

16 Posts

November 10th, 2021 13:00

Bios 1.7 released yesterday, i try this one and report if succeed.

16 Posts

November 11th, 2021 09:00

The Bios 1.7 solved my issues with the WD SN850 nvme ssd in slot1(0) 

16 Posts

November 11th, 2021 11:00

dell nvme.jpg

14 Posts

November 11th, 2021 12:00

I downloaded and installed the 1.7 BIOS and switched the drives around so the 980 Pro was in SSD Slot 1 and the original drive was in SSD Slot 2. I had the same results though - 11MB/s read/write on the 980 Pro. So no change with the 1.7 BIOS.

 

I got onto a chat session with Dell support and let them know the issue I am having. I sent them this thread to show others are having the same problem. Basically they said that because I'm using third party hardware (the Samsung 980 Pro SSD) that it is not supported and that I could pay them more to gain access to the level of support that included third party hardware. I politely declined but asked if they could confirm that SSD Slot 1 was the Gen4 slot. Their answer was "So the first slot should probably be for gen.3 and second slot gen.4". 

"Probably" was pretty vague so I pressed them on it and they said "It should be in second slot." So that that with a grain of salt perhaps.

 

I then asked if they would be able to forward this problem over to the engineers or whoever should be aware that people are having issues and they said, "I will surely escalate this to higher authorities." Let's hope that the right people become aware of this and that a fix is in the works.

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November 11th, 2021 23:00

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