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Inspiron 17 - 7773 2in1 Hard Drive - SSD M2 question
Hi all, I recently purchased a Inspiron 17 - 7773 2in1 laptop. I got the one with 512gb SSD drive. I assumed it was coming with a M2 PCIe drive, as the model below comes with 256gb SSD and 1tb drive, and I believe the unit only fits one SATA 2.5 drive, and one M2 PCIe drive. But when checking the BIOS, its a 512gb SSD drive 2.5 SATA. So the m2 PCIE slot isn't being used.
My question is, when I need more storage, will I just be able to get a m2 drive, and install and use as a secondary? I'm not too knoweldgabe on this, so any help would be appreciated. I dont want to open the unit to look. Thanks.
freemanzhu
17 Posts
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October 29th, 2017 11:00
I can confirm that this laptop does support PCIe NVME drives on the M.2 slot (so the Canadian site is correct). I just got this same laptop (Inspiron 17 7773 with the 8th gen Core processor), except that mine came with a 1TB hard drive. I knew at the time of ordering that I would upgrade this to an SSD, and asked the Dell rep if this supported PCIe NVME drives on the M.2 slot. He checked and said no (even the SSD configurations offered on dell.com appear to be SATA only), and there's no mention of PCIe or NVME in the support documentation on the M.2 slot.
So, separately I ordered a Crucial M.2 SATA drive for the upgrade. Well, the laptop arrived, and just for curiosity, before installing the Crucial drive I tried out the Samsung EVO 960 Pro M.2 PCIe NVME drive from my OptiPlex. Sure enough, it worked just fine and booted into Windows without requiring any fiddling in the settings (unlike with the OptiPlex, where I had to do quite a bit of fiddling in the BIOS to get the computer to recognize the drive). So there it is - PCIe NVME drives are supported. No idea why Dell makes no mention of this, at least on its U.S. site.
Saltgrass
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October 24th, 2017 19:00
I am not sure about your system but I have a 7779 and it only does M.2 SATA drives and not PCIe drives.
The way to tell is go to the download page and check the documents. The specifications should show Storage abilities. If it only shows a SATA number then it does not do PCIe.
jphughan
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October 24th, 2017 20:00
SATA does not necessarily mean 2.5" SATA. M.2 connectors can support SATA and NVMe/PCIe. Some systems have M.2 slots that only support SATA, while others can do either SATA or NVMe.
jphughan
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October 24th, 2017 20:00
The service manual for the Inspiron 7773 available on support.dell.com says it has an M.2 slot for an SSD (doesn't say anything about SATA vs NVMe), another M.2 slot for a WiFi+BT card, and a 2.5" bay. If you're certain that your current SATA SSD is a 2.5" SSD and not an M.2 SATA SSD, it would appear that you have another M.2 slot available -- but I would do some digging about whether it supports NVMe before you buy an NVMe SSD.
That said, if you're planning to install a second SSD anyway, I don't see why you wouldn't be willing to open the system up to look at what you have and what's available before you take the plunge.
Saltgrass
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October 24th, 2017 21:00
shynepo3
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October 24th, 2017 21:00
Actually, i'm in canada - and if you look at the description of the inspiron 17 7000 2in1, it says this:
Big things come in polished packages: Take this high-powered system to the next level with the optional PCIe NMVe SSD. It outperforms both conventional hard drives and standard SSDs with longer battery life, faster response time, quieter performance and improved shock resistance.
click on features - it's funny, cause the USA site doesnt say it.
http://www.dell.com/en-ca/shop/dell-laptops-netbooks-and-tablets/new-inspiron-17-7000/spd/inspiron-17-7773-2-in-1-laptop/ni177773_bt_h6103e/configurations
shynepo3
6 Posts
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October 24th, 2017 21:00
You know what's even more mind boggling, is that the 7773 is a new version of the 7779 - why they would go backwards i dont understand. The 7779 has a 7th gen processor, and the 7773 has 8th gen.
shynepo3
6 Posts
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October 29th, 2017 11:00
Great - Dell rep was clueless but on the site it does say it’s tnsupoorts. My question is, if I add the PCI NVME drIve as a secondary, will it work? I don’t want to have to touch my current SSD SATA. Thanks
8541hog
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October 31st, 2017 13:00
Just wondering if it is possible to see some pictures of the drive installed. I just ordered a 7773 and planning to upgrade the SSD, but if I can ADD an M.2 SSD that would be even better.
freemanzhu
17 Posts
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November 11th, 2017 09:00
I only have the NVME drive on mine, but there's no reason to think you can't have both an NVME and SATA drive. I've had that on other systems just fine, and this is not a limitation that I've ever heard of on any system (nor on the software side).
freemanzhu
17 Posts
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November 11th, 2017 09:00
I don't have a picture (and all those screws are a hassle), but trust me that it works and is easy. If you feel comfortable installing a 2.5" SATA SSD you'll have no problem with the M.2, which installs like a memory module and is held in place with a single screw (which IIRC was already in place on my 7773 even though the slot was empty). You can either use imaging software or better yet do a clean install of Windows 10 - there are no extra drivers required, although you can choose to download Samsung's NVME driver which supposedly performs better than Windows' built-in drivers.
ekaddo_69f8a4
1 Message
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December 7th, 2017 19:00
Thanks! Caught a special at BestBuy and installed a 960 EVO (Samsung 960 EVO Series - 250GB PCIe NVMe - M.2 Internal SSD (MZ-V6E250BW)" in my 7773. Blazing speed and worked like a charm. Recognized in the BIOS and setup as boot/OS drive. The other drive (SATA) I replaced with 2.5 1TB 850 EVO.
F16storm
1 Message
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December 7th, 2017 20:00
Can you add an SSD and keep the original HDD on the 7773?
If so any recommendations?