XPS 8920, Silicon Power NVMe 1TB SSD upgrade question

The specs say:

One M.2 card slot for SSD (SATA or PCIe/NVMe)
One M.2 card slot for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combo card

And read the post by Dell-Chris M here.

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@SentryGun wrote:

1. I've got a dell 8920 and am wanting to upgrade the 256GB ssd (just isnt enough nowadays) to a 1tb silicon power NVME ssd.

2. It's my understanding that the ssd is plugged into a PCIe slot,

3. and the other m.2 slot in the computer is only SATA correct? 

4. If so my plan is to replace the SSD that is on the computer with the bigger one and maybe clone the existing one onto the new ssd (probably too much work tho so I might start fresh).

5. According to the amazon page, the silicon power SSD only support an M.2 connector with only an M key, so does the Dell 8920 support this .

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1. Good. AFAIK, XPS-8920 is very similar to an Aurora-R6 .

2. Yeah, but it's a special small (m.2 form-factor) PCIe slot just for NVMe SSDs.

3. No (see above).

Have you looked inside? Do you have PDF manual ?

4. Either way has it's pros/cons . I've written about both ways. Macrium Reflect is good.

5. No link so can't say. XPS-8920 should be compatible with any M.2/PCIe/NVMe SSD (as it is an industry-standard for drive communication). 

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@RoHe wrote:

The specs say:

One M.2 card slot for SSD (SATA or PCIe/NVMe)

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That would have to be a typo. Anyway, I think it would be impossible (due to keying).

It should read: One M.2 card slot for SSD (PCIe/NVMe)

Any SATA drives connect by conventional SATA cables.

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@Tesla1856 wrote:

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@RoHe wrote:

The specs say:

One M.2 card slot for SSD (SATA or PCIe/NVMe)

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That would have to be a typo. Anyway, I think it would be impossible (due to keying).

It should read: One M.2 card slot for SSD (PCIe/NVMe)

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While not a typical M.2 slot configuration, a M.2 slot can support both NVMe and SATA devices.  Keying is not a reliable indicator of supported devices.

The XPS 8920 DOES support BOTH NVMe and SATA M.2 devices in it's native M.2 SSD slot.  See here.

EDIT:  After re-reading the above link and Dell's comment there and looking on userbenchmark.com I can't find conclusive evidence that the XPS 8920 M.2 SSD slot supports a SATA M.2 drive.  Spec may or may not be correct regarding SATA M.2 support.

The Silicon Power 1TB NVMe PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 SSD should work fine in the XPS 8920.

Oh so theres only 1 m.2 slot in the PC? If I were to take out the wifi card is it useable as an Pcie ssd slot?

So if there is only 1 ssd slot, if I need to clone the NVME SSD to another NVME I need an external enclosure to connect the other SSD correct?

Forgot to post the link to the amazon page https://www.amazon.com.au/Silicon-Power-Gen3x4-000MB-SU001TBP34A80M28UA/dp/B07NRKGGK6

So the Dell XPS 8920 support the m key, and does it contain the motherboard custom screw?

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@Tesla1856 wrote:

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Any SATA drives connect by conventional SATA cables.

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SATA drives are available in M.2 format - no cables required.  The Samsung 860 EVO M.2 SATA is a case in point.

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@Techgee wrote:

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1. a M.2 slot can support both NVMe and SATA devices.  

2. The XPS 8920 DOES support BOTH NVMe and SATA M.2 devices in it's native M.2 SSD slot.  See here.

 

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1. Never seen it on an actual machine.

2. Only proof I see there is that it uses NVMe SSD.

Remember, this XPS-8920 handles an Intel  i7-7700 (Kaby Lake). It likely has an Intel z270 Chipset or close-variant. Again, very similar to Aurora-R6 from just a couple of years ago.

SATA-SSD is 5-times slower than PCIe/NVMe-SSD. SATA is only available on motherboard ports marked SATA.

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@SentryGun wrote:

1. Oh so theres only 1 m.2 slot in the PC? If I were to take out the wifi card is it useable as an Pcie ssd slot?

2. So if there is only 1 ssd slot, if I need to clone the NVME SSD to another NVME I need an external enclosure to connect the other SSD correct?

 

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1. No

2. You create an Image file (with Verify after creation option ON) to an external HDD.

Replace SSD, boot Macrium Recovery/Restore USB , restore to bare-metal.

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@Tesla1856 wrote:

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@Techgee wrote:

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1. a M.2 slot can support both NVMe and SATA devices.  

2. The XPS 8920 DOES support BOTH NVMe and SATA M.2 devices in it's native M.2 SSD slot.  See here.

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2. Only proof I see there is that it uses NVMe SSD.

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You may be right.  I just looked at XPS 8920 listings on userbenchmark.com, but I see no way to tell if a SATA SSD is M.2 format.  In any case, a NVMe SSD has much better performance.

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@Techgee wrote:

I see no way to tell if a SATA SSD is M.2 format. 

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Because it doesn't matter.
Whether SATA is available and used as mSATA, M.2 port, MB-port (with SATA cable) , whatever ...

It always maxes-out at SATA-III/600 speed.