Solved!
Go to SolutionW
wolfscream
1 Rookie
•
4 Posts
0
1054742
January 27th, 2015 16:00
Alienware 15 m.2 ssd : PCIE or SATA?
Hello,
I tried to do some research but couldnt find a clear answer on this. Is the m.2 slots in the new Alienware 15 compatible with pcie m.2 ssds? or just sata m.2 ssds?
Example: Can i use the new Samsung XP941 m.2 ssd?
16091
2
Posted July 7th, 2016 00:00
For anyon interested, on this post you can find my benchmark for an Alienware 15 R2 with Samsung SSD 950 PRO NVMe M.2 256GB
Hope not too late, for who, like me was interested to the argument!
11413
1
Posted January 27th, 2015 17:00
It should work, you just won't get the PCIe speeds, you'll get the SATA3 speeds. The M.2 specification provides four PCI Express lanes and one SATA 3.0 port, exposed through the same connector, allowing use of both PCI Express and SATA storage devices in form of M.2 cards. Essentially, the M.2 standard is a small form factor implementation of the SATA Express interface (which provides support for PCI Express 3.0 and Serial ATA 3.0, with the addition of an internal USB 3.0 interface. Only problem is that it looks like Dell used this connection but on only on the SATA 3 bus instead of the PCIe bus which breaks the standard. But long story short, it should work, just not at PCIe 3 speeds.
Also, if you don't have recovery media, make your own. AlienRespawn will allow you to make a DVD or a USB Key.
2943
0
Posted April 22nd, 2015 20:00
The reference guide... Under manuals... Shows interface of SATA.
And it was confirmed by a Dell guy here, I think Jose.. Have to find the thread again..
2943
0
Posted April 23rd, 2015 02:00
2943
0
Posted April 23rd, 2015 13:00
Good luck
2943
0
Posted April 23rd, 2015 22:00
How big is your PM851? The 128 is slow, 256 is better and bigger is faster too in this lineup for some reason.. Just a cheap model. If your getting really slow speeds, you may need to swap it. Or try removing Intel Rapid Storage, it can cause issues if your OS is on the SSD since its not using the cache feature of Intel Smart Response.
Also, PCI.e M.2 isn't popular yet. Most gaming grade motherboards only have 1 slot.. Some have an adapter, but you loose a PCI.e slot. :(
11413
0
Posted January 27th, 2015 16:00
SATA.
I'm not sure if the Samsung M.2 will work.
11413
1
Posted January 27th, 2015 17:00
Alienware, in the US, offers a recovery USB for a charge of $20.
But you can make a recovery media with Alien Respawn. That's how you would do a clean install.
11413
0
Posted January 27th, 2015 17:00
Once I get a new M.2 SSD and install it, how do I move the operating system over? Do I have to do a clean install? How would I do that without the Windows disk? I believe alienware no longer offers windows reinstallation disks.
shamale
12 Posts
16091
3
Posted June 25th, 2016 09:00
juda17837's answer is not quite correct. The alienware 15 R2, as well as the alienware 17 R3 which both have the same motherboards, have two m.2 slots. One of the two slots supports both Pcie X4 and SATA III as the m.2 interface can support either sata or Pcie.
The second m.2 slot supports ONLY sata III and/or Pcie x2.
To repeat, one of the slots supports 4 lanes of Pcie, the other supports only 2 lanes of Pcie. Both slots support Sata III.
This means you can use the 850 EVO sata drive in either slot, or the 950 pro in either slot, however, in one slot the 950 pro will ONLY have 2 Pcie lanes available to it so it will not work at its top speed. In the other slot it will have 4 Pcie lanes available to it and will work at its top performance.
The above has been confirmed time and again on the Notebookreview forums under the alienware 13/15/17 threads. You can find the details about which slot is which there.
The m.2 slot labeled 1 is the 4 lane Pcie m.2 slot, the slot labeled 2 is the 2 lane Pcie slot. Either slot will support SATA III.
As far as I am aware, no one on the Notebookreview forums has yet tried out the new 1 TB m.2 drives offered by Sandisk (the X400) or the one offered by Transcend, both being SATA III drives, but very likely either of those will also work in either m.2 slot.