Aurora R7, M.2 SSD compatibility

Question

I'm out to upgrade my Aurora R7 with two SSD's, both of which I intend to use to improve my computer. Currently, I am unsure, and want to make sure, that I am purchasing the correct products that will fit into the PC, as the information I attempted to find was blurry, and often on different products, here are two things I am intending to buy, and hope to see clarification that if they will work, or if they won't; 1tb SAMSUNG (MZ-V8V1T0B/AM) 980 SSD 1TB - M.2 NVMe Interface Internal Solid State Drive with V-NAND Technology https://www.amazon.com/SAMSUNG-MZ-V8V1T0B-AM-980-SSD/dp/B08V83JZH4/ref=sr_1_12?dchild=1&keywords=ssd&qid=1631679494&sr=8-12   1tb SAMSUNG 870 QVO SATA III 2.5' SSD 1TB (MZ-77Q1T0B) https://www.amazon.com/SAMSUNG-870-QVO-SATA-MZ-77Q1T0B/dp/B089C73T72/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=ssd&qid=1631679494&sr=8-3 I am also curious to know if these two products will be 2tb of space? I am not experienced with computers, so I do not know for sure, I know one of them is dedicated for storage, but if I installed both, would I have 2tb of space? If these two components do not work, or fit, I am looking for a 1tb m.2 SSD, and a 1tb storage SSD that will.

Vanadiel · Answer

This is the storage supported by the Aurora R7: Storage

One M.2 2280 solid-state drive

SATA AHCI 6 Gbps

Up to 2 TB

Two 2.5-inch hard drives

SATA AHCI 6 Gbps

Up to 2 TB

You will get 1 TB of raw drive space per drive, and the M2 drive will become your boot drive.

It looks like the M2 drive uses a SATA III controller rather than a Nvme controller.

with a U.2 drive, the U.2 drive is the primary drive
with an M.2 drive, the M.2 drive is the primary drive.
without both U.2 drive and M.2 drive, the 3.5-inch drive is the primary drive.

Be aware you might have to reinstall the operating system, pending on what you currently use as boot drive.

GreenKai · Answer

I wasn't aware about having to reinstall the OS, that's not going to affect my files is it?

And would this be confirmation that those two parts do work for my PC?

I haven't heard the term boot drive used before, but I'm assuming it is the component responsible for starting the PC.

Either way, thank you for the reply.

GreenKai · Answer

I'm currently using whatever the R7 originally came with, as that hasn't been modified. In the event that the PC does not boot up and I do have to transfer my files over to the new drive, is there detailed instructions on this? I am still new to PC's, and would want to know everything before hand, before I buy the parts, before I take my PC apart, and before I try doing anything. Ideally, an instructional video, or one with pictures to demonstrate, but any guide will do. I'm leaning towards buying these specific parts, and whatever the R7 comes with, is what I have, as I have not modified anything but the RAM.

Vanadiel · Answer

If you are currently using a single 3.5 inch drive, it will try to boot from the M2 drive if you are adding one.

If you already have an M2 drive, and are looking to simply add storage, a single 2 TB 2.5 inch SATA SSD might be the easiest way to go.

The same would be true if you are currently using a U2 drive.

The parts should work, but your PC might not boot up properly pending on your current setup.

In that case you would have to reinstall the operating system and transfer your current files over.

Vanadiel · Answer

For migration you could use Dell migrate: Dell Migrate

If you have to reinstall Windows 10: Windows 10 Start with step 2 of that guide, as you will already have a windows 10 license if your R7 came with Windows 10 pre-installed.

Since these systems can come configured with different sale options at the time of sale, there's no way for me to figure out what your current configuration is.

Doing this upgrade yourself might not be the best choice, if you have limited knowledge.

DELL-Chris M · Answer

FYI, Alienware Desktops board search, 'Aurora R7, M.2 SSD compatibility' = 159 results!

r72019 · Answer

@Vanadiel wrote:

This is the storage supported by the Aurora R7: Storage

One M.2 2280 solid-state drive SATA AHCI 6 Gbps Up to 2 TB

Two 2.5-inch hard drives SATA AHCI 6 Gbps
Up to 2 TB

You will get 1 TB of raw drive space per drive, and the M2 drive will become your boot drive.

It looks like the M2 drive uses a SATA III controller rather than a Nvme controller.

The Aurora R7 supports M2 NVME drives in the M2 slot. You can get up to pcie x4 gen 3.0 speeds on the M2 slot. Real world read speeds around 3500 MB/s (i.e., 28 Gbps). See my post about it here: https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware-Desktops/Installing-3-x-1TB-M-2-Samsung-PCiE-NVME-Drives-in-Aurora-R7-8/td-p/7474557

r72019 · Answer

@Vanadiel wrote:

with a U.2 drive, the U.2 drive is the primary drive

with an M.2 drive, the M.2 drive is the primary drive.

without both U.2 drive and M.2 drive, the 3.5-inch drive is the primary drive.

Be aware you might have to reinstall the operating system, pending on what you currently use as boot drive.

That is referring to OEM configurations. So if you purchased the computer with an M2 drive in it, then Dell will install the OS on the M2 slot (i.e., it is primary). Basically, Dell installs the OS in the best drive available. It doesn't change anything about how a computer would normally work for user upgrades.

r72019 · Answer

@r72019 wrote:

@Vanadiel wrote:

This is the storage supported by the Aurora R7: Storage

One M.2 2280 solid-state drive SATA AHCI 6 Gbps Up to 2 TB

Two 2.5-inch hard drives SATA AHCI 6 Gbps
Up to 2 TB

You will get 1 TB of raw drive space per drive, and the M2 drive will become your boot drive.

It looks like the M2 drive uses a SATA III controller rather than a Nvme controller.

The Aurora R7 supports M2 NVME drives in the M2 slot. You can get up to pcie x4 gen 3.0 speeds on the M2 slot. Real world read speeds around 3500 MB/s (i.e., 28 Gbps). See my post about it here: https://www.dell.com/community/Alienware-Desktops/Installing-3-x-1TB-M-2-Samsung-PCiE-NVME-Drives-in-Aurora-R7-8/td-p/7474557

Also, the M2 slot will only become the boot drive if you install the OS on it. Otherwise the boot drive is whatever you currently have it installed in and will be unaffected by adding a new drive. If your M2 slot is currently empty, the new drive swill just be storage unless you move the OS or reinstall windows.

r72019 · Answer

@r72019 wrote:

Your first step is to see what you currently have installed in there. That will impact your available options going forward. It originally shipped with options for a 3.5" HDD, M2 PCIE NVME SSD, or Intel Optane drive. Dell did not sell this model stock with U2 drives or 2.5" drives.

Also, and not mentioned in the service manual (replaced the U2 option) - if you have an M2 Optane stick, the OS is installed in the 3.5" HDD (primary) and the Optane drive is used as an accelerator for that drive.

r72019 · Answer

Your first step is to see what you currently have installed in there. That will impact your available options going forward.  It originally shipped with options for a 3.5' HDD, M2 PCIE NVME SSD, or Intel Optane drive. Dell did not sell this model stock with U2 drives or 2.5' drives.

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