Aurora R7, SSD compatibility, #2

This is what is supported on an R7 as storage:

This is all mostly older technology with older interfaces.

Your best bet would be a 2 TB 2.5" SATA drive, which is also super easy to install. It's the same speed as the M2 2280 due to the limitation of the board interface.

Be sure you Google the interfaces and understand that the M2 2280 is not an NVMe type.

This is a really confusing spec based on conflicting information from Dell and Crucial. Dell specs say SATA on the M.2 slot but there is an Intel Optane also installed in the system and it is listed at  at 32GB. So this page at TechRadar has information confirming NVMe and this Dell forum thread also confirms NVMe. And last of all this YouTube video shows the installation of an NVMe SSD in the system. So yes it is compatible with an NVMe SSD and the video is great for showing the procedure.

EDIT: @Vanadiel types faster than me and the specs had me totally confused. So not contradicting him as I was sure it was SATA as well until looking at the links I posted and the video. Confused yet..? Me too and a lot of Google search made me even more so.

The NVMe is a U2 interface as that is where the Optane module plugs into and I guess they use U2 interfaces.

The M2 is a SATA 6 Gbps interface. That is why you have to be careful on these older systems and not make the mistake of buying a modern M2 2280 NVMe drive and plug it into the M2 slot on that board...

@Vanadiel  I saw that than looked at the video link I posted and that really made it less clear as it appears he used the M.2 slot and not the U2 interface. Have a look at it and tell me what you think. I could very well be wrong and it sure would not be the first time.

I can't easily explain it.

My Aurora-R6 clearly supports a NVMe-SSD in the motherboard-slot.

Alienware 07HV66 OEM Motherboard (version A00) by Pegatron
- Intel i7-7700K 4.2ghz (Kaby Lake - 7th gen)
- Intel z270 Chipset and VRM Heatsink
- Asetek-OEM Liquid Cooling
- 16gb DDR4 Kingston Hyper-X Fury 2667mhz Ram (2x8gb DIMMs in Dual-Channel)
- Samsung PM-961 512gb NVMe-SSD (M.2/PCIe-Gen3x4) EVO-OEM-clone (TLC memory)

In Crystal Disk-Mark , just now got r/w=3270/1555 , so yeah ... it's definitely NVMe.

One of the only explanations would be that your Aurora-R7 M.2 slot supports both SATA and NVMe (which I have never actually seen in the wild).

Also, I don't see how your M.2 slot could ever support the bandwidth of an Optane-module (or U.2 expansion cable for that matter) if it is not capable of NVMe-speeds.

Dell oem ssd list for R7 (below) shows both m.2 sata ssd and m.2 nvme ssd are validated.

some Dell desktop pc m.2 support both sata and nvme ssd. e.g., optiplex 5060.

I have a Dell latitude laptop that supports both type of m.2 ssd too.

For M2 form factor what it supports depends on the keying of the interface. They will all look the same, so you have to carefully look at the pins to determine what key it is.

Take a look at this Keys 

If you pull the current SSD out you can determine the keying by looking at the connector pins.

Thank you all for your replies, I was a bit worried when I started to read you but it seemed clearer in the end. (Well, I hope so)

I took the SSD out to see the SSD connector and it seems to be a B+M key. See pictures :

The interface on the motherboard seems to be able to receive M key too (and also different sizes 2242-2280). You can see below :

So from what I see and from your answers, I can go for both M.2 SATA and M.2 NVMe SSDs, am I correct ?

Also, is there any hardware version I shouldn't go for with NVMe because as you said this is quite an old interface ?
I was thinking of this one when I first started looking for a new one, would that be possible ? And do you have any other suggestion ?

Thanks again for all your answers, it helps me a lot as I'm not that familiar with PC hardware

What is in your system is a SATA 6 Gbps drive. You can see the Serial ATA logo in the lower right bottom corner. It's B+M key.

Now as for the actual M2 slot on the motherboard, you have 5 pins.

Based on that, M key will fit and data speed will be up to 4 x your PCIe revision. I think you have PCIe 3.0 so 4 x PCIe 3.0 and that would be in line with what Tesla wrote earlier.

No idea why they put an inferior drive in it...

• B Key: uses a gap in the right side of the card (left side of the host controller), with six pins to the right of the gap. This configuration supports PCIe x2 bus connections.
• M Key: uses a gap in the left side of the card (right side of the host controller), with five pins to the left of the gap. This configuration supports PCIe x4 bus connections for twice the data throughput.
• B+M Key: uses both of the above gaps, with five pins on the left side of the card and six on the right. Because of the physical design, B+M Key cards are limited to PCIe x2 speeds.

Re: I can go for both M.2 SATA and M.2 NVMe SSDs, am I correct ?

correct.  Vanadiel already answered some of the questions you have.

why did Dell put a M.2 sata in your pc?  I think it is probably because M.2 sata tend to be cheaper than M.2 nvme ssd (and of course slower).  but you might not notice difference in speed if you do not benchmark read write speed.

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@redxps630 wrote:

 

some Dell desktop pc m.2 support both sata and nvme ssd. e.g., optiplex 5060.

I have a Dell latitude laptop that supports both type of m.2 ssd too.

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Interesting. I've heard of them, just never seen one in real-life.

AFAIK, an M.2 SATA SSD was only for laptops ... a transitional technology until M.2/PCIe/NVMe was ready.

There was never a reason to use M.2 SATA SSD in a tower-desktop really.

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@Vanadiel wrote:

What is in your system is a SATA 6 Gbps drive. You can see the Serial ATA logo in the lower right bottom corner. 

 

 

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Good catch.

OP should have benchmarked it. If around 550 r/w then truly only a SATA-SSD.

As for as the Aurora-R7 itself ... no way the M.2 slot can be SATA-only as my Aurora-R6 already supported NVMe. Even Dell/Alienware would not mess that up.

It would depend on the design.

Not all chipsets have enough lanes to have more than 1 M2 slot at X4 speed. It's possible they sacrificed the M2 slot for Intel Optane module which seems to be wired as an U2 slot, and wired the the M2 slot to a regular SATA controller.

I sense there is a community preference for faster pc component as I have seen senior member say “there is no role for mechanical hdd in a modern desktop” or no reason to use M.2 sata ssd in desktop.  I can well understand this opinion.  If the price of nvme ssd has come down to a level comparable to sata for same capacity, then yes it makes sense to go for the faster ssd.  on the other hand there is a vast subgroup of users who still like to use mechanical hdd for whatever reason, such as low cost, nostalgia for traditional appearing tech etc.  I look at M.2 sata as a low profile replacement of 2.5 sata ssd.  no 2.5 caddy or sata cable/port needed.  It definitely has its appeal in desktop despite being slower than PCIe.  The downside would be taking up a motherboard m.2 slot for which a faster nvme could use, but there is PCIe m.2 sata adapter too.  What is interesting in that case is that somehow motherboard automatically detects sata ssd connected to PCIe lane and would theoretically reroute traffic to sata ports.  Can someone explain how this switch is done?

See this diagram: M2 Diagram 

Without seeing the chipset diagram it is possible it's configured as SATA only as they might have needed to use the PCIe lanes for the Optane memory module using an U2 interface.

According to the technical specifications that is what they did and it would make sense based on the original drive that came with the system.