m15 R4, storage bays

Question

What storage slots does the m15 R4 come with? I see Dell says it supports one of several configurations, but does that mean there are multiple different laptop chassis with more or less storage than others, or does that mean that those are all of the different mix and match ways I can have storage set up?

I saw that the m15 R3 supports

"There are three slots for M.2 PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe solid-state drives.
Slot 1 supports M.2 2230 Up to 512 GB or M.2 2280 Up to 2 TB.
Slot 2 supports M.2 2230 Up to 512 GB or M.2 2280 Up to 2 TB.
Slot 3 supports M.2 2230 Up to 512 GB. "

On another post, is this the same as the m15 R4?

Thanks in advance

brian6j · Accepted Answer

Crimson, I can report now Slot 3 does support a 1TB WD drive and recognized the full amount, so it's not limited to the 512Gb as we all suspected. The copper heat shields are available on Amazon with screws included. Although one general quirk I am noticing with SSD drive management is that the Alienware BIOS has RAID enabled rather than ACHI management by default. So for Slot 2 my Samsung Magician software only partially works for a Samsung 980 SSD drive. You have to rely on Microsoft Windows to manage the drive (Once SSD is inserted, click on disk management and then format for it to be used). Others have switched the BIOS to the ACHI system to get full software functionality, although some have reported system crashes and having to reinstall windows, it does warn you when changing in the BIOS. So I have left it for now.  / Brian

crimsom · Answer

Hi @billp97 yes, both m15 R3 Internal Slots and m15 R4 Internal Slots have three slots for M.2 PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe solid-state drives to accommodate any of the advertised Single or RAID m15 R4 drive configurations.
Slot SSD1 supports M.2 2230 Up to 512 GB or M.2 2280 Up to 2 TB.
Slot SSD2 supports M.2 2230 Up to 512 GB or M.2 2280 Up to 2 TB.
Slot SSD3 supports M.2 2230 Up to 512 GB.

Alienware m15 R4 with rear cover removed

crimsom · Answer

Hi @brian6j A screw is used to install the M.2 2230 card onto the M.2 2230 shield, and the motherboard's M5 screw location is then used to secure the M.2 2230 shield to the motherboard.

m15 R3, R4 Thermal Shield 8F83M SSD3

GUID-4E9868E1-FFB4-46AA-8D2E-FC54DA9FCA09-low[1].jpg

crimsom · Answer

Hi @Waffel thank you for sharing update. Support for m15 R4 Storage says M.2 2230.

The image includes motherboard text 2230, SSD3 and a white spot. A screw is used to install the M.2 2230 card onto the M.2 2230 shield, and the M5 screw location is then used to secure the M.2 2230 shield to the motherboard.

Dell M.2 2230 SSD Thermal Shield 8F83M.jpg

brian6j · Answer

It is hard to find a M.2 2230 that is 512 GB. What happens if I insert a 1 TB drive ?, will it not register or just show 512 GB. It would seem that this might be only limited by the BIOS ?, has anyone tried this ?.

crimsom · Answer

Hi @brian6j thank you for sharing a good question. The Support for Alienware m15 R4, Setup and Specifications, Storage is based on what Dell has tested and is willing to support under Dell warranty. Different OEM providers have tested different NVMe storage capacities and generally focus on cards for Slot SSD1 & 2, but ignore Slot SSD3. Please excuse not giving a clear response, other than the Dell documentation does not provide M.2 2230 clarification for Slot SSD3.

Some users have installed a M.2 2242 NVMe card in Slot SSD3 and modified the the M.2 2230 shield so that the M.2 2242 card is captivated. This modification is not officially supported by Dell.

The parts on the motherboard determine what Slot SSD3 storage capacity is acknowledged and available for use.

brian6j · Answer

Crimson, thanks I should have reviewed your pictures, sigh, I bought the wrong sink. It needs a special heat sink since there is no hole at the 32 mm mark just a white dot on the motherboard, it does look like the m2 2242 would work but not recommended by Dell as you mentioned. Thanks, Brian

crimsom · Answer

Hi @brian6j Intel recommends BIOS/UEFI default BIOS setting is RAID, just in case RAID 0 is used at some time in the future, so that it is plug and play ready. The RAID default BIOS setting includes ACHI.

Thank you for determining Samsung Magician software has a general quirk and its fix.

Thank you for determining that slot SSD3 will fully accommodate 1TB drive (not limited to 512Gb).

Thank you for including that changing BIOS/UEFI default BIOS setting to ACHI and that system becomes unstable and crash is the usual outcome. Leaving your system's BIOS/UEFI default BIOS setting as RAID is the Intel recommended setting.

marts237 · Answer

Great Findings!

Very Informative, however I have the m15 R4 hardware, am planning to buy 2TB storage on Bay-3.

I was wondering which M.2 type should I correctly buy? is it 2242 or 2230 or both are supported?

Thanks.

A51-06 · Answer

If you mean the one with the long copper heatsink and they're next to each other than yes both will fit but if its the small slot then only 2230 will fit as the screw hole is maxed out to only 2230.

marts237 · Answer

Thanks , so bay-3 2230 only then, but limited GB capacity available. Will change plan to upgrade bay 1 and 2 from 1TB to max 2TBs.

brian6j · Answer

The 'official':

Slot 3 supports M.2 2230 Up to 512 GB

- Unofficially I got the WD 1TB M2 2230 to work. Make sure when you get a heat sink it's for a "slot 3". I could not find many 2 TB M2 2230 out there. The 2230 style also was more expensive than the other longer bay drives.

crimsom · Answer

Hi @marts237 thank you for seeking clarification.

Slot 3 officially supports M.2 2230. A number of users have unofficially installed M.2 2242, because it offers higher storage capacity.

You should be mindful about what the Dell warranty officially supports, especially if system returned under warranty. Dell says that the system shall be returned in the as ordered/supplied configuration. Dell warranty will 'restore' system to its original factory condition, including removing all additional hardware, applications and personal files.

Slot 1 & 2 will accommodate more than 2TB, but Dell did not test larger storage capacities. The Crucial Advisor Tool has tested larger storage capacities. Crucial Advisor tool and Crucial System Scanner | Memory Upgrade Scanner | Crucial

Kind regards.

Alienware

m15 R4, storage bays

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