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Dell Inspiron 15 5510 M.2 PCI-e Lane Count
Inspiron 15 5510/5518
Hello!
I have a question about the specifications of the (2021) Dell Inspiron 15 5510 laptop with Intel Core i7-11390H + Iris Xᵉ G7 (96EU). The support documentation for my service tag only shows information for the i3-1125G4, i7-11350H and i7-11370H variants paired with Nvidia's GeForce MX450 dGPU and Intel's Iris Xᵉ G7 (80EU). None of these are the correct version of my laptop, and even among these variants, information regarding PCI-Express lanes is all over the place in the documentation. Official Documentation in Support (which doesn't even list my exact model) says that both M.2 slots in the "5510/5518" are "PCIe NVMe Gen3 x2 NVMe, up to 32 Gbps". The most important question, which would likely provide all the information I need to answer the subsequent questions I have, is:
- where is the correct system specification documentation for the Dell Inspiron 15 5510 Intel Core i7-11390H + Iris Xᵉ G7 (96EU) configuration?
The correct official documentation and manuals are nowhere to be found on Dell dot com, and other websites that host system specifications (including the original Dell purchase page) show varying— sometimes conflicting— info about PCIe connections. If there is somehow no documentation/manuals to speak of for this specific configuration my next question is:
- what are the actual PCIe specs for this laptop's M.2 slots? and how can a PCIe Gen3 x2 slot run at "up to 32 Gbps" when that is double what Gen3 x2 should run at (32Gbps is the rated speed of a PCIe Gen3 x4 connection)?
My final question (assuming the current docs are correct) is:
- how is my laptop, using the Dell-provided drive (Model: Intel SSDPEKNW512G8H), currently running at PCIe NVMe Gen3 x4 (according to every hardware detecting tool) if both M.2 slots are (according to the provided documents) only PCIe Gen3 x2?
The second M.2 slot does, however, only run at PCIe NVMe Gen3 x2 no matter what drive is installed, which I assume is intended/a system limitation but I can't even determine if this is the case because none of the documents actually list my laptop configuration. Could anyone assist me with finding the appropriate documentation or at least list the PCIe specs for this PC? I would greatly appreciate it!
—Garon
DELL-Jesse L
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April 17th, 2024 13:28
To receive assistance from Dell chat support, they need to verify the warranty status and ownership. Then you must troubleshoot with them. Click the "Get Help Now" icon on the right to start a live chat session. If already out of warranty, click here for the Dell out of warranty offering.
OperatorGaron
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April 18th, 2024 04:40
@DELL-Jesse L Hi Jesse. Thank you for your response! I do not need help from Dell Chat Support, who was only able to point me toward the (incorrect) system specification documents that the Dell Support site has listed under my Service Tag. I require only the correct system specification information, which is something that is provided to/made available to all users, regardless of if they even own said product.
This is not a question that should require contacting Dell Support (who wasn't able to help me), and a warranty service request is wholly unnecessary to answer a question that Dell probably has the answer to on some alternate version of my system specs file. It's a request for basic, freely available information that is missing from my support docs due to Dell omitting my specific laptop configuration from the specifications manual (despite listing the 4 other variants of this model there). This is a practice I am very familiar with, as both my Dell Inspiron 15 7567 (2017) and my Dell G15 5520 (2023) also have incorrect specs listed in their Service Tag support manuals (but I'm lucky enough to have an archived version of the PDFs with the correct info for those systems, unlike this case)
Dell keeps an archive of system docs stored in PDFs on their site. I have been directed to that main repository for service manuals and system spec sheets (at dl.dell.com/manuals/all-products/), which lists plenty of Dell Inspiron 15 models, but not my own. If Dell simply does not have a copy of the original/correct documentation anywhere, then the answer to my question of "How many PCI-e lanes does my PC's M.2 slots have access to" seems unlikely to come from Dell itself, which is why I pivoted from Dell Chat Support to Dell Community posts in the hopes that someone, Dell or otherwise, would be able grace me with the information I seek.
I genuinely appreciate your response, but hyperlinking me to Dell Technical Support for a non-tech support issue, an irrelevant Dell Customer Care page, and a "Find Your Service Tag" knowledgebase page makes it feel like you literally just didn't read my post. If that is simply a mandatory response that you're required to give prior to responding further, forgive my presumption! I don't mean to be rude! However, if it's an automated response by a bot that will only respond here with "Talk With Dell Chat Support!" or "File A Warranty Claim!", then ignore this entire thing and don't respond. Those avenues have been exhausted, which is why I'm here.
-Operator Garon ^^