Upgrade storage Latitude e7450

Question

Hello,

I've been looking at the requirements to upgrade and install a second disk on my Latitude e7450, and I am a bit confused with the procedure and disk specs. Currently, I have a SK hynix SC210 mSATA 256GB (factory).

I talked to a Dell representative and he told me I can upgrade the SK Hynix to a Dell M.2 PCIe NVME Class 40 2280 SSD - 1TB (although I am looking for alternatives as this one seems to be a bit pricey) and install a second 2.5'' SATA disk. But I don't understand the procedure as all I have found so far seems to replace the M2 caddy to fit the 2.5'' SATA disk and install the current mSATA in the WWAN slot.

So, my questions are:

1. What are the specs to replace the factory SK hynix SC210 mSATA 256GB disk (mSATA/M2, PCIe/NVME?)
2. Can I install a second 2.5'' SATA disk as well?
3. Can I install the factory SK hynix SC210 mSATA 256GB in the WWAN slot?

Thanks a lot for your help, cheers,

jphughan · Accepted Answer

@hcaces Wow, I'm sorry you were so poorly guided by Dell Support. I personally would reply to complain about the quality of their answer.

As indicated by the E7450's Owner's Manual here -- and therefore as the Dell Support rep should have known -- the E7450 can support either a 2.5" SATA drive or mSATA SSD -- but it appears that it will not support both simultaneously. The section that shows how to remove and install the 2.5" SSD indicates that it connects to the motherboard above the WWAN slot. The section that shows how to remove and install the mSATA SSD appears to show the mSATA SSD where the WWAN slot would otherwise be. So it appears there are (at least) two motherboard designs, one with WWAN support and one without. A WWAN card would use an M.2 connector, not an mSATA connector, so those would not be interchangeable. Perhaps it wasn't possible to order the system with an mSATA SSD and a WWAN card, or maybe Dell achieved that combination using an "interposer board", which would involve a bracket and adapter that would allow an mSATA SSD to be installed in the 2.5" drive bay space. But then you still wouldn't be able to have dual storage devices. To my knowledge, no Latitude 14" system thus far has ever supported dual storage devices.

In any case, M.2 NVMe SSDs absolutely cannot be used through SATA or mSATA interfaces. They require being directly on the PCIe bus, which neither a SATA nor mSATA connector will allow. An M.2 card is also a completely different physical shape and uses a completely different type of connector compared to mSATA, so no you absolutely cannot upgrade from mSATA to M.2 NVMe. I consider it inexcusable that a Dell Support rep would have suggested that this would be a possible upgrade path.

If you already have an mSATA SSD, your best upgrade path is simply another mSATA SSD. One of the best SATA-based SSDs on the market is still the Samsung 860 Evo, which is basically where SATA-based SSDs topped out before the industry switched to NVMe. The 860 Evo is available in mSATA, 2.5" SATA, and M.2 form, so make sure you buy the right one. But there's no real point contemplating a 2.5" SSD instead unless there's some model you really want more than the 860 Evo that's only available in that form, although in that case you would likely also have to source the correct bracket and ribbon connector cable.

nyc10036 · Answer

mSATA and M.2 interfaces are different https://www.ebay.com/itm/1TB-mSATA-6Gb-s-Internal-SSD-for-Dell-Latitude-12-7000-E7250-7250-BY-CMS-D96/274355483292     .

jphughan · Answer

@hcaces  I'll amend my previous reply a tiny bit here.  If your Latitude E7450 actually has a WWAN slot -- I would recommend physically checking yours to confirm this by comparing your motherboard layout against the diagrams in the Owner's Manual I linked above -- then you can sort of achieve a dual storage solution by installing certain types of M.2 PCIe/NVMe SSDs into that slot, assuming you don't want to use that slot for WWAN purposes of course.  The reason I say 'sort of' is that there are some caveats: It would have to be an M.2 PCIe/NVMe SSD, not an M.2 SATA SSD.  The WWAN slot in this system does not have a SATA interface wired to it. It would have to be an M.2 2242 size SSD, i.e. 22mm x 42mm, not the vastly more common 2280 size used for M.2 NVMe SSDs.  M.2 2242 NVMe SSDs exist, but you'll have fewer options. This SSD will not be usable as a boot device.  This is because the E7450 doesn't have formal NVMe support, which is what allows a system to boot from a PCIe-based SSD.  So an SSD installed in your WWAN slot would only be usable as a data disk. Performance will likely be limited.  M.2 slots intended for WWAN and WiFi cards typically only have a PCIe x1 interface wired to them.  M.2 NVMe/PCIe SSDs typically use either a PCIe x2 or PCIe x4 interface.  If you only have a PCIe x1 interface available, your performance will likely max out around 900 MB/s.  That's still faster than you'd get out of SATA of course, but don't expect your benchmarks to match what you might find from others using the same SSD elsewhere.

hcaces · Answer

@jphughan Thank you so much for your answers, it makes so much more sense now. I have the motherboard with the WWAN slot. The Dell support rep and website list many 2.5'' SATA drives and M.2 PCIe NVME Class 20 and 40 2280 SSD cards as suitable for my laptop but it doesn't make sense as it can't fit in the WWAN slot and none are mSATA drives (only SATA and PCIE available).

Thank you very much for all these details, I'll look for an mSATA option and possibly an M2 in the future.

jphughan · Answer

@hcaces I suppose it's possible that there is yet another motherboard design that supports M.2 SSDs, but I really doubt it because I would expect the Owner's Manual to indicate that. I suspect that's an error on the Dell site. I guess that could excuse the Dell Support rep's answer if they were working from bad information, but to my knowledge the first Latitude 7000 Series system to support M.2 SSDs was next generation model, namely the E7470 (there was no E7460 for some reason), and it seems that model also supports NVMe. But of course that isn't the model that you have.

So if you have a WWAN slot and an mSATA SSD, is the latter mounted in the 2.5" drive bay in a bracket and attached via an adapter board and cable?

matSpeed_kemKita · Answer

I've fitted an M.2 2230 NVme in the WWAN slot of my E7250 working great however at only half speed possibly due to running only two pcie lanes, at nearly 700 read and 600 write way faster than SATA, I'm sure the E7450 too should work good luck

fafi84 · Answer

For the e7450 the Kioxia ssd m2 nvm pcie 3.0 was 1-2mm to big does anybody know the correct pcie version for the latitude e7450?

rcentros · Answer

I have the WWAN slot in my e7450. So would any 2242 nvme ssd (with B key) work? I've seen (somewhere) that you might have to pick one with low power requirements — but I think the Toshibas and KingSpecs fit this requirement.

Here's one that I'm looking at, but I may opt for a 256 GB one instead.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/304363186488?hash=item46dd75a938:g:cmAAAOSw4W9iaSjp

Thanks for any information.

Ilanchezian M · Answer

@matSpeed_kemKita​  hey can you able to share the model which you buyed ?, I cant see the picture clearly , I would like to buy the ssd.

Welodell · Answer

Hello together, having followed the tips above I bought a KingSpec 512GB M2 2242 Nvme and installed it in my Dell e7450… and unfortunately it doesn’t work.

When the new SSD is inside and I press the boot button, the laptop no longer boots. As soon as I remove the new SSD the laptop works normally again.

Any idea what might be causing this? Is it because the 512 GB SSD is not compatible or could there be some other cause?

Could the others please share with us what models of SSDs you were able to successfully install on your machines?

Chep · Answer

I use this Lexar 256GB NM520 M.2 2242 PCIe G3X2 P/N LNM520-256RBNA

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