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Lorenzo C.
13 Posts
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492830
February 15th, 2015 18:00
Alienware 17 r2 (2015) m.2 size + compatability
Hello, I just ordered my laptop and will be receiving it in a few weeks. I am looking to put some m.2 ssd's in when it arrives and trying to install from the recovery usb. Basically:
Does anyone know what size 80mm? m2 ssd's this thing takes.
Anyone have a list of compatable examples.
Anyone successfully boot from the ssd's once installed?
If it doesn't seem like this will be an option, I am just going to go the single ssd 2.5 Sata route, but would be nice to be able to install some m.2 drives.
Thank you for your time,
Lorenzo
Lorenzo C.
13 Posts
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Posted February 25th, 2015 20:00
Just FYI, I installed x2 of these: (slots 1 and 2 of the M.2 slots)
Crucial MX200 CT250MX200SSD4 M.2 Type 2280SS (Single Sided) 250GB SATA 6Gbps
Working well so far, standard read/write speeds (480-550 MB/s range), the EVO 1TB 2.5" I tried has comparable speeds around 500-550 MB/s Read/write (not in rapid mode).
I want to try a RAID, but I will have to wait to see if they make a BIOS update that enables that.
I believe they make a 128 and a 500 GB model.
Once they enable RAID, I'm going to give it a try and will update here again.
Alienware 17 r2 2015 BIOS A01 - i7 4980hq GTX 980m
Slowpoke_Stephe
5 Posts
3889
1
Posted July 15th, 2015 22:00
Okay, Computer Management then Disk Management and create a Mirrored Array. Hopefully this will work after the upgrade to Windows 10
That's the drive Dell installed when I got my AW17 R2 (2015). I checked the sticker for the exact model of the drive and looked it up from there. If you go this route, get at least the 256GB version. The write speed is doubled that of the 128GB. The 512GB is even faster. I would go with the biggest as I realized after receiving my machine, the engineers have disabled the Intel RAID, but its available there in the BIOS.. Just can't enable it and it's hidden. :(
Lorenzo C.
13 Posts
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Posted February 15th, 2015 20:00
Thank you for your quick response Zog, so you actually got that Samsung PM851 M.2 in the unit you ordered?
Your info is very helpful and thank you for the link as well.
Lorenzo C.
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Posted February 16th, 2015 06:00
Oh, well that's good to know, I'm glad I ordered only one for testing (when my laptop gets in). I ordered a Crucial MX200 250GB SATA based M.2 CT250MX200SSD4 - Similar to the PM851, even the power Volt and amps.
I guess there are two types of M.2 based interfaces, SATA and PCIe (PCIe is faster -double to triple speed). I'm sticking with SATA based for testing due to the fact it came with a SATA based PM851. In another post I found someone wants to try to install a Samsung XP941 which is a PCIe based interface...so I'm not sure how that will go.
Thank you for the RAID info, I was curious about that...well at least I only ordered one for now to make sure it works first anyhow. I will update the post with what I find out.
Lorenzo C.
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Posted March 10th, 2015 10:00
That's good to know, so we can build the list.
New m.2 's to keep an eye on coming up:
SAMSUNG 850 EVO MZ-N5E120BW M.2 120GB SATA III Internal SSD Single Unit Version
SAMSUNG 850 EVO MZ-N5E250BW M.2 250GB SATA III Internal SSD Single Unit Version
SAMSUNG 850 EVO MZ-N5E500BW M.2 500GB SATA III Internal SSD Single Unit Version
Newegg says they'll be available on 4/8/15 -
I'll stick with the Crucial's until they fail probably, just letting others know, looks like Samsung is going to start selling consumer available m.2's.
LordZog
2 Intern
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109 Posts
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Posted February 15th, 2015 19:00
22 x 80 x 2.4mm are the size of my Samsung PM851's that came with the machine. The actual data sheet is available at this link. The model in my machine is MZNTE128HMGR. Compatibility is still unknown other than what Dell ships as a lot of users aren't upgrading the M.2 SSD's just yet.