The original SATA protocol was designed to maximize the performance of platter (physical spinning) hard drives. With the proliferation of SSD drives, the SATA storage management protocol has become a limiting factor. The NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory) protocol has been designed for solid state drives and uses the PCIe bus for optimal performance. An M.2 drive may support SATA or PCIe/NVMe but not both. Depending on the drive, and what the computer can support, not all M.2 drives work in all computers.
M.2 storage devices are classified numerically based on performance. The higher the Class, the faster the overall performance:
System | Maximum internal drives supported | Drive configurations supported (max) | PCIe lanes | Parts needed to install a M.2 device into a M.2 slot | Parts needed to install a M.2 device into a 2.5-inch bay | Additional information |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
7710 7720 |
3 | 3x M.2 1 x 2.5-inch 2 x M.2 + 1 x 2.5-inch |
M.2 slots support 4X. 2.5-inch supports 2 x. |
1 x HR8P8 - Thermal cover (includes cover and thermal pad) 1 x 4270E - Screw (secures cover on top of the M.2 drive). |
1 x 745TM - 2.5-inch metal bracket (most units already include this part). 1 x Y1WJX - M.2 bracket (mounts to 745TM). 4x 2864D - M3X3 screw(most computers include these. These secure the Y1WJX M.2 drive carrier, or a 2.5-inch drive into 745TM) 1 x WPTND - M.2 Interposer Board(installs into Y1WJX) 5x 4270E - M2.0*3 L screws 1 x HR8P8 - M.2 thermal cover |
Find instructions on the Dell Community Forum page. |
7510 7520 |
2 | 1 x M.2 1 x 2.5-inch 2 x M.2 1 x M.2 + 1 x 2.5-inch |
M.2 slot supports 4X. 2.5-inch supports 2 x. |
1 x 745TM - 2.5-inch metal bracket (most computers include this part). 1 x Y1WJX - M.2 bracket (mounts to 745TM). 4x 2864D - M3X3 screw(most computers include these. These secure the Y1WJX M.2 drive carrier, or a 2.5-inch drive into 745TM) 1 x WPTND - M.2 Interposer Board(installs into Y1WJX) 5x 4270E - M2.0*3 L screws 1 x HR8P8 - M.2 thermal cover |
Find instructions here on the Dell Community Forum. | |
5510 5520 |
2 | 1 x M.2 1 x 2.5-inch 1 x M.2 + 1 x 2.5-inch |
M.2 slot supports 4X. 2.5-inch bay is wired as SATA. |
1 x 88DJK - Thermal pad (no plate required) 1 x 4270E - M2 x3 screw |
1 x XDYGX - Cable 2 x 3XYT5 - Rubber side isolator 1 x 3FDY3 - Metal hard drive bracket (some units may already have this installed even if a 2.5-inch drive was not ordered from Dell originally). |
Discussed on the Dell Community Forum page. |
3510 | 1 | 1 x M.2 1 x 2.5-inch |
M.2 slot supports 4X. 2.5-inch bay is wired as SATA. |
1 x X3YR8 - M.2 end bracket 1 x 1 x2MT - Thermal cover 2 x 4270E - M2 x3 screws |
Discussed here on SpiceWorks | |
3520 | 2 | 1 x M.2 1 x 2.5-inch 1 x M.2 cache drive + 1 x 2.5-inch |
M.2 slot supports 4X. 2.5-inch bay is wired as SATA. |
1 x 2FFR0 - End bracket 1 x X3DN4 -Thermal plate 1 x 4270E - End screw |
System | Maximum internal drives supported | Drive configurations supported (max) | PCIe lanes | Parts needed to install a M.2 device into a M.2 slot | Parts needed to install a M.2 device into a 2.5-inch bay | Additional information |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
E5270 E5470 E5570 |
1 | 1 x M.2 1 x 2.5-inch |
E5270 supports 2 x. E5570 supports 4X (w/ H processor). E5570 supports 2 x (w/ U processor). E5470 supports 2 x (w/ H or U processor). 2.5-inch bay is wired as SATA. |
1 x X3YR8 - M.2 end bracket 1 x 1 x2MT - Thermal cover 2 x 4270E - M2 x3 screws |
||
5280 5480 5580 |
2 | 1 x M.2 1 x 2.5-inch 1 x M.2 cache drive + 1 x 2.5-inch |
5280 supports 2 x. 5580 supports 4X (w/ H processor). 5580 supports 2 x (w/ U processor). 5480 supports 4X (w/ H processor). 5480 supports 2 x (w/ U processor). 2.5-inch bay is wired as SATA. |
1 x X3YR8 - M.2 end bracket 1 x 1 x2MT - Thermal cover 2 x 4270E - M2 x3 screws |
||
E7270 E7470 |
1 | 1 x M.2 | M.2 slot supports 2 x. | 1 x DJ69P - Thermal cover 2 x 4270E - Screw M2 x3 (most computers include one of these). |
Discussed here on SpiceWorks. | |
7280 7480 |
1 | 1 x M.2 | M.2 slot supports 2 x. | 1 x R6TGF - Thermal cover 2 x VJYP9 - Screw M2 x3 (most computers include one of these). |
System | Maximum internal drives supported | Drive configurations supported (max) | PCIe lanes | Parts needed to install a M.2 device into a M.2 slot | Parts needed to install a M.2 device into a 2.5-inch bay | Additional information |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
9350 9360 |
1 | 1 x M.2 | M.2 slot supports 4X. | 1 x 4270E - Screw M2 x3 | ||
9365 | 1 | 1 x M.2 | M.2 slot supports 4X. | 1 x 4HP13 - Thermal plate 2 x JPRFM - M1.6x2.5 screws |
||
9550 9560 |
2 | 1 x M.2 1 x 2.5-inch 1 x M.2 + 1 x 2.5-inch |
M.2 slot supports 4X. 2.5-inch bay is wired as SATA. |
1 x 88DJK - Thermal pad (no plate required) 1 x 4270E - M2 x3 screw |
1 x XDYGX - Cable 2 x 3XYT5 - Rubber side isolator 1 x 3FDY3 - Metal hard drive bracket (some units may include this part even if a 2.5-inch drive was not ordered from Dell originally). |
Discussed here on Dell Community Forums |
System | Maximum internal drives supported | Drive configurations supported (max) | PCIe lanes | Parts needed to install a M.2 device into a M.2 slot | Parts needed to install a M.2 device into a 2.5-inch bay | Additional information |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
5040 7040 (MT) |
2 | 1 x M.2 1 x M.2 1 x M.2 + 1 x 2.5-inch 2 x 2.5-inch 1 x 3.5" |
M.2 slot supports 4X. | 1 x R7HGK - Thermal pad(installs onto the motherboard under the M.2 drive) 1 x YYJF8 - Screw M2 x3.5 |
1 x 6J3FV - SATA cable 1 x X9FV3 - M.2/2.5-inch bay adapter/caddy |
Motherboard M.2 installation instructions are found here. |
3050 5050 7050 (MT) |
2 | 1 x M.2 1 x 2.5-inch 1 x 3.5" 2 x 2.5-inch 1 x M.2 + 1 x 2.5-inch 1 x M.2 + 1 x 3.5" |
M.2 slot supports 4X. Installing a M.2 device into the 2.5/3.5" bay is not supported. |
1 x DHR6X - Spacer (between the motherboard and M.2 drive) | Motherboard M.2 installation instructions are found here. |
Operating computer Install Notes:
There is an updated storage driver (IRST F6) to include PCIE support. (to enable Windows to recognize the drive during installation):
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