SSD Help - will this work for my rig?

Off-Topic Games, Gaming and Hardware
1

Heya, all! Pretty sure I’m overthinking this, but I wanted to check with folks more knowledgeable before I sink money into an SSD with Shadowlands coming up.

Basically I just want to add a secondary drive (the SSD) for gaming and whatnot and keep my existing HDD as-is.

Here’s my rig: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/alienware-aurora-r7-gaming-desktop-intel-core-i7-8700-16gb-memory-nvidia-gtx-1070-1tb-hdd-intel-optane-memory-epic-silver/6155310.p?skuId=6155310

I’m thinking of getting this SSD, but I think I’m confusing myself with all the PCIe, M.2 jargon. Would this work with my rig? I assume all I’d have to do is pop it in:

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Barracuda-250GB-Internal-Solid/dp/B07ZPRV8JY

2

I assume your PC only came with the HDD.

According to the Dell Manual you have one M.2 connector rated at “PCIe NVMe 3.0 x2” so I would go with a larger (500GB) yet cheaper per GB NVMe SSD (WD 550N or Crucial P1) as you won’t notice the speed difference.

3

Kind of criminal they sold an i7-8700 with a 1070 and no solid state drive.

that boils my blood (DK joke there somewhere)

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4

Yeah, it definitely only came with the HDD (shakes fist).

I was planning on the 500gb drive for sure. I’m confused with the M.2 though; I read that the existing drive already uses that slot, but I don’t want to replace it or start rearranging things… if it’s screw-up-able, I’ll find a way to do it.

The specs indicate there are 2 each of PCI-E x4 and x16 slots… but from what you’ve said the drive wouldn’t plug in there?

5

you think that’s funny (this why people should always read motherboards manuals before purchasing)

the first PCIe 16 slot?
“NOTE: The PCI-Express X16 slot works at X8 speed only”

surprisingly the second PCIe x16 slot is also x8.

As long as he does’t upgrade past the GTX2080ti he will fine but still

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6

you would need an adapter to use the NVMe in the PCIex4…in fact sticking it in your second PCIex16 would give you the fastest speed (up to it’s full potential)

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how many hard drives do you have? one or two?

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Just the one that came with it!

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I apologize Frejya, the DELL manual contradicts itself at the bottom!
One M.2 2280 solid-state driveSATA AHCI 6 GbpsUp to 2 TBOne
U.2 drivePCIe NVMe up to 32 Gbps (U.2 drive)Up to 280 GB
The NVMe is a U.2 connection not an M.2, that SSD will not work.

Get yourself a SSD like the Crucial MX500 and F@#$ Dell for screwing you over.

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10

what the hell lol

why even bother including an m.2 that only supports sata

these are the cost cutting measures that make no sense and they save maybe $1 per PC (hyperbole, of course) and it harms the consumer.

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Ah, kk. Thanks for the help - would have sucked dropping money and being frustrated :stuck_out_tongue:

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Anything to squeeze a bit more on margin. I’d bet it’s something like Dell trying to spread most or all of a single mobo design across as wide a range of models as possible.

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Asus had a Z270 mobo with dual SATA m.2 connectors but I can’t recall this configuration.

U2 connectors are for space saving reasons but hardly anyone supports them. I would say get a U2 to M2 port but then DELL limits that port to 280GB. A complete waste

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14

lol here’s more info for you
“with an M.2 drive, the M.2 drive is the primary drive”

Frejya, get a 2.5 SSD because if Dell doesn’t let you change the boot drive in BIOS (hey it’s dell) then guess what?

15

I be hosed? :smiley:

16

you would need to do a clean install of the OS. Most likely it would be fine but why risk it if the cost & speed would be the same

17

Bleh

So I’m looking at something like this, just so I’m understanding correctly? (the 250gb)

https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-MX500-NAND-SATA-Internal/dp/B0764WCXCV?th=1

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if you’re using SATA standard connection (not M.2 or U.2) you can use whatever capacity you want. 1tb is the best bang for buck/endurance

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Ah, got it! Looks like I’ll snag a cable as well :wink:

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sounds like a plan