Alienware 17 R5 M.2 2242 SSD

[dmw_4814]

My 17 R5 has three SSD slots; two for 2280 SSDs, and one for a 2242 SSD (I think this slot is labeled "SSD 1"). Does anyone know if that 2242 slot supports PCI-e, or is it just SATA III? I plan on buying a 2242 M.2 SSD for that slot, and would like to get a PCI-e drive, if it's supported. Thanks.

 

[AssimilatorX]

NVMe and SATA ssd's I have modified mine to fit a standard 2280 drive

 

[dmw_4814]

NVMe and SATA ssd's I have modified mine to fit a standard 2280 drive

How did you modify yours to fit a 2280? And, why did you do that, instead of just using a 2242?

Do you know if a double-sided M.2 will fit in that 2242 slot? The 2TB one I want to buy is double-sided. Thanks.

 

[AssimilatorX]

How did you modify yours to fit a 2280? And, why did you do that, instead of just using a 2242?

Do you know if a double-sided M.2 will fit in that 2242 slot? The 2TB one I want to buy is double-sided. Thanks.

I disassembled the base rib-cage and cut out the lover plastic under the drive with dremel plastic cutting wheel. Tha amazing part is that this plastic is really strong unlike the cheap laptops braking up so easily. After this i used an olfa tool knife to smooth the edges test fitted the drive once more positioned the screw mounting socket and fixed it onto the underlying usb board in order to secure the ssd down. Next mod will be the cooling solution for them that chanel the heat down to the bottom metal plate by cutting out some of the plastics from it. My current boot drive runs around 70c degree.

There is no 2TB version of the 2242 modules the biggest you could get is 1tb and they are cost more then a 2280 drive in the same capacity. Yes the double sided one you can forget insufficient cooling for one, and it will not be able to screw it down as the bottom side will be raised because of the bottom cells. dont forget the trendy marketing "3D flash" to save space on footprint, they stuck them on each layers, and it will make them taller LOL. I have tried and failed. The max is the 1TB modules. The option was there by factory but dell decided not to allow a 3rd full size nvme drive, however it was not a space issue at all as the drive fit just right without interfering with any of the internal systems around that area. I have uploaded my mod also.

 

[dmw_4814]

I found a 2TB PCI-e 2242 M.2 SSD made by Sabrent on Amazon; it was $259. I bought it, and just got it, today. I installed it (didn't seem to have any fitment issues whatsoever), and it's working perfectly. It was detected in the BIOS/UEFI and in Windows 10 without any problems, although I did reformat it when I first installed it, changing it from MBR to GPT, because there was initially 64GB of unallocated space. After formatting, the drive has one partition which utilizes the entire free space on the drive.

I'm not a gamer; I buy gaming laptops because I want a desktop replacement, and gaming laptops typically have a lot of "horsepower under the hood", so maybe I won't really have to worry about insufficient cooling (let's hope!).

 

[AssimilatorX]

I would not use "sarbent" or whatever is. it. its one of the cheap Chinese made that i cannot trust ever as they dont have on-board memory this means that every operation have to be stored in the flash temporary and it will significantly shorten its lifespan. All my sandisk or wd ssd's have 5years warranty. My latest 2tb wd blue has 5y warranty with 600 TBW and they are usually underrated. Also you forgot to mention if is single or double sided 2242 drive. The bottom of the 3rd ssd socket are raised 2mm for a reason. i could not fit a double sided ssd there myself. Never buy ssd without ram.

 

[dmw_4814]

I would not use "sarbent" or whatever is. it. its one of the cheap Chinese made that i cannot trust ever as they dont have on-board memory this means that every operation have to be stored in the flash temporary and it will significantly shorten its lifespan. All my sandisk or wd ssd's have 5years warranty. My latest 2tb wd blue has 5y warranty with 600 TBW and they are usually underrated. Also you forgot to mention if is single or double sided 2242 drive. The bottom of the 3rd ssd socket are raised 2mm for a reason. i could not fit a double sided ssd there myself. Never buy ssd without ram.

LOL; It's "Sabrent", and they're an AMERICAN company, not Chinese. It's double-sided, and it's got a 5 year warranty - provided you register your purchase on their website within, I think, 90 days (otherwise, they'll only warranty it for a year). Despite the fact it's double-sided, it fit right in place, and it didn't seem as if I had to press down on it with any undue pressure to screw it in place.

All I know is it seems to be working just fine, and I'm happy!

 

[AssimilatorX]

LOL; It's "Sabrent", and they're an AMERICAN company, not Chinese. It's double-sided, and it's got a 5 year warranty - provided you register your purchase on their website within, I think, 90 days (otherwise, they'll only warranty it for a year). Despite the fact it's double-sided, it fit right in place, and it didn't seem as if I had to press down on it with any undue pressure to screw it in place.

All I know is it seems to be working just fine, and I'm happy!

All good ten LOL.. I am just saying that new brands tend to have lots of issues to work out. That something i will not trust my data to company i have no knowledge of. For example i was using sandisk sd cards usb's for ages. Never had issues. than the WD drives appeared, nerveless i had no issues with wd hdd's ever i only started to trust them when i learned that wd is literally owning SanDsk . And really every wd ssd is identical to its sandisk counterpart.