Alienware 15 R3 mSATA SSD Upgrade

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Joseph99

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Jan 30, 2014
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Hey guys, I was not too sure if there was already post in regards to this since the laptops have been recently released.

So I ordered the Alienware 15 R3, I'd list all the other specs but you guys know all the bells and whistles. The one I purchased consists of the 1TB HDD but I did not get it with the SSD(for a few reasons). So I will be looking around in a few months for an SSD to add to one of the slots.

So I was wondering, is there anything I should know about in particular before I start looking around for mSATA SSD's? Like certain compatibilities of a any sort? What brands I should or should not look at? Also, I was thinking of using the SSD as a boot drive and adding a few games on there too and was wondering what are my options are when migrating.

This is my first with a gaming laptop, I have only built PC's in the past, so any help is much appreciated!
 
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Martell1977
Ok, the one from Crucial, has a SATA III interface, similar to the regular drive, but it is still much faster than a HDD (my Samsung 850 EVO is SATA III), plus it's $10 cheaper on Newegg.com:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820156154

The Intel SSD is PCIe NVME 3.0 interface which is a much faster interface. And is also cheaper on Newegg.com:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=SSDPEKKW512G7X1&N=-1&isNodeId=1

You have to confirm that the M.2 slot you have is compatible with these interfaces or you could have issues.
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Martell1977

Martell1977

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Oct 26, 2010
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"Beneath the bottom plate, you’ll find the hefty cooling system, two slots for M.2 (which are empty in our configuration), one mSATA slot, two memory slots in the middle (one of which is empty), and the HDD on the top left."
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/alienware-15-r3-gaming-laptop,4796.html

I'd go with a m.2 SSD. Samsung makes some of the best and fastest SSD's on the market and I went with a M.2 850 EVO when I bought mine, however, there are newer, faster ones from Samsung, 950 and 960 is you have the extra money, they should be much faster.

When buying an M.2 SSD you need to know the right model to get. Mine was a M.2 2280, which seems to refer to the length, so you need to research and find out which your system supports. But it looks like yours support 2 different sizes, just have to confirm what exactly they are.

 
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Joseph99

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Jan 30, 2014
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Great thanks for that info! I did some research and I believe is is M.2 2280 but I will definitely look into the parts you suggested, thanks! Also, any difference between mSATA SSD and a regular SSD, speed wise?Thanks!
 
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Martell1977

Martell1977

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Oct 26, 2010
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From what I've read, mSATA seems to be just like a regular SSD but with a different interface. However, the m.2 can be much faster depending on whether it is connected via PCIe or SATA, PCIe being faster. This is determined by the motherboard connection and what type of SSD you use.
 
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Joseph99

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Jan 30, 2014
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Awesome, thanks! I have stumbled across this:

Hopefully I am looking in the right ballpark. Thanks

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01L80DH4G/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=H0D4Y0SO4QSR&coliid=ICHFVF2HNJXRO

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01K375CDY/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=H0D4Y0SO4QSR&coliid=I25GNMGHY5DLBL
 
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Martell1977

Martell1977

Splendid
Oct 26, 2010
3,846
3
24,960
Ok, the one from Crucial, has a SATA III interface, similar to the regular drive, but it is still much faster than a HDD (my Samsung 850 EVO is SATA III), plus it's $10 cheaper on Newegg.com:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820156154

The Intel SSD is PCIe NVME 3.0 interface which is a much faster interface. And is also cheaper on Newegg.com:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=SSDPEKKW512G7X1&N=-1&isNodeId=1

You have to confirm that the M.2 slot you have is compatible with these interfaces or you could have issues.
 
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