AW13 Compatible SATA SSD Upgrades?

Hi gang,

I've got an Alienware 13 (R1) that came with a 1TB SATA HDD. I'd like to swap that out for a reasonably-priced 500ish GB SSD. I jumped on an Amazon deal for a Crucial BX100... but then discovered (the hard way) that Crucial SSDs are apparently incompatible with the AW13 because reasons despite being explicitly listed as compatible on Crucial's site.

I'd still like to do this upgrade, but don't want to jump in blind again. Is everything but Crucial fair game or are there other "gotchas" I need to be aware of? Can anyone help me find an appropriately-sized SATA SSD that is 100% known to work in this laptop? I'd like to keep the price below $200-300 if possible.

Alternatively, I'd be willing to go after an M.2 SSD if anyone could help me find an adapter. I've seen a few posts mention this SATA-to-mSATA adapter but not a lot of folks chiming in saying "yes I got that and it works great".

Thanks in advance!
-splice

 

There aren't any exceptions with other brands. OCZ, Samsung, Intel, etc. all work with the 13 R1.
I know Cruical M.2 SATA SSDs work (I use one, MX200, as my Win10 SSD). If the MX200 M.2 works in the 13, maybe the MX200 2.5" SSD will work as well.
I even use a Samsung 850 EVO M.2 in my 13, and it works without problems (the 2.5" 850 EVO works as well, confirmed through other members of the community).

 

Thanks! Sounds like I'll be buying pretty much anything except a Crucial 2.5". I think I've seen several posts about the 850 EVO as well, so I'll probably go that route.

Thanks again for the info.