Need help with SSDs in 17 R3

I am new here and been searching for about a few hours for some information that I can't seem to find. So I come here for answers.

I am looking at purchasing the Alienware 17 R3 and getting the 1 TB PCIe options. Is that a signal drive or multiple drives raided. I believe it is a signal but I don't see any 1 TB m.2 drives for sale. Second question is, if the other 3 m.2 slots open will take a m.2 SATA like the Samsung Evo 850 m.2 ( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0147399&cm_re=m.2_sata-_-20-147-399-_-Product).

Would there be any issues mixing PCIe and SATA m.2. I am planning on maxing out all 4 m.2 slots and a 2 TB Hard Drive. If can't be mixed, could I use 4 m.2 SATA SSDs as linked above?

 

the 17 R3 only has two m.2 slots as far as I know (not 4).

Dunno about mixing sata and PCIe, but I assume it would work (and
I haven't read about anyone having problems)

 

I didn't get the 1TB version, but others said it was indeed one single 1TB PM951.
And there are only 2 m.2 slots in 17 R3.
I have no idea about mixing PCIe and SATA m.2. In theory it works but I haven't heard anyone had done that.

 

As said, the r3 has only 2 slots. As said also, somebody got one and reported that the 1tb SSD is one card, leaving one slot open.

Both of these slots will accept either PCIe or SATA. I don't know why you couldn't mix the two types, but I've never heard anyone report on it.

 

Thanks for the answers, I just did look at the specification manual and it is 2 m.2 slots. I always thought they had 4, never sure where I got that from . The 1 TB PCIe signal drive is the main answer I was looking for. Now just to confirm that PCIe and SATA can be mixed before I jump the gun. Planning on buying a 2 TB Samsung 2.5 SSD, 1 TB PCIe SSD from Alienware, and a 500 GB m.2 SATA. Wanna make sure all is well before dealing with potential returns, etc

Edit: The R2 had 4 m.2 as I found out. Wish the 13" had both m.2 and a 2.5 bay.

 

Here is your report then: I ghosted from Crucial MX200 M.2 SATA to Samsung 950 Pro PCIe NVMe on the same AW17R3.

Performance wise, I would like to see a single person report a 600 Mbps SATA or 6,000 Mbps NVMe will make a difference to fsck-all-anything. I don't see difference at all even running on 2 VMware containers. Win10 is bloatware for tablets. Benchmarks do not represent anything at all that will matter to anyone if they are using an SSD, any SSD. So I can with 100% accuracy say that NVMe will make no difference to your normal usage if you are already used to using an SSD.

 

CountingCrows, you gave me the most important part when your said PCIe and SATA could be mixed together. I know that the difference between PCIe and SATA and the speeds. Honestly enough, regular SATA is fast enough for most people and I am gonna purchase a SATA SSD M.2. PCIe M.2 is way to pricey. Now I wish that the R3 used mSATA so I could get a 1 TB SSD dirt cheap.

 

The R2 had 4 slots. Not sure why they took two away for the R3