New Alienware 2015 R2 VS R1 - SATA 6Gb/s VS PCIe SSD (Boot)

I believe most of you aware of new alienware R2 announced, I saw new devices come with PCIe SSD (Boot) just wondering how much different in boot timing? my alienware 15 cold boot its around 14~16sec , will the PCIe make it like 2-3sec?

 

More like 1-2 seconds difference. PCIe sees the most benefit in launching applications, benchmarks, and power saving.

Negligible difference in boot times.

 

I shall summarize the difference between AW 15 R1 and R2: (mainly as in, is it worth the update from R1 to R2)

- the dynamic cpu overclocking is not a smart thing imho. It won't be benefited much of it, since it clock dynamicity depends on the temperature of the CPU, and since the cpu still has the same 47watt TDP there will be not much room left for overclocking your cpu. That small temperature room could be more efficiently used on the GPU. (of course i'm talking about game performance here. it is still more beneficial in terms of cpu intensive tasks when not using the GPU)

- The pci SSD will not make a much difference compared to the M.2 ssd, perhaps only in a few specific scenarios. But definitely nothing groundbraking, UNLESS a much powerful ssd is used. An example is intel it's new pci SSD. That ssd performs typically better than a normal sata ssd. which will definitely benefit from the pci lane. And I don't think dell will use an ssd of that class in a laptop, don't think it even exists for laptops yet.

- USB type C is definitely a nice addition. I can totally see this type taking over over years. due to it's capabilities. But for now the question remains still (at least for me), will I be using it. Not anytime soon, and it's means one less usb 3.0 port for me. so perhaps a good thing to have on my next laptop.

- DDR4 ram. Definitely a nice addition. Games will not benifit too much of it. But still, technology evolves, and it is natural that you want every component to be of recent technology. Amazing to see it implemented on laptops already. Kudos to alienware for this.

And that wraps it up.

Definitely some nice features in there. but not worth to leave R1 in order to get the R2.

 

I need 4 USB port too ! (mouse, headset , usb for phone & external drive) I know USB type C able to convert to regular 3.0 but still annoying , totally agree with you!

 

I personally find "USB Type-C" also to be quite annoying, considering you need adapter after adapter. Kind of early to adopt it, IMO.

Type-C in addition to the current USB ports is fine. But replacing them? No, thanks.

 

Definitely some nice features in there. but not worth to leave R1 in order to get the R2.[/QUOTE]

Hello QUICKSORT,

I am new to this forum but can clearly see you level of expertise when it comes to AW 15 R1 and R2. I have January 2015 AW 15 model (R1) and I am looking to upgrade this system by installing M.2 SSDs. After googling and looking for the information on various forums I still cannot find what are the compatible M.2 SSD models for this laptop as all the information is specific to R2.

Can you please help me out here and let me know which Samsung/Kingston M.2 SSD model is compatible with my AW 15 R1 ?

Thanks

 

The USB-C which also enabled Thunderbolt 3 is nice to have for external GPU's. The Razer Core for example can be used on the AW15R2.

The skylake CPU is more cool compared to the old haswell so the cooling is better as well.

But you get a less good screen in return (which you can swap out yourself by the way).

I would wait anyway for the Pascal R3 version.

 

my alienware 15 R1 boot. @J.Dre I have to deny your appreciation "more power saving"


950 pro m.2

850 evo m.2


5,1W (950 pro) vs 2,5W (850evo), the same history at idle 70mW (950pro) vs 50mW (850evo), also less temperature

 

you have to check the M.2 SSD, it needs to look like this
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81KqhmbwANL._SL1500_.jpg

You see that the actual slot you put in consists out of 3 pieces, with the 2 pieces on the sides evenly wide. Obviously that Samsung 850 EVO M.2 SSD is compatible. Also make sure the length is also as long as that one. There are 2 types of length, the one on the picture, and a shorter one, you will notice it if it's shorter, so avoid the short ones as you won't be able to screw it in.

for the rest the choice is up to you. just search for M.2 ssd's and simply check if the slot matches.
E.g. unfortunately the strongest nvme pci-e SSD's such as the Samsung 950 pro is not compatible with the AW 15 R1. while it is at least 4-5 times faster then the sata SSD's.

 

You do realize this was over a year ago?

 

@J.Dre my video is from this year... july 15 2016

 

Yeah, haha. I was talking about the thread date and my post you referenced. I hardly remember what I ate for breakfast, let alone what I was thinking more than a year ago in regards to Type-C. My thoughts have changed a bit since my last post, though.

 

I'm surprised this thread is alive. lol.

 

Thanks QUICKSORT for your response. Actually I also asked the same question to the official Alienware Forum some days ago and this is the response I got from them.


Hi,

You can check the part numbers we have and the description for each part. Let me know if you need something else!

PART# PART DESCRIPTION

R37V9 SSDR,256,S3,2280,TOSHIBA,HG6

5612H SSDR,256,S3,2280,LITEON,L9G

R4FXV SSDR,512,S3,2280,SAMSUNG,PM851

686M7 SSDR,512,S3,2280,LITEON,L9G

10CN6 SSDR,512,S3,2280,LITEON,V2G

331T3 SSDR,128,S3,2280,SAMSUNG,PM851

854HD SSDR,256,S3,2280,SAMSUNG,PM851

2F16C SSDR,512,S3,2280,TOSHIBA,HG6

HV90C SSDR,128,S3,2280,LITEON,V2G

MGNHV SSDR,256,S3,2280,LITEON,V2G

PF19K SSDR,128,S3,2280,TOSHIBA,HG6

FJX63 SSDR,128,S3,2280,LITEON,L9

But when I looked on Amazon, I observed that their slots are different from the one which you suggested. Although I am pretty sure that you have provided the correct one but can you please confirm once that 850 EVO M.2 SSD will work for AW 15 (Early 2015) model ?

 

Hello iPhantomhives,

I see that you once had a AW 15 R1, can you please let me know what M.2 SSD you installed in it ? Also, since its more than a year now since R1 was released, what is the fastest M.2 SSD that is still available and compatible with this model ?

Thank You
Neo KT
ALIENWARE 15 i7-4710HQ |1080p | GTX 970m 3GB | 16GB Ram | 1TB HDD | K1525

 

Samsung 850 Evo , to me , the M.2 basically the same as the 2.5" , I prefer 1TB 2.5" 840/850 since you will have 500gb more, if you have AW 15 - R2 , I'd suggest pcie ssd.

My old video.

 

Thank You iPhantonhives, really appreciate your quick response.
As I see in your signature, you used to have a 1 TB SSD (which I assume was Samsung 850evo) as well as a 128GB M.2. What I want to know from you -
1) Does read/write speeds on that M.2 are not significantly more than a normal 2.5" SSD ?
2) In your video, were you booting from the SSD or from the M.2 ?
3) What are your thoughts on Samsung 850Evo Pro ?

Also, correct me if I am wrong in assuming that R1 doesn't utilize pcie bus even if they have provided the slots.


Thank You
Neo KT
ALIENWARE 15 i7-4710HQ |1080p | GTX 970m 3GB | 16GB Ram | 1TB HDD | K1525

 

What the hell? few of those completely seem to be a wrong choice :s
especially considering an alienware rep suggested these.
Actually have read threads back in the early days that people got the samsung 850 evo m.2 running fine both in their alienwae 17 r2 as the Alienware 15 r1.

As a confirmation I can give you this
http://en.community.dell.com/owners-club/alienware/f/3746/t/19655579

 

1) Does read/write speeds on that M.2 are not significantly more than a normal 2.5" SSD ? They are basically same but m.2 , that I know it only up to 500gb, I'm not sure if they have any latest 1tb version.
2) In your video, were you booting from the SSD or from the M.2 ? in my video is 1TB 850.
3) What are your thoughts on Samsung 850 Evo Pro ? I'm using 840 Evo 2.5" & 840 mSata 1TB right now for my alienware 14 , I only worry about booting speed, they are basically identical vs 850 Evo, I don't have 850 Pro.

 

hey judal57,

Can you please tell me whether you used 950 pro M.2 on AW 15 R1 (Early 2015) ? Can this model really utilise this M.2 ? Or do you think 850 evo M.2 is a more sensible option ?

Thank You !

 

if you have the 15R1 as me, only sata drives will work ... 950 pro is pcie(dont work on this model). i have 2 samsung 850 evo m.2 on my laptop and work really fine, for the same money of 950 pro 512gb you can get 1tb of 850 evo m.2
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-850-...472244321&sr=8-3&keywords=samsung+850+evo+m.2

 

Also, can you please tell me if M.2 850evo Pro will also work in my AW 15 R1 ?

Thank You

 

the 850 pro is a 2.5" drive .... if you want to keep the drive you have in this moment, you have to buy m.2 drives. i keep the 1tb 2.5" drive that come with my aw and bought 2 m.2 SSD's, now i have 3 drives

 

All 850 Evo drives in M.2 form factor are SATA, so will work in the 15 R1.