PCI-e SSD used in Alienware 15 r2

I'm Vasudev. Hi, everyone!
I just want to know which ssd is used by dell if I choose 256 GB PCIe + 1TB HDD config? Will it vary from region to region? <strike> I'm thinking of buying AW 15 r2 from the US with CTO option, also I've opted for 4 yr ADP and 4 yr warranty(is this wise option to get 4 yr warranty at the price of 3yr and is it advisable to opt for a total of 5 years of coverage) Should I decrease my warranty to 2 yr? Can I transfer my US warranty to India that lets me keep additional warranty and ADPs in India too? </strike>
Specs :
i7 6700HQ
32GB DDR4
256GB PCIe SSD + 1 TB HDD
15.6" FHD
NVidia GeForce GTX 980M with 8GB
Alienware Orion Backpack 17"
Free Graphics Amplifier w/o any GFX.

 

We normally use Samsung, specifically the PM951.

 

Thanks. Is it this one: http://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/products/flash-storage/client-ssd/MZVLV256HCHP?ia=831
So specs remains the same, regardless of region.
Is it possible to transfer my warranty and ADP from US to India?

 

http://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/products/flash-storage/client-ssd/MZHPV256HDGL?ia=831 this ssd u make it bootable????

 

My bad, posted wrong link for PM951. I just went into R/W specs for this model and noted that write speeds are slower at around 280MB/s and not around 800-1000MB/s. Why would dell use this model instead of SM951?

 

Price, pure and simple. The PM951 is a bit cheaper than the SM951, and the price difference adds up over a few tens of thousands of laptops.

 

Isn't that completely wrong? You pay a premium for top of the line gaming system but with few compromises on ssd having no native nvme driver(other than default driver shipped with windows ) and no samsung ssd magician. I know that write speed for PCIe based ssd is comparable to SATA based speeds. I haven't owned a Dell before, i currently use a Lenovo, but I've seen Dell providing drivers for w10 even on older inspiron's. I hope next revisions of AWs comes with Samsung 950 pro's or atleast SSD that are covered by Samsung's Software.

 

You're looking at this from the point of view of a consumer, not a manufacturer.

Dell have quite a few systems that can be configured with PCIe SSDs. They're not universal yet, and pretty much only Samsung are able to supply the drives in enough quantity. Dell's only way to keep the prices down is to order high quantities of as few models as possible.

The SM951 drives are faster than the PM951 drives, and are also about 15% more expensive. Given that both drives can be marketed as PCIe SSDs, and that some of the systems are only mid-range, it makes financial sense to use PM951 drives across the board. The total savings are probably in the range of 6 or 7 figures.

As a consumer, I agree this sucks. I'd love for my AW17 R3 to arrive with a 1TB SM951 drive instead of a PM951. I'd happily have paid the price difference. But I can also see why Dell have chosen to use only the PM951, and begrudgingly accept that fact.

 

Atleast Dell should have provided a clear option which SSD manufacturer is used and also offering SM951 or SM961 with a little premium price just like Origin PC does.

 

Atleast Dell should have provided a clear option which SSD manufacturer is used and also offering SM951 or SM961 with a little premium price just like Origin PC does.

 

Dell know very well what they do!! If they used premium NVMe drives or ram, they know people would put in minimum from Dell and rather buy premium other places to a better price. And a lot of people come back to Dell for upgrades of ssd's and ram because people think this is the best. Dell run businesses like all other companies. Why offer premium to higher price than their competitors, if people rather buy well known premium brand elsewhere to a much lower prices?

 

buy your own ssd?

 

But samsung 950 pro is a little expensive here.

 

http://www.overclock.net/t/1603995/samsung-sm961-nvme-thread

 

I already went through Bm's @TomHW and other sites, honestly I'm impressed by its performance. But I need to buy it from RamCity Aus. with warranty coverage of 3yrs and still its expensive with import duty and VAT.

 

Sorry to bump this thread, I felt this was much better instead of creating anew thread, so I'll jump straight into my question. I'm thinking of populating my second m.2 slot with samsung evo 850 m.2 26gb so I need a m.2 screw(s) to fit into my lappie. I can't figure out how the screw looks like, some say m2x3mm wouldn't secure the ssd correctly may cause it to fall down.
I'm from India, I couldn't find right place to buy it.
Amazon has one, I'm not sure if its right. http://www.amazon.in/300PCS-Assorte...93&sr=8-1-fkmr2&keywords=M2x3mm+Laptop+Screws
I'd appreciate the help.

 

Why don't you remove the screw from the first M.2 slot and measure it? You need to measure the length of the shaft of the screw, from the tip to where it meets the bottom of the head. If it's 3mm then you should be fine getting M2x3mm screws. If it's 5mm then you'll need M2x5mm screws.

 

@nzgeek: I'm posting some macro shots. I found couple of screws lying around from my older pc and it measured 3mm from tip to bottom of the screw head. https://1drv.ms/f/s!Al8WP3ITOd0Egm7rBEUJ8-H_rLuc

 

Hi, Vasudev,

I do populate the second m2, you just need an old hard drive and remove a hex screw from the top cover, it has the proper length. Then look at the Wifi card it has a screw that you need for the M2, exchange the Wifi card screw with the old hard drive hex screw. The difference between screws are the head size but the Wifi card dont need the bigger head as the M2 need.

Hope this help, BTW I have it this way on my Alienware 17 R3, Samsung SM961 on M2 #1 and a SM951 on M2 #2

 

Hi @matrox00612,
Thanks, I do have a old vaio which is 7 years old, can I use the WiFi Chipset screw secured to it? I don't know, if m.2 existed during its time.

 

Those might work if the head diameter, shaft diameter and thread size are the same. Remove an existing M.2 screw from your laptop and compare them. If there are any obvious differences then those screws may not work.

 

I'll check and post back.

 

Those screws worked and successfully installed another m.2 drive sam. 850 evo 250gb. Thank you.

 

Mods please mark it as solved.