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    AW13R2 SSD NVME M.2 test bad in slot 1, test ok with slot 2

    Discussion in '2015+ Alienware 13 / 15 / 17' started by Nightrider, Oct 3, 2017.

  1. Nightrider

    Nightrider Notebook Geek

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    Hello, I just bought AW13R2 used in Mint Condition

    Setup
    Alienware 13 R2
    The drive is Samsung PM951 512GB ( I also have 960 evo for troubleshooting )
    The drive was in the Slot #2 when i opened the cover
    Bios Last Version
    Crystal Mark benchmark 1781 read 1489 write

    Problem
    When i install the drive in Slot #1. Sometimes windows boot and freeze after 2min, Sometimes the drive is not detected in bios.

    In the Slot #2 The Laptop work flawlessly

    troubleshouting
    I did same test with 960 EVO. Same result.
    I did try AHCI and RAID option
    I did examination for bent pin. Can't find any

    Question
    I wonder if the drive come originally in Slot ( check in the Bios )
    Any idea ? :(
     
    Nightrider, Oct 3, 2017
    #1
  2. Vasudev

    Vasudev Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Try wiping the gold contacts of SSD and its m.2 slot with a clean cloth.
     
    Vasudev, Oct 5, 2017
    #2
  3. Nightrider

    Nightrider Notebook Geek

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    it's not so easy... I work in Electronic shop. My College redid the solder. No success

    Does someone have Alienware 13 ? if yes Questions

    Your SSD is in the Slot 1 or Slot 2?
    Anyone use 2 drive NVME?

    Where can i buy replacement part?
    Dell Alienware 13.3" 13 Genuine Laptop NGFF SSD1 SSD2 Board LS-A304P F7PCY GLP

    Also i wish i could compare SSD M.2 NVME Benchmark with other user.
    I would expect like 2500-3200 m/s Read but i only do 1700m/s. Is there limitation on the board?
     
    Last edited: Oct 7, 2017
    Nightrider, Oct 7, 2017
    #3
  4. Zakalwe

    Zakalwe Notebook Consultant

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    I have a 13 R2 with two PM951 512GB drives. The original drive was and still is in slot 1 (that is the one closer to the RAM, right?), and it has been working fine there for over a year. The second I got used on ebay, and judging by the recovery partition I found on it it appears to have come from some other Dell. It has been working fine in slot 2, though it has only been a month or so. My benchmarks are even worse than yours, though - I normally do not do benchmarking, but I tested this CrystalDiskMark now and I get around 1580 MB/s sequential reading and 590 MB/s writing (same for both drives).
     
    Last edited: Oct 13, 2017
    Zakalwe, Oct 13, 2017
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  5. Vasudev

    Vasudev Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    Those R/W speeds are good.
     
    Vasudev, Oct 13, 2017
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  6. Zakalwe

    Zakalwe Notebook Consultant

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    Ah, good to know. :) I did not really know what numbers are good or not. The performance has always been perfectly fine for my purposes, so I never saw any reason to run benchmarks.
     
    Zakalwe, Oct 13, 2017
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  7. Vasudev

    Vasudev Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    1.5GBps for reads and 500MB/s for writes.
     
    Vasudev, Oct 13, 2017
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  8. Nightrider

    Nightrider Notebook Geek

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    Thank you ! You saying you got 2 PM 512GB. Are they in RAID?
    My Benchmark are better. Maybe because fresh windows and my drive almost empty
    I ordered a new M.2 Board... i hope it solve the problem
    I think the drive is on PCIE X2 Lane instead of X4. I had Laptop before doing double speed ( almost 3000 read )
    The difference betweet 1500 read and 3000 make almost no difference because it's rarely the bottleneck
     
    Nightrider, Oct 15, 2017
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  9. Zakalwe

    Zakalwe Notebook Consultant

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    No RAID, just two drives for twice the storage space.There may be better drives out there, but I figured going for the same model would be least likely to cause issues, and it was fairly cheap.
     
    Zakalwe, Oct 16, 2017
    #9
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