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    Intel 310 series SSD in XPS 15?

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by falcon64, Mar 31, 2011.

  1. falcon64

    falcon64 Notebook Consultant

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    I'm thinking an Intel 310 series SSD would work in an XPS 15 in the WWAN/Tuner slot. I know these SSD's are pretty new just like our L502X systems, but does anyone have any experience with this? Couple of reviews at Newegg say it works with Dell Precision M4500 and also the 6500.

    I suppose that unless Dell crippled the mini-PCIe slot on the XPS it would work and provide a simple path to a bootable SSD for Windows without sacrificing my Blu-ray drive. Seems they use standard AverMedia tuner cards, and my WLAN card works in that slot also, so I'm inclined to think it's standard mini-PCIe. I'd ask Dell, but, well, you know how they are with real tech questions...
     
    falcon64, Mar 31, 2011
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  2. DakkonA

    DakkonA Notebook Evangelist

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    After doing a bit of researching, it looks like its unlikely that any old SSD would work in a normal PCIe slot: PCI Express - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    There are a few actual mini-PCIe drives out there, like this: STEC | SSD | Ultra Mobile Solid State Drive for Ultra Mobile PCs, PCI Expess Mini Card But who knows if it'll actually be bootable.
     
    DakkonA, Mar 31, 2011
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  3. falcon64

    falcon64 Notebook Consultant

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    Yeah, I saw that some of these cards are sold specifically for the netbooks and are proprietary. I'm under the impression that the Intel 310 series are of the kind mentioned in the last couple of sentences in the paragraph, that would be compatible with any standard min-pcie slot. But you're right...the big question is will it boot? I've inquired at Intel...maybe they'll be able to provide some more detailed info.
     
    falcon64, Mar 31, 2011
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  4. zygotic

    zygotic Notebook Consultant

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    The Intel product page says that they support SATA signals over a mini PCI-e connector and the product spec lists them being compliant with SATA-IO but not the PCI-E / PCI-SIG spec. So i'm guessing not.

    Shame - that was looking like a good idea!
     
    zygotic, Mar 31, 2011
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  5. falcon64

    falcon64 Notebook Consultant

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    Just checked the specs on the Precision laptops, and they list a dedicated mSata port, so it looks like you were spot on. You're right, too, because it IS a shame. That would have sealed the fate of my 4yo desktop. It has an SSD for the OS & Apps, so boot times and app start times are still snappier than my XPS. Still, once the apps are open, the laptop is better for the work I do. The Retoucher's benchmark ran in 16 seconds vs 31 on the desktop.
     
    falcon64, Mar 31, 2011
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  6. DakkonA

    DakkonA Notebook Evangelist

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    DakkonA, Apr 4, 2011
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  7. DakkonA

    DakkonA Notebook Evangelist

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    DakkonA, Apr 6, 2011
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  8. [-Mac-]

    [-Mac-] Notebook Deity

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    i have read that mini PCIe port has a max bandwidth of 90MB/s, someone can confirm this?
     
    [-Mac-], Apr 8, 2011
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  9. Darkstone

    Darkstone Notebook Consultant

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    Minipci-e is the same as pci-e x1, 500MB/s bandwitdh.
     
    Darkstone, Apr 8, 2011
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  10. DakkonA

    DakkonA Notebook Evangelist

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    So SuperTalent says there is an IC shortage right now, so there won't be any 128 GB MLC or any SLC versions in the immediate future, and didn't say when they would be on the way.

    I just took a look at how much Windows and all my programs and user profile folders took up, and its just under 60 GB, which is less than is available on the 64 GB drive due to the extra space for wear leveling. I may wait for the larger capacity drive to come out, or else I'm going to have to decide how to split some stuff off onto the HDD.
     
    DakkonA, Apr 8, 2011
    #10