SSD "mini-card"?

I think I got pwned.

I just bought the M4600 Precision laptop from dell (I mean ordered), and on the configuration menu I could choose 2 hard drives; As I got it on a separate site with big discounts, the site was a little buggy and all compatibility issues were not adressed.

So I happily choose "2 drives", 1st drive "SSD Sata 3 (!) 128 GB" (130€ as first drive, and "SATA 500GB 7200 rpm" as secondary drive. I thought "great, 2 hard drives in a 15 inch laptop! how do they fit that in?", but i did not bother thinking.

Now they sent me the confirmation mail, recaping what THEY have understood of my command. And instead of "SSD Sata 3" I now see..."SSD mini-card". Just to be sure, I go again to the regular dell website, to find that, in my 2-drive config, if you choose a real hard drive as secondary drive, the first one must be this ssd mini-card, and it will go in the space provided for the WWAN card i did not order anyway. So there is no mystery, you will not fit 2 drives and a 9-cell battery in a 15-inch laptop, it is physically impossible unless you make the laptop so thick it can pile the 2 drives in a column!

So now, before making any rampage by mail and changing everything, I would like to ask you, as I did not found anywhere on the net the question to be adressed: what is the usual performance of the SSD mini-cards? It is attached to the motherboard by a mini-pci-e port...and it is very small...will it be fast? how fast compared to 2.5" Sata 2 or Sata 3 SSDs? And how reliable, will I fry it if I use my laptop too intesively?

Thanks for your help!

EDIT: maybe I auto-answered my question:

http://thessdreview.com/our-reviews/samsung-pm800-128gb-msata-ssd-review-pcmark-vantage-and-conclusions/

 

Samsung makes a mSata 3 ssd, it is a pci-e mSata ssd. It has very fast speed, and will not fry anything. I am not sure if this is your card, because I believe there may be other manufacturers now making Sata 3 mSata cards.
I do have a Sata3 ssd (in my HDD bay) and a HDD (in my Optical Bay) on my 15" lappy. No heat issues, no size or weight issues. I also hve a mSata ssd in my tablet and it is fast. Again, no heat issues, or any other issues. Try it, make sure it is Sata3 when you get it, and then just love it.

 

It will be a SATA 3 interface, just in a different physical configuration. The drive will be an SSD in a different form factor. There shouldn't be any performance loss.

 

Ok, thanks people, you reassured me about that. Then i'll just wait and see what happens when I get the actual laptop, i'll have to install windows myself as I had a way to get it legally for free, hope this interface will do no problem for windows install, as the hard drive configuration itself is made by dell in the factory so there should be no problems. I'll tell you when I get it!

 

I have an mSATA (mini card) SSD in my Y560. It functions just like an actual SSD/hard drive, and Windows treats it like any other.