M.2 NGFF slot in X1 Carbon Gen 2 2014

From Lenovo Community,

Hi All,

Recently I bought a X1C 2014 version with a 256g ssd builtin which model is Samsung MZNTD256HAGL-000L9. I can see it is a M.2 SATA 3 6.0G interface.

I can see the M.2 slot in X1C has only the B key which means both SATA / PCIe 4X card can be fit in.

My question is, can I replace the 256G SATA SSD to a 512G PCI-E SSD like the samsung XP941?

Highest Performing Samsung XP941 Native PCIe M.2 SSD Available For Pre-Order | The SSD Review...

I understand SATA and PCI-E is different...I just don't know the so called NGFF can support both at the same time?

Thanks in advance.

siukeung

Link to picture

 

Sorry I missed this post previously.

Sadly your X1C will not work with a PCIe SSD. It does fit the M.2 socket, but it is wired to the SATA bus, so a PCIe device like the Samsung XP941 is not compatible.

The Crucial M500 M.2 480GB SSD is your best option for upgrading. Toshiba and Intel should have something in that capacity fairly soon too, or it may already be available in your market.

 

I am actually interested in this because I am trying to determine PCIe compatibility in a different computer. How did you rule it out, did you actually try a PCIe card or you just assumed PCIe would not work since SATA does?

 

I haven't tested this particular model - I am making an educated guess. We've been selling both SATA and PCIe M.2 drives since Nov last year, so have had some time to compile a lot of information about what works and what doesn't. Also, there is still a considerable gap in price between a SATA M.2 SSD and a PCIe m.2 SSD. If a manufacturer is aiming at a particular competitive price point, then it's not economical to design a machine to work with a PCIe SSD.

I can't think of any reason why a manufacturer would design a laptop with an M.2 slot wired to both the SATA and PCIe buses, or even if that is possible. I mean, why would they design something that would allow you to upgrade the machine to a much higher performing storage device when they could bring out that feature in the next new model and have you buy a new one? So far we've only seen SONY take the plunge into utilising PCIe M.2 in the Sony Vaio Pro 13, and at a considerable price premium.

 

Hi Rod,

Good to see you on these forums. I responded to your comment about the Razer Blade on the compatibility guide on the Ram City website. My question here was about the Blade also, though I was asking more generally.

I know that PCIe storage is significantly more expensive. But is it really so much more expensive just to configure a slot to be able to take advantage of PCIe? Why is that? As to your other question, Razer has been hiding the ball continuously when it comes to their storage options. They did not advertize the extra mSATA slot in last year's Blade even though it was there (this year, it seems that it is not). So its at least possible that they would do something without advertising it.

 

Thanks for the welcome!

That's a tough one. Once again I can only speculate. I know that ASRock have managed to work out the engineering to manufacture a dual purpose SATA/PCIe M.2 slot in their new Fatal1ty 990FX Killer AM3+ AMD MotherBoard, but it's still only a 2-lane PCIe solution. This still allows transfer speeds up around 750MB/s, but it's a long way off the potential 1400MB/s + speeds that a PCIe x4 SSD can deliver.

Perhaps there are technological hurdles with manufacturing a dual PCIe x4 / SATA M.2 socket in any form factor, let alone getting the tech small enough to fit in a notebook, or maybe the components are very expensive?

It's hard to argue with that logic. I guess it's possible that they might not specifically advertise an additional feature, instead relying on social media to shed light and spread the news. Perhaps a good marketing tactic?

 

Thanks for your 2 cents. I think I am coming around to your point of view. You did forget to mention two computers with PCIe SSD support: Apple rMBP and MBAir. You should come and join us over at the Razer forums. Lots of discussions about storage options for our new Blades!

 

Right you are. I must admit a bit of self-interest creeps in with the rMBP and MBAir since there isn't any third party upgrade available for them us to sell - yet!