Solved I have an M.2 question, too

glasskuter · Jul 31, 2023

I have a small m.2 nvme boot drive(2230) and use an old 1tb spinner partitioned into 2 partitions, one which is my storage partition. I had thought about adding another nvme but this arrangement has worked out fine for what I do so never have.

While cleaning out my garage today, I found a 512 gb m.2 sata drive that I removed from a laptop that was parted out. I had forgotten I had it. It got me to thinking that even though this m.2 is sata, I would still be better off using it for storage rather than my old spinner. This is the drive.

https://www.memory4less.com/samsung-pm851-512gb-sata-6-0-gbps-ssd-mznte512hmjh-000l2

Attached is the spec sheet for my PC as well as the drive configurations that Dell says will work. Before I go to the trouble of messing with this, would y'all take a gander and see if you see any reason why it won't work if I utilize the second m.2 slot with this drive.

DigitalGoat · Jul 31, 2023

From the looks of the spec sheet type 35 & 40 are only NVME drives not SATA so those M.2 connectors won't work with the drive you have found. At least that is how it reads to me.

johnlgalt · Jul 31, 2023

Yeah, I don't see anywhere that it says it supports SATA over the M.2.

Dell's support page for the Optiplex 7080 has this link that may help you though.

How To Distinguish the Differences Between M.2 Cards | Dell US

It's a lot of info, but I think it will help you determine if that would be feasbile to work on your mobo or not.

bobkn · Jul 31, 2023

Is the PC in question one of the two in your "My Computers"? If so, which one? I see they each have a 256GB SSD plus a 1TB spinner.

I haven't found specification details for either PC at the level I'd like to give a definite answer, but I have the impression that neither machine takes SATA M.2 drives.

In case that you haven't checked the market, 1TB NVME M.2 drives can be had for less than $40US. I wouldn't suggest buying a 500GB one, as they aren't much cheaper. 1TB 2.5" SATA SSDs cost about the same as a 1TB NVME drive.

NavyLCDR · Jul 31, 2023

You could use one of these. The SSD would still be faster than a spinner:

https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-2-5-Inch-Aluminum-Enclosure-EC-M2SA/dp/B01N6PMZLW

SIW2 · Jul 31, 2023

there are sata adapters that use sata data cable and sata power cable > m.2 sata only £5.98 so probably worth a punt.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Multibao-22-Pin-Adapter-SATA-Based-Converter/dp/B09VKCRD59/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=m2+to+sata+adapter&qid=1690860610&sr=8-4

or this also £5.98 which has a box to make it the same size as 2.5 in sata ssd.. should be able to find somewhere to put that - perhaps inside a 3.5 or 2.5 bay or just sticky tape it anywhere there is space.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Multibao-Adapter-Thickness-Enclosure-Converter/dp/B08VN7RBJ1/ref=sr_1_20?keywords=Multibao&qid=1690861976&rnid=560798&s=electronics&search-type=ss&sr=1-20]B key M.2 NGFF to SATA 3.0 adapter card with metal housing

or pcie to m.2 sata

https://www.amazon.co.uk/GLOTRENDS-Adapter-Cable-Screws-Included/dp/B09YLY39V8/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=m2+to+sata+adapter&qid=1690860610&sr=8-2-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&psc=1

if you dont mind spending a bit more that a fiver, you could forget about adapters and get another nvme there are bargains. This is a decent nvme with 800tbw endurance £22.98

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-High-Speed-Sequential-Compact-Factor/dp/B084ZW96N8/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2YZRL4EPIF1YA&keywords=corsair%2Bmp510&qid=1690861191&sprefix=corsair%2Bmp510%2Caps%2C67&sr=8-1&th=1

dont know about us prices but hunting around might turn up similar.

bobkn · Jul 31, 2023

NavyLCDR said:
You could use one of these. The SSD would still be faster than a spinner:

https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-2-5-Inch-Aluminum-Enclosure-EC-M2SA/dp/B01N6PMZLW
View attachment 66383

I hadn't considered that. It's cheaper than a drive.

Sabrent is, IMHO, a good manufacturer. I have a few things from them.

glasskuter · Aug 1, 2023

Thank you all for your suggestions. I've decided to utilize all of them. Here's my plan.

With this Dell being so finicky I think I shouldn't press my luck. I'm not mentally prepared right now to get into a no-boot situation others have encountered when changing out the system nvme drive. I'll leave my system drive as is even though it's small.

I'm buying THIS DRIVE to add to my second M.2 slot, It will replace the 1 tb HDD and will be a shared storage drive. I'm also buying the adapter @NavyLCDR mentioned to turn this old sata m.2 into a usb connected device for backing up other computers in the house and for data transfer when necessary. It's performance will far exceed the multitude of external 2.5 in and 3.5 in. HDDs I've accumulated over the years (several in enclosures). I've decided to clean house and start donating external spinners. I should have gotten away from them a long time ago.

Does anyone see any drawback from doing it this way?

jeffreywen · Aug 1, 2023

Please concern the heat dissipation of M.2 slot, and turn on the M.2 in BIOS to enable it when you install M.2 SSD in Motherboard.

Flashorn · Aug 1, 2023

Might also try a heat sink for it as they do get hot.
Check Disk Management to see if it will need initializing.

You might also consider this:

Solidigm P41 Plus 2TB M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen4 Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) SSDPFKNU020TZX1 - Newegg.com

Buy Solidigm P41 Plus 2TB M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen4 Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) SSDPFKNU020TZX1 with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

It's relatively new but, from SK Hynix which just bought Intel's NAND side of it's
business. so, basically a Intel SSD. It has a five year warranty.
I just bought one in Canada from Newegg and paid $200.00 for it (In CA dollars)
which is $153.00 in US dollars. Quite a drop.

Comp Cmndo · Aug 1, 2023

I've been through this many times.
I think the SATA M.2 SSD will work in the Dell's M.2 NVME slot.
Usually, SATA SSD will work in NVME but NVME won't work in SATA.

Does the motherboard M.2 slot have 2 keys or only one?

If the Dell's BIOS recognizes it, you're good to go.

glasskuter · Aug 1, 2023

Comp Cmndo said:
Does the motherboard M.2 slot have 2 keys or only one?

ONE. The m.2 sata has TWO.

bobkn · Aug 1, 2023

Are there any issues with resources if you use the second M.2 slot?

I wouldn't expect that with just two M.2 slots, but I dimly recall that some PCs disable SATA ports if too many M.2 slots are populated.

glasskuter · Aug 1, 2023

bobkn said:
some PCs disable SATA ports if too many M.2 slots are populated.

Yep see second screenshot in post #1. It gives supported configurations,Looks like this machine allows only 2 drives if both m.2 are used. The key word is 'supported'. Whether or not the sata ports get turned off or not, I don't know yet. But I'll find out. I'm going to see if @Comp Cmndo is correct, that the NVME port will accept an m2.sata. I tried to read up on this stuff and from what I read, thought that it would (or might). I read that ‘B+M’ drives can be inserted into any kind of M.2 slot, whereas an NVMe SSD that’s ‘M’ keyed can only go into its own appropriate socket. It's not really a big deal one way or the other. I just thought it was free storage better than a spinner and I should utilize it somehow. Turning it into a usb drive works, too. I'm so far behind on this stuff, it's embarrassing.

johnlgalt · Aug 1, 2023

glasskuter said:
Thank you all for your suggestions. I've decided to utilize all of them. Here's my plan.

With this Dell being so finicky I think I shouldn't press my luck. I'm not mentally prepared right now to get into a no-boot situation others have encountered when changing out the system nvme drive. I'll leave my system drive as is even though it's small.

I'm buying THIS DRIVE to add to my second M.2 slot, It will replace the 1 tb HDD and will be a shared storage drive. I'm also buying the adapter @NavyLCDR mentioned to turn this old sata m.2 into a usb connected device for backing up other computers in the house and for data transfer when necessary. It's performance will far exceed the multitude of external 2.5 in and 3.5 in. HDDs I've accumulated over the years (several in enclosures). I've decided to clean house and start donating external spinners. I should have gotten away from them a long time ago.

Does anyone see any drawback from doing it this way?

None at all, given the caveats you've already mentioned.

Heatsinks will be a good idea if they can be fit in there, as noted already above.

glasskuter said:
I read that ‘B+M’ drives can be inserted into any kind of M.2 slot, whereas an NVMe SSD that’s ‘M’ keyed can only go into its own appropriate socket.

It's not just about the keys, though.

A system has to specifically support both protocols in the m.2 form factor in order to be able to use either drive. A drive M + B keyed and using SATA can only be plugged in and successfully working in an M.2 slot that is M keyed if the slot allows both NVMe and SATA protocol drives.

IOW, a M + B keyed drive will fit in a slot that is M keyed, but may not actually work in it.

Winuser · Aug 1, 2023

Comp Cmndo said:
Usually, SATA SSD will work in NVME but NVME won't work in SATA.

I can verify that by what I just went through with my Mini PC. The PC came with a M.2 SATA drive and not knowing I bought a M.2 NVMe drive.

Winuser · Aug 1, 2023

glasskuter said:
ONE. The m.2 sata has TWO.

Your looking at the same thing I went through with my Mini PC. The M.2 NVMe drive was never recognized.

NavyLCDR · Aug 1, 2023

Winuser said:
Your looking at the same thing I went through with my Mini PC. The M.2 NVMe drive was never recognized.

Winuser said:
I can verify that by what I just went through with my Mini PC. The PC came with a M.2 SATA drive and not knowing I bought a M.2 NVMe drive.

Your situation is the opposite of this thread. You were trying to use an NVMe drive in a SATA slot. Glasskuter has a SATA SSD and an NVMe (PCIE) slot

Winuser · Aug 1, 2023

NavyLCDR said:
Your situation is the opposite of this thread. You were trying to use an NVMe drive in a SATA slot. Glasskuter has a SATA SSD and an NVMe (PCIE) slot

Yes but my thread shows why it may not be possible. If I'm wrong show me why!