Chosen Solution
I have an Inspiron 3670 which checks a lot of boxes, except two: 1TB WD Blue16GB Optane module Yep, someone really bought it with an i5 and crippled it with an Intel Optane module :(*. I tried it, and I’m not impressed with the performance to the point I want to install a proper SSD. Before someone gets on my case for not liking Optane for much of anything, I UNDERSTAND it helps lower end machines with i3’s and Pentiums with spinning rust for less. However, this one has the i5-8400 with 8GB of RAM, so it’s hampering the performance enough I can immediately tell it’s not a good fit. If it helps your i3 laptop, use it – but on this machine I tried to like it but it’s still too slow vs. what the HW can do. If you see Core i5+, this just means you have a standard i5 with Optane. It means nothing; same IGP as a non + system. It doesn’t make a performance difference, so I want to replace it with a NVMe boot SSD and retain the 1TB drive for storage. I do see I can get a drive direct from Dell for it with the M.2 2230 form factor, but I do not know if these come with the needed adapter – I just cannot find them in the US without buying a used SSD, which tends to cost as much as an open market 2280 from TEAMGROUP. However, I can import one… for $44+33+Customs cost. Not happening. *As I am in the US, it takes a lot for customs to bill you for personal use. However, it still happens. Does Dell sell this adapter piecemeal if it doesn’t come with the drive, or do I need to buy a used SSD to get it if I cannot find the required 2280 adapter to replace the Optane cache?
Technically I don’t need any adapters if I move this to 2230 vs 2280 – I just need to move the screw :-). This is the kind of design we need for right to repair, and while I much favor HP in most ways (especially commercial, Dell has cheapened the machines out a bit too much for my liking but the price was right for a i5-8400) this kind of forward thinking design needs to be rewarded. Maybe someone gets one like me and tries to like Optane. Maybe they realize it’s pointless on a good configuration as well. This makes it really easy to throw the Optane out for NVMe boot storage.
