Dell Xps 15 Hard Drive Replacement

Dell XPS 15 (Prototype credit: Windows Fundamental)

Many high-stop laptops come up with very few upgradable features. But there is one component yous usually tin ameliorate: storage. While even the most basic solid-land drive (SSD) outperforms any hard-deejay drive (HDD), yous can get even more speed and more storage by upgrading.

The Dell XPS 15 (9570) is one of my favorite ultra-powerful, not-gaming laptops. Here is how to brand it even better by tossing in a new SSD.

Why upgrade the SSD in your XPS xv?

In that location are two reasons to upgrade your SSD in the XPS 15: more than storage and more speed.

Maybe y'all thought the 256GB in your XPS 15 would be enough, but now with lower prices for wink storage, a 1TB SSD would exist squeamish and roomy. And even though your current drive is faster than an onetime spinning-disk difficult drive, information technology can load apps and salvage large files fifty-fifty quicker.

You can pick up a new 500GB Samsung 970 EVO on Amazon (opens in new tab) for around $150. Dell charges $200 for an SSD upgrade when yous buy the device, and you don't know which SSD make you get.

Dell XPS 15 SSD upgrade options

Samsung 970 Evo (Image credit: Windows Cardinal)

There are quite a few SSD drives on the market these days, only I'k a fan of Samsung's, for both performance and storage.

Samsung 970 EVO SSD

A significant footstep up in functioning would be going with the make-new Samsung 970 EVO with a theoretical 3,500 MB/s and two,500 MB/s sequential read and write performance. Sizes range from 250GB ($97 (opens in new tab), 500GB ($150 (opens in new tab), 1TB ($300 (opens in new tab) or a huge 2TB ($530 (opens in new tab).

For the XPS 15 (9570), the 970 EVO is going to be the best remainder of size options, performance, reliability, and warranty for the average power user.

Come across at Amazon (opens in new tab)

Samsung 970 PRO SSD

Pushing the limits to the farthermost is the current male monarch of laptop SSDs: the Samsung 970 PRO.

The 970 PRO is similar to the EVO, including the aforementioned read speeds (3,500 MB/s), but it's the write performance that sees a jump from a theoretical ii,500 MB/southward to ii,700 MB/south.

Samsung's Pro line is also meant for frequent reading and writing to the memory with exceptional reliability. It's certainly a fast SSD, simply it'south an extra $50 for the 512GB model ($230 (opens in new tab) and $100 more for the 1TB selection ($450 (opens in new tab).

See at Amazon (opens in new tab)

How to upgrade your Dell XPS 15 SSD

This is everything you need to know to remove and replace the SSD in your XPS fifteen, to heave storage and drive speed.

SSD upgrade difficulty rating

We previously rated the XPS 15 SSD upgrades procedure as simple, only that's changed a flake with the 9570. The actual swapping of the SSD is easy, but removing the bottom cover on the XPS 15 (9570) is harder than it should exist for ii reasons:

1. Dell used very soft Torx T5 screws that strip easily.
2. Dell used a light thread-locker, which makes them harder to remove.

Doing this upgrade on our XPS 15 (9570), nosotros ended up just stripping out all the screws and using a Torx T6 commuter, but it was tough to remove them. It was arduous, intensive, and if you skid, y'all could scratch the body of the XPS 15.

Having a Torx screwdriver (opens in new tab) is a good showtime. You'll besides want to be patient. Even if you strip out the head of the screw by using a larger format you can still strength the spiral off. Just it tin can be laborious and stressful.

Difficulty rating: Moderate to hard.

Bankroll up your XPS xv SSD

Macrium Reflect Gratis Edition.

There are multiple ways to upgrade to a new SSD with Windows 10 depending on preference and tools available:

1. Clean install Windows 10 on the new SSD with the Windows x Media Creation Tool.
2. Copy your electric current SSD to a backup drive (250GB or larger to friction match the backup) and then copy back to new SSD using 3rd-party software.
3. Copy your electric current SSD direct to new SSD using an external enclosure before swapping.

Option number i, the clean install, can be tricky if you lot practice not have all the hardware drivers for your device handy, so contact your manufacturer before you brainstorm. Another good tip is take quick access to another PC in instance you need to become a file or wait up information during this process.

For selection number two, I apply the third-party solution Macrium Reverberate Complimentary Edition. At that place is a pay version of Reflect if you plan to use information technology for regular backups, simply for a ane-time SSD swap, y'all can use the costless 1.

Restoring a Macrium Reflect image to a new SSD

You just run the software on your current SSD and dorsum up your PC to an external USB drive. Afterwards swapping out the SSD, kick the XPS 15 to the USB bulldoze and restore the image.

For the third option, Samsung makes gratis Data Migration software (opens in new tab) for use with its SSD drives. While Samsung's option is gratuitous, you need a way to connect the new SSD to the laptop to straight copy its contents. For a laptop SSD, this means you lot demand to purchase an enclosure with a USB connexion (opens in new tab) (you can then repurpose your quondam SSD as a new external bulldoze).

Y'all need Torx and Philips screwdrivers and a small pry tool to assistance remove the bottom encompass on the XPS fifteen.

You may have your own tools, but I picked upwardly the Kingsdun 14 in one Precision Screwdriver Repair Tool Kit on Amazon (opens in new tab). Ignore the "for Apple" marketing, as this kit has all bits you'll need for this task, including a Torx T5 screwdriver. It was a mere $xiv and includes every tool you will need to piece of work on electronics like a laptop, and information technology will also likely come up in handy in the hereafter.

Encounter at Amazon (opens in new tab)

Yous will as well desire a clean and well-lit workspace, and somewhere safe to put the screws from the lesser of the XPS 15. An anti-static wrist strap is non necessary, merely it's beneficial. And it costs just $half-dozen.

See at Amazon (opens in new tab)

If you want to purchase some screws in anticipating of having to replace them (not a bad thought at all) this $10 kit (opens in new tab) has the correct M2*3 screws (black) that will fit. They're also regular Philips screws, which volition be more convenient subsequently if y'all demand to remove the comprehend once again.

Finally, if y'all are backing up your sometime SSD using choice iii via an SSD enclosure with a USB connectedness (opens in new tab) make sure to get one of those too.

Opening the Dell XPS fifteen (9570)

Before yous brainstorm, power down (not sleep or hide) your laptop and unplug information technology from the power adapter.

To open the XPS 15 (9570), you should follow these steps.

All 12 of the screws holding the XPS 15 together

1. Place the XPS 15 face downwards. (I recommend using a cloth to prevent whatsoever scratches.)
2. Remove the 10 Torx caput screws from the lesser edges.
3. Remove the 2 Philips head screws from beneath the XPS label in the center (elevator the cover).
4. Pry the cover off gently using a pry tool.

The cover should click and come off without much forcefulness afterward all 12 of the screws are removed.

Changing the SSD on the XPS 15

With the display hinge oriented away from you, y'all'll observe the SSD beneath the frazzle fans and to the left on the XPS 15.

1. Remove the placement spiral at the base of the SSD.

2. Gently peel off the mucilage-similar insulation textile. (Don't throw information technology away, as nosotros'll exist reusing it.)
3. Gently elevator the old SSD at a 20-degree angle and slide it out.
4. Insert the new SSD firmly into the slot at the same xx-degree angle.
5. Lay down the new SSD and supervene upon the placement screw.

6. Reapply the insulation. (This will assistance dissipate any heat the SSD generates.)

Reassemble and kick your XPS 15

1. Position the laptop'southward base of operations panel in place.
2. Replace the 12 screws around the edge of the base and nether the XPS characterization plate.
3. Plough over and open up the laptop.
4. Install the old SSD in your external bulldoze enclosure.
5. Plug the old SSD into any USB port on the XPS 15.
6. Press the power button in the top right corner to kicking the laptop.
7. Immediately printing and hold F12 until the Boot Menu appears.
8. Utilise the arrow keys to select the USB drive and kicking from the old Windows x install.
9. Use your choice of software to copy the contents of the USB SSD to the newly installed SSD.

Recollect, if all else fails, y'all can just put back your old SSD.

How to switch to AHCI (and why)

Dell ships the XPS 15 (9570) SSD in a RAID configuration for the controller. But Samsung SSDs work better under Advanced Host Controller Interface (AHCI). More accurately, if you lot would like to install Samsung's SSD NVMe driver and Wizard software (opens in new tab) you lot need to be in AHCI mode set through the XPS 15's BIOS. AHCI delivers a few more options to the SSD when using Samsung's software similar TRIM (improved information maintenence), firmware updates, healt tests, and more. So it's a good idea to install it.

The problem, though, is you cannot just switch to AHCI in the BIOS and then boot straight to Windows 10 – the OS will non load the driver because information technology'southward already in use.

To go around this, you need to follow these steps:

1. Enable Windows 10 Safe Mode for next reboot.
2. Reboot the PC and enter the BIOS earlier Windows ten Safe Manner loads.
3. Plough RAID off and enable AHCI in the BIOS.
4. Boot into Windows 10 in Safe Way and let it load the right commuter.
5. Disable boot into Safe Fashion and reboot into regular Windows 10.

Once those steps are completed, yous can install the Samsung SSD commuter and Magician software.

To set the PC to go into Safe Style, follow these steps:

1. Type cmd into the First search bar to get to Command Prompt.
2. Right-click on cmd to run as Ambassador.
3. Type into the Command Prompt bcdedit /ready {current} safeboot minimal and hit Enter.

Restart the reckoner, merely before Windows 10 loads, hit F12 when you run into the Dell logo and choose BIOS Setup from the menu.

Navigate to System Configuration > SATA Operation and enable AHCI.

Save and exit the BIOS settings and let Windows 10 boot into Rubber Style. Merely doing this lets Windows 10 switch over its drivers from SATA to AHCI, but we've prepare Windows 10 to only boot into Safe Mode, so we need to united nations-do that. Here's how:

1. Type cmd into the Get-go search bar to get to Command Prompt.
2. Right-click on cmd to run every bit Administrator.
3. Type into the Command Prompt bcdedit /deletevalue {current} safeboot and hit Enter.

Restart Windows 10 and the regular, non-Safe Mode Windows ten should kick.

Your SSD is now running in AHCI mode, and yous can go ahead and install Samsung's drivers and software (opens in new tab)

Dell XPS 15 SSD upgrade results

The benefit of updating to a faster (and larger) SSD is credible when yous run some benchmarks. You tin can also "feel" the difference in everyday usage, whether loading a giant video game, transferring large files, rendering a video for output, or fifty-fifty simply booting Windows.

Here is a direct before and after comparison of the SSD the XPS 15 ships with and the Samsung SSDs, using benchmarks from CrystalDiskMark (higher numbers are ameliorate).

Device	Size	Read	Write
Toshiba XG5 (onetime)	256GB	2,771 MB/s	383 MB/s
Samsung 970 EVO	256GB	3,525 MB/south	1,508 MB/s
Samsung 970 PRO	512GB	iii,533 MB/s	2,327 MB/southward

For those curious about 4K (Q32) random speeds in CrystalDiskmark, we also ran some related benchmarks.

Device	Size	Read	Write
Toshiba XG5 (Old)	256GB	260 MB/southward	333 MB/s
Samsung 970 EVO	256GB	342 MB/southward	314 MB/s
Samsung 970 PRO	512GB	250 MB/s	212 MB/s

The most significant comeback is the sequential write speed. That's important for many "pro" users out at that place who need to return video or do heavy lifting. If you are just consuming media or playing games, you still go a noticeable crash-land but it's not equally impressive.

Overall, swapping an SSD on a new laptop can exist a complicated experience, only the rewards may exist worth it. If, however, you are a estimator hardare novice and do not feel comfortable with this process, try to simply purchase the appropiate configuration at your time of purchase.

Daniel Rubino is the Executive Editor of Windows Central, head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been roofing Microsoft here since 2007, back when this site was called WMExperts (and after Windows Phone Cardinal). His interests include Windows, Microsoft Surface, laptops, adjacent-gen calculating, and arguing with people on the internet.

Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/upgrade-ssd-dell-xps-15-9570

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