XPS 8940, cannot find the answer for SSD and GPU

Long list of Dell oem ssd for 8940

@Tesla1856​ I am still using Windows 10.  Also the SSD is just for games.  I was told that if I install my World of Tanks on an SSD dedicated for games it will run much smoother?  Does that sound right?

@redxps630​ I do appreciate your response. However none of those are listed on the Dell website and as I stated in my original post I am using my Dell Credit to purchase so it would have to be available on the Dell website. UNLESS I am not reading the descriptions on the site correctly.

@Diamondrmp​ I'd recommend contacting the Dell Sales line. They should be able to aid in creating a quote so that you can use your Dell credit for the purchase. They'll also be able to verify what parts we currently have in stock and would be compatible with your system. 

You can chat or get a number to call here. 

If you want to dive a bit deeper, then lets take a look at the system specs for the 8940. Personally, I'd recommend looking for a 2280 M.2 NVMe SSD. It only has to operate at PCI Gen 3 speeds instead of 4, so you could save a buck there. The M.2 drive also has the advantage of just being "plug and play". You won't need to swap the HDD out or add SATA cabling for an additional SATA SSD. The caveat to this is that storage is more expensive nowadays due to AI data centers taking up all of the inventory. So if you need to go cheaper, then a 2.5in SATA SSD may do the job.

Though. I'd have to agree with Tesla in that you would want to reinstall Windows onto the SSD so that it can be the boot drive. This is how you will really benefit from the speed performance over the original HDD. You would then use the HDD as additional storage. 

Click here for Dell tested and compatible GPUs. However, depending on the card you're opting in for, you may need to upgrade the PSU to the 500w variant if you don't already have that. If you do have the 500w PSU, then any card in that list should work fine. The RTX 3060 with 12GB of VRAM would be a good bet to future proof yourself. 

Keep in mind not to have the same OS on 2 boot drives.  Remove or disconnect HDD while loading SSD.  Once your SSD is up and running, reconnect HDD.  Then go into Disk Management and reformat the drive.  Even if it's this way already, use GPT system and GPT file scheme.  That wipes the HDD and it's now ready for storage.  Be sure to have all important stuff backed up outside of PC beforehand.

If 2 boot drives are connected with same Windows OS, whether 10 or 11, after  short amount of time, Windows will corrupt itself and BSOD (blue screen of death).  The only way to defeat the BSOD is to reload.  Hopefully it's Win11 that will be loaded on the SSD.

I went through quite the ordeal a few years ago learning to not have same Windows OS on 2 boot drives.  It even used storage drives to detect that.  When Windows corrupts itself, first it starts with Disk Checking.  Then there's not too much time left before it goes BSOD.

@Diamondrmp​

@Tesla1856​ I am still using Windows 10.  Also the SSD is just for games.  I was told that if I install my World of Tanks on an SSD dedicated for games it will run much smoother?  Does that sound right?

Yes, it will make the program run smoother for you. I've got an 8940 and MS Flight Sim. I first had it on a Mechanical drive and it was noticeably not always transitioning landscape smoothly.

So I moved it to my boot SSD which had enough space to handle it (mine if 512GB's and only basically has the OS and a few programs on it. Normally has about 170GB's or so free.

Once the Flight Sim was on it, free space became very small and I worried about MS Updates having enough space to do it.

So, I did a different solution. I bought a 2.5" Crucial ct1000bx500ssd1, a 1TB SATA6 drive I installed in one of the drive slots (I think the holder can handle 2.5" drives or there was a 2.5" to 3.5" adapter that was in the bay or came with the drive.

To me the performance was the same as it was on the M.2 drive.