M14x R2 Ordered, upgrades compatible?

Hello everyone,

Been a while since I was last here, just thought I would ask a couple of quick questions. Just ordered my m14x R2, mainly for use while studying my PhD(main excuse for the purchase), just wondered how the owners felt this model was for productivity? Will be using it for a lot of coding and I read that the keyboard is very comfortable, combined with the compact size I thought this would be best for doing my work on.

The initial order was for the base 500Gb HDD, I have pre-emptively ordered a Samsung 830 256Gb SSD, a Crucial M4 256Gb mSata for installation when the laptop arrives. Has anyone had compatibility issues with these products? Also I read on these forums somewhere that raid between the SSD and mSata was possible, is this true?

Very much looking forward to my second Alienware, my first being the m17x R1.

Thanks,
Scott

 

There were some complaints about the 256GB MSATA not working always, but otherwise any SSD will work. I would not recommend running them in RAID, however, because they are of different brands and controllers and thus do not have equal speeds.

If for example you were matching a M4 2.5" and a M4 MSATA, then, yes, you probably could RAID 0 them with little issue, but I wouldn't try to match a Series 830 with a M4.

 

I opted for a Vertex 4 in mine which works fine, the Crucial M4 mSATA should be ok , I've got one in mind, albeit a 32GB one.

 

Thanks for the reply guys, I don't intend on RAIDing them really, one is for windows and the other is for linux

 

I just swapped the 32GB mSATA SSD that came with my M14x R2 with a Crucial M4 mSATA 256GB SSD and it works flawlessly. I did a fresh install of W7 on the mSATA and reformatted my 750GB 7200 RPM HD for storage.

 

HEY, romanstine9

What setting did you use in the bois setup: ATA, AHCI or RAID?

I'm doing the same thing. -- Just ordered a Crucial mSATA 256GB SSD.

My box: M14 R2, i7-3720, 16GB @ 1600Mhz, 750GB HDD, 1600x900, Killer-Wireless,

Oh yeah!

 

I've been hearing / reading that the Alienware M14 R2 will not support mSATA III and will only operate in the slower mSATA II mode.

Does anyone know if the above statement is true?


If it only supports mSATA II then can a custom bios script be implemented to inguage the mSATA III compatibility.

 

There should be no compatibility issues with those devices. All of them are supported by the platform.

 

I'm totally screwed...

Just formated my New Laptop (Alienware M14 R2) it only boots up from the SSD. (Windows 7 Home Premium is installed)

All of my ports don't have drivers so I cant install drivers - totally screwed!

But, my CD/DVD drive seems to work and its not listed as an installed item on the device manager. - I can boot from the CD/DVD Drive.

I'm not sure how to proceed.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.


Oh yeah, Dell Computer wanted me to pay them $150.00 for the drivers

It's suposed to be included with my NEW Laptop (only one month old)

Thanks again for any help.

Bob

 

Just perform a system recovery.. (assuming you created one using dvds or flash drive before you reformatted your system)

 

Shouldn't need drivers for the usb ports I wouldn't think. DL the drivers to a different computer and either burn them to disk or copy to a flash drive.

 

Try the usb's on the other side of the PC?

 

The usb ports on the right side will not really work at all, but the one on the left should work to install your drivers with.

 

Yes!

You were correct.

I used the USB and teathered my phone (as a wireless modem) obtained Dells website and downloaded drivers for my internal modem so that I can get a quicker and more stable
internet connection to download all other necessary drivers.

.

Next time ill have the drivers on hand and or an image and restore disk.



Thank you for all the help

 

lols drivers are meant to be downloaded pre-reinstall as they require internet connection and usb support to receive (any old flash usb will do, they're usually not more than 500 mb in total). you can always do this via another computer as well if you ever find yourself in a bind (any internet cafe or halfway decent computer will do).