Buying a SSD M17x-R2

Well, the title says it, I'm looking into buying an SSD for my laptop. I don't want to spend to much, I plan on putting the OS on it and a couple of games so 60gb should be fine.

Newegg.com - OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE60G 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

How's this for pricing and performance?

 

This is the one I use. Really nice buy

Crucial RealSSD C300 64GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive

CTFDDAC064MAG-1G1 Crucial RealSSD C300 64GB 2.5" SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - Retail The new 2.5inch Crucial Real SSD C300 drive offers mobile and desktop users scorching-fast read speeds of up to 355MB/s using new SATA 6Gbps interface. : nova

 

And one more question, is all that I would need to mount and install the drive already in my laptop? Or would I need to order some parts from dell?

 

The R2 should have shipped with a second caddy and interposer even if you currently have only 1 HDD within the second bay. Just remove the battery and remove the main central cover (loosen 2 phillips head screws) and it should be in the top left hand corner (with the battery compartment nearest to you).

If you don't have the caddy, interposer and four M3 x 3mm long screws then you will need to contact Dell, who should then send it in the post for free. But ensure/insist that Dell should send you four M3 screws as they only usually seem to ship it with only one screw (which is pathetic imo).

 

Yes, my R2 came with 2nd caddy that had a little black sponge which included all the parts needed (including screws) to install another hard drive.

As to which SSD, I think pretty much any Sandforce controller based drive is fine. I bought Mushkin Callisto 64GB since it came with $15 rebate. That actually works.

OCZ Vertex 2 you linked would be my 1st choice, mainly because OCZ has a great support forum in case you have any problems with it.

 

Have the SSD issues with the R2 been resolved? I was under the impression it wasnt worth the upgrade since they are slow in the R2.

 

I don't have any issues. If they are slower, they are certainly not as slow as the mechanical HDs.... where did you get that idea?!

 

From here

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ssd-speed-issue-investigation-discussion.html

yes there is an issue but overall the SSD is still way faster than a standard HD

 

OK let me rephrase it. In real-world usage scenarios - application loading, gaming, OS boot etc., I don't see anything slowed down as compared to the other computer that particular drive was used on.

Unlike the old m17x-r1 latency issue, where you could actually tell there was something wrong (stuttering). Again, I have absolutely no problems with running SSD, despite the fact that it may be running on what 99% vs 100% efficiency.