Few questions i have.

hey,
i have few questions, im sure u guys can help me out

1. When i get my new m17x r3, will the gpu , the cpu and other stuff come with thermal pasting? if not, how will i get it done?

and where can i get it, since im in India, i probably need a good one as its hot. and im not sure if we can get those in india so ill have to order online.?

2.People say SSD are a great investment. but expensive.

can i buy it later? how will i add it to my alienware? any video help?

and, since im not that rich, will an 80-100? or 120 gb be fine?

3. what's the best SSD? and not expensive? plz suggest me

 

Some of the experts on here will chime in with better answers but I'll give it a try:

1. Yes it will come with thermal paste on both the CPU and GPU (hopefully anyway. I have heard stories where they had forgotten to put the paste in at the factory!). While the stock paste from the factory that Dell uses serves its function, it isn't that great and most users here will suggest a re-paste especially if you intend to run graphically demanding games and/or OC. Highly recommended pastes are:

- PK-1 from Prolimatech; a little hard to obtain outside the US

- MX-4 from Arctic Cooling; Pretty easy to obtain. I hear it's a little thicker making it harder to work with. Most people heat the tube by a lightbulb before applying

Here's a tutorial on how to re-paste the GPU:

Alienware M17X R3 Re-pasting Guide and 6970 re-pasting guide

There are other guides on this forum on how to repaste the CPU as well. A quick search should pull those up.

2. SSD's are worth every penny. You will not regret getting one. You can get it later and install it yourself. There are 2 hard drive bays on the R3. You can use the HDD that comes with the R3 as a storage drive. You should install the SSD in Bay1 (the one in middle) to ensure you get SATA3 speeds.
Here are a few tutorials I found:

Alienware M17x R3 HDD Swapping re done
Alienware m17x 3D Remove Original Drive
Alienware m17x 3D Installing SSD Drive and Reinstalling Back Cover

120GB should be enough. After putting it in, install Windows onto the SSD, install your drivers and you should be good to go.

3. I'm not the SSD expert but the SSD that seems to be recommended a lot as the most cost effective is the Crucial M4.

 

Since the m17x can support to HDD I would stick with a 120GB SSD. Yes its worth the investment. I was skeptical at first but when I had my system it was the best investment I made.

Intel 310 or 510 SSD
Crucial M4
Samsung 830

These all seem to be brands many people on here recommend. I went with Intel when I purchased mine.