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    Hard Drives - Ordering Question

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by Daweism, Nov 14, 2011.

  1. Daweism

    Daweism Notebook Consultant

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    Hello gents, I'm planning to buy the M17x but I'm not certain which setup to go with... price is not a big issue but money doesn't grow on trees, anyways...

    How much fast is the Raid0 setup versus just a single HDD and how does the Raid0 compare to a Hybrid HDD+SSD setup? What is the difference between Raid1 and Raid0?

    Or is it worth it just to get a SSD?
     
    Daweism, Nov 14, 2011
    #1
  2. jwolf7722

    jwolf7722 Notebook Deity

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    Order the cheapest single HDD configuration you can and buy a SSD to install later then get a large HDD for storage. Its much cheaper to shop around for your own SSD.
     
    jwolf7722, Nov 14, 2011
    #2
  3. Daweism

    Daweism Notebook Consultant

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    Let's say I didn't want to do that and just wanted to go with what Dell offers.
     
    Daweism, Nov 14, 2011
    #3
  4. jwolf7722

    jwolf7722 Notebook Deity

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    Then you will end up paying double what you should for the setup.
    One small SSD and One standard HDD will do the trick.

    I would go with the ( Boot & Secondary Drive option) when you order. Knowing very little about hybrid drives take these statements as just opinion. Im thinking a regular SSD for boot will perform much better than a hybrid.
     
    jwolf7722, Nov 14, 2011
    #4
  5. DR650SE

    DR650SE The Whiskey Barracuda

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    Key in mind that buying aftermarket HDDs is not necessarily as cheap as it was a few months back. Due to the flooding in Thailand, HDD production is waaay down. Western Digital's production is down 60%

    Crazy Pics of WD Factory

    Here is an article on it.

    Lots of manufacturers such as Seagate to get parts for HDDs from Thailand and were also affected. I just checked my order history on Newegg. This is what I paid for a 1TB drive a while back.

    My Order

    Price Now of my 1TB

    -----

    Explaination of RAID

    Using a Hybrid drive for a boot drive, plus an SSD would make booting faster. A Slow SSD will be WAY faster then the fastiest HDD, so going SSD is definately t good way to go and will show a huge noticable differance in loading times on your system. Having a large HDD on the other hard is nice so you can have lots of storage. So it all realy depends on your needs. I'd prefer an SSD/HDD setup myself.
     
    DR650SE, Nov 14, 2011
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  6. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    wow...crazy pics !! Surprisingly though, the SSD prices haven't been that affected.
     
    SlickDude80, Nov 14, 2011
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  7. DR650SE

    DR650SE The Whiskey Barracuda

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    Yea, SSDs havn't increased is one thing I noticed, which must mean that they are produced elsewhere that was unaffected, but the drive I purchased, increased in price by 90% :eek:
     
    DR650SE, Nov 14, 2011
    #7
  8. SlickDude80

    SlickDude80 Notebook Prophet

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    which one? the 1tb internal? Double? That's crazy
     
    SlickDude80, Nov 14, 2011
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  9. The Revelator

    The Revelator Notebook Prophet

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    Demand and supply in the real world.
     
    The Revelator, Nov 14, 2011
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  10. inzelux

    inzelux Notebook Evangelist

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    SSDs are going down in price, these days. The SSDs are manufactured other places, and the fact that HDDs went up because of the flood, gives an brilliant chance for the SSD-manufacturers to get some SSDs out there..


    - Scott.
     
    inzelux, Nov 14, 2011
    #10