M17xr3, adding a SSD

i got 750 gb hdd in my m17xr3 right now and my second storage bay is vacant. where can i find a compatible ssd for my labtop. im just looking for 256 gb just to put my operating system and a couple games on it. also does it have to be in raid configuration? the main purpose of it will be the os and games i dont wanna split files between drives, so what setting in the bios do i need to use, and is there any steps i need to do before i attempt an instalation of ssd. i realize i will have to backup everything so i can reistall the os on the ssd.

 

Most SSDs nowadays are compatible. RAID or AHCI will be fine. You seem to have done enough research and know what you should be doing. You'll be fine.

I'm selling an SSD if you are interested. The link in my sig goes straight to the Marketplace listing.

 

right now i have AHCI config.. correct me if im mistaken but doesnt a raid config use two drives simultaneously? so if i keep my current config i can just add the drive, backup everything, then reinstall my os only on ssd then put everything else like music etc on my hdd, and then i can put games like bf3 that have long load times on my ssd? whats the size of ur ssd and how much?

 

Just wrote this on similar post, So I will recycle: http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m17x/651082-ssd-500-gb-hybrid-question.html

I just did this with my R3, I did a Samsung 830 256gb and a Momentus XT 500 and my secondary.

The SSD needs to go in Sata Port? 1 (center of the laptop)and the Hybrid in Sata Port 0 ( the default hhd location on the side on the laptop )

I set my access type to AHCI, and set to primary boot location to be the sata port 1 from the port 0 in the BIOS.

then b00m! install OS
here is a link for clean install driver/software install order:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...install-order-guide-alienware-systems-14.html
(I downloaded these before I started the clean install )


I followed this tutorial: Sean's Windows 7 Install & Optimization Guide for SSDs & HDDs
it has some great steps for optimizing for the 2 drive setup of windows.

A lot of places say install the OS from scratch rather than try and restore onto the new ssd.

good luck.

 

you can set your sata controller to Raid mode and use 2 drives seperately. This is often a point of misunderstanding. You can also stripe 2 drives (raid-0) or mirror two drives (raid-1) in our laptops. Those raid modes will use 2 drives together.

I have my sata controller set to Raid mode and have my ssd as my primary drive and my hdd set as my storage drive