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    New SSD and RAM

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by mark_j, Feb 8, 2013.

  1. mark_j

    mark_j Notebook Consultant

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    I have an older R3 (with the 6970m). I ordered it with 4GB RAM and 750GB HDD with the intention of upgrading in the future. The future is now, lol.

    I want to buy 8GB of RAM...is this the right stuff?
    Newegg.com - Kingston HyperX 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 HyperX Plug n Play Laptop Memory Model KHX1600C9S3P1K2/8G

    Also...this SSD:
    Newegg.com - Intel 335 Series Jay Crest SSDSC2CT240A4K5 2.5" 240GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

    Now for my big question. I use my laptop for both work and play and have a lot of custom VPN and security settings for remote server access, etc. I do not want to start from scratch. So, I want to move all my music and movies from the existing 750GB drive to an external drive and delete some games to make it fit on the new 240GB SSD, install the new SSD in the open hard drive slot in my laptop, use Intel's imaging software to copy my existing install to the new SSD, reboot and go into bios and tell it to boot from the hard drive bay where the SSD is installed, reformat the 750GB and use it for storage.

    Is all this possible? Is any of it a mistake? Better options that do not hose my current setup?

    Thanks
    Mark
     
    mark_j, Feb 8, 2013
    #1
  2. Alienware-Luis_Pardo

    Alienware-Luis_Pardo Guest

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    Both upgrades will work, and your idea on how to transfer the information to avoid starting from scratch sounds about right.

    If you want to get the most out of that SSD I'd suggest you install it in the slot labeled HDD0 and make sure you are running one of the BIOS versions released with SATA III support.
     
    Alienware-Luis_Pardo, Feb 8, 2013
    #2
  3. dimotion

    dimotion Notebook Guru

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    Buy the Kingston HyperX 1866! It´s just plug and play and work fine.

    http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/5695129
    http://www.3dmark.com/3dmv/4561106
    http://www.3dmark.com/3dm/65681
     
    dimotion, Feb 8, 2013
    #3
  4. raclimja

    raclimja Notebook Consultant

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    I believe the m17x r3 has broken memory support on the bios.

    I currently own a m17x r3 and I have tried to overclock the ram timing and memory speed of my Samsung 30nm yk0 but it is not working, it also doesn't support lower voltage such as 1.35(the lowest is 1.5v)

    I've tried different bios such as unlocked a08, a10, a12. I also tried different memory(gskill ddr3 1600).

    Sent from my EVO using Tapatalk 2
     
    raclimja, Feb 8, 2013
    #4
  5. sonies

    sonies Notebook Guru

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    does the R4 support 1866hz ram?
     
    sonies, Feb 8, 2013
    #5
  6. mark_j

    mark_j Notebook Consultant

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    Update : Installed new ssd and ram linked above. Cloned my old hdd with Intel's migration software. After some tweaking and firmware updates it logs a 7.9 windows score. Cloning worked like a charm.
     
    mark_j, Feb 15, 2013
    #6
  7. mariussx

    mariussx Notebook Evangelist

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    mariussx, Feb 15, 2013
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  8. jiggymf

    jiggymf Notebook Evangelist

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    jiggymf, Feb 15, 2013
    #8