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    R3 option. Hybrid ssd vs ssd ??

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by 5abivt, Jan 17, 2011.

  1. 5abivt

    5abivt Notebook Consultant

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    R3 offers a 256 gb ssd. Any details or info out there on it ?

    I also see a hybrid ssd 2x500 option. It's definitely cheaper but I'm curious on the performance or specs on it. Any know any info on it or how they compare to the ssd Dell offers?

    Money is of no concern but the fact Is I don't even come close to using 90 gb of data. 256 is overkill. There Is no 128 option so I was think to try the fastest non ssd and if I don't like it I can grab 2x80gb ssd in raid. I also hear a gen 3 ssd is near? Also do Dell ssd have sandforce controllers?

    I just realized it doesn't say 7200 rpm by the hybrid. Are these epic slow 5400 drives ?
     
    5abivt, Jan 17, 2011
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  2. katalin_2003

    katalin_2003 NBR Spectre Super Moderator

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    Don't think they are 5400rpm drives and definitely the SSD is faster than the RAID config with those hibrid drives. Now if you look for storage rather than speed you can have the raid config which will perform faster than any 7200rpm drives and have 1Tb at the same time. My advice is to go for a SSD and upgrade later with a larger driver for storage (will be cheaper aftermarket).
     
    katalin_2003, Jan 17, 2011
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  3. mfractal

    mfractal T|I

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    mfractal, Jan 17, 2011
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  4. youven

    youven Notebook Guru

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    youven, Jan 17, 2011
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  5. mfractal

    mfractal T|I

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    ^^ i'd say it is faster, but with the flaw in current m17x-r2 chipsets one can't really realize SSDs full potential anyway so i can't really judge.
     
    mfractal, Jan 17, 2011
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  6. 5abivt

    5abivt Notebook Consultant

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    Thanks for the link great article. I believe trim wasn't enabled on the r2? From what I remember it was criticized for not being enabled. Is trim enabled on the r3?
    Sounds like it's a decent ssd. I did order it with the r3 I ordered so it makes me feel better if I decide to keep it at least I configured it the way I liked.
     
    5abivt, Jan 17, 2011
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  7. mfractal

    mfractal T|I

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    Trim is an OS feature, not laptop. R2 does support TRIM of course if you install windows 7 on it.
     
    mfractal, Jan 17, 2011
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  8. JaiaV

    JaiaV Notebook Evangelist

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    Yup...this ^^ and TRIM has to be enabled on the SSD's BIOS/firmware also. There was a time until relatively recently that the Samsung SSD's that Dell sold in the R2 didn't have TRIM in the firmware. Otherwise it's all in Win7.
     
    JaiaV, Jan 17, 2011
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  9. mfractal

    mfractal T|I

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    ^^ correct. Those were the old samsung models. Now when Dell moved to the 470s TRIM is no issue anymore.
    What could be an issue in the r3 is a chipset that cripples performance but we will only know for sure once those R3s start surfacing.
     
    mfractal, Jan 18, 2011
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