SSD Drive from Dell? Brand & Performance?

Hi,
I recently purchased a M17xR4 that I configured with only a HDD (single). I want to now add an SSD to the config so that I can use it as the boot+apps drive for Windows 8.

I am planning to purchase it directly from Dell itself for two reasons - 1) I want the support from Dell that I won't get from market drives and 2) I also need an interposer from Dell anyway for the 2nd bay.

My question is what is the SSD that Dell gives for a 256GB SSD and how good is it in terms of performance as compared to other common SSD drives? Should I go ahead with this purchase?

Thanks.

 

there is an extra interposer in the empty drive bay in the metal frame within a rubber casing

hard drives come with manufacturer's warranty. don't buy through dell. it's like throwing money away.. heck pay me the extra loot and i'll provide you better than dell support.. haha

you can buy any 2.5" sata ssd and it's pretty much plug and play.

dell provides samsung ssd, which i have three of. one in my m11x, one in my m17x, and one in my desktop as well. they all run great.

it's really easy to install a second drive. you can do it!

 

Ha, that made me laugh. Completely true. Spent 18 logged hours on the phone with Dell last week alone. Plus about 10 emails with zero responses. All for a replaced mobo that was DOA. They're also screwing me over on upgraded RAM by the guy not actually sending me the parts. Been over a week now Dell, please get your stuff together. My advice, don't rely on their support. There are plenty of folks here that are 100x more helpful.

But in regards to an SSD, definitely recommend the Samsung. Just make sure that if you're going for an SSD, you don't cut yourself short and only get a small capacity drive.

 

The problem is that my machine came with the two drive bays but only one interposer. I checked within the rubber casing - it's not there. So I really need to get that anyway.

I've asked Dell for a quote - haven't got a reply back yet. If it's a 10% markup, I might go ahead with it. If it's greater than that, I won't and will go for a open market one.

Are the Samsung's good? I have a OCZ Vertex III 120 GB sitting with me but it's too small for any real use as well as giving me some issues when I try installing some stuff on it.

 

Your system should have come with the interposer for the second HDD. When I got my R2, it didn't come with the second HDD caddy or interposer. I contacted Alienware support and they sent me both no charge because those are supposed to be included accessories.

 

But how do I say that I know the interposer is missing? It means I've opened up the system - and doesn't that void the warranty?

 

No. Opening up the system does NOT void your warranty. But make sure to contact Alienware support and not Dell tech services mumbai. My advice is to PM one of the Alienware Reps here in the forum. They will get you fixed up right quick. The reps will all have "Alienware_" in their username. There's like a dozen of them here. Just talk to one and explain you are missing the interposer.

 

Just for anyone that wants an official source I'm leaving this here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ttling-see-post-191-later-26.html#post8398547

 

Thanks for all the info guys. Just a quick update on this: I called up Dell to ask about the SSD upgrade - they said they can't sell SSDs directly, so I'll need to buy an open market one! Strange - I was willing to give them more money!

Anyway, then told them that the interposer is missing. First, none of the so called techs even knew what the interposer was!, Next, they said when I buy an open market SSD I should get it with that and they can't send it to me since I only ordered for one hard disk in my config!

So is this true? If I buy an SSD from the open market will I get an interposer that will fit the m17x? And if not, how do I make the guys send over one?
Also, how good is the Kingston 256GB SSD?

 

You can buy SSD drives in the Dell Accessories store. An interposer should of come with the laptop as part of the standard accessory set. My understanding is it should of been inside the second bay. If you get an open market SSD it will NOT come with an interposer.

 

Mine had an interposer in the empty caddy in the 2nd bay, it should have came with one and you may have just called and got someone that doesn't know. Most drives you purchase do not come with an interposer.I would try calling back and hope to get someone different. I recently bought and installed an Intel SSD with no problems and when I was researching them before the purchase I found that the name brands suchs as Samsung, Kingston, Intel, SanDisk, OCzand a few others were all good drives. Not sure if it's true but I read an article that said almost all NAND memory is made by the same company and sold to the different brands of SSD makers but I have not seen it to be a verified fact.

 

So I ended up purchasing a Crucial M4 and have done a clean install of Windows 8 Pro x64. I've installed the current batch of drivers for the M17XR4 for Windows 7 x64 in the correct order as given in the thread on driver install order in the main Alienware forum. I've now run Crystal Disk Mark and this is what I get: Are these speeds fine? Crystal disk Info shows it running at 6Gbps. Windows 8 does a cold boot in 3 seconds.