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    m17xR3 replacing 320GB HDD stock single w/ 60 GB SSD OCZ Sata III & 750GB WD Scorpio

    Discussion in 'Alienware 17 and M17x' started by patigerjet, Sep 2, 2012.

  1. patigerjet

    patigerjet Notebook Enthusiast

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    I have to replace ASAP for a friend & don't have to time to search forum for info. I've never opened my Alien before, any tips or suggestions before I do this mod?

    Also will my OCZ 60GB SSD III be able to operate @ 6GB/s with the 2nd 750GB (7500 RPM sata II) data drive installed?

    Is their any diagnostics tools anyone can recommend to make sure my drives & system overall are operating @ proper speeds too after I've done the mods properly & reinstall the Win 7 OS with the latest & greatest drivers?
     
    patigerjet, Sep 2, 2012
    #1
  2. Theredninja

    Theredninja Notebook Consultant

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    crystaldisk monitors the speeds of your drives and yes your SSD will be able to operate @ 6GB/S
     
    Theredninja, Sep 2, 2012
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  3. radji

    radji Farewell, Solenya...

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    Not sure that you will get SATA III drive speeds. I know the R3 has...issues...when it comes to the SATA controller's speed. As red ninja said, crystaldisk will benchmark your drive speeds so you can see if your drives are running at the speeds they should be. Here are two places that can help you with your installation. The first is the R3 manual which will step you thru removing the old drive and installing the new one. The second one gives the driver install order for Alienware systems. Good luck.

    http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/Alw_M17xR3/en/mm/mm_en.pdf

    http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...er-install-order-guide-alienware-systems.html
     
    radji, Sep 2, 2012
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  4. Theredninja

    Theredninja Notebook Consultant

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    Isn't HDD bay 0 sata III and bay 1 is sata II?
     
    Theredninja, Sep 3, 2012
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  5. radji

    radji Farewell, Solenya...

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    Yes, they are. But the Dell A10 BIOS (correct me if I'm wrong) drops the HDD Bay 0 speeds back down to SATA II levels. I know in order to keep the SATA III speeds, you need to revert back to the A08 BIOS or use a modded BIOS based off A08.
     
    radji, Sep 3, 2012
    #5