new alienware 13 - swapping hdd to ssd?

hey guys im about to get a new alienware 13 - was going to get it with the 500gb and then throw in my own ssd since i have 1 laying around in my desktop i dont use

what i was wondering is how many hdd can put in the alienware 13 internally?

TIA

 

1 2.5" hdd.

 

Actually, doesn't the 13 have space for one traditional sized 7mm hard drive - HDD or SSD and one M2 mSata SSD ??

 

I believe this is correct. Last time I checked the SSD option in the BTO was an M.2 SSD or 2.5 standard HDD. I don't see why you couldn't have both.

 

Yes, that's what I thought. Also, just to correct my previous post, I meant to say 2.5" drive - I'd imagine the HDD bay would accommodate a 12mm 2.5" HDD just as easily as it would a 7mm SSD. I see no reason why you could not have an M2 and SSD and set up a RAID array, if so desired......

 

The 13 either has a bay for 1 2.5" HDD/SSD or a bay for 2 M.2. If you look at the manual, you can't have both as either take up the one SATA port. Of course, you could RAID the M.2's (if a RAID controller is present).

 

1x 2.5" HDD/SSD.

2x M.2 SSD's in a 2.5" adapter.

Can't have both.

 

Well, . I guess it's two M.2 SSDs for me then.

 

If you use this adapter, you can have 2 SSDs, albeit mSATA SSDs, but still. Until the day they make 1 TB M.2's commercially available and priced competitively, this adapter is the only way to get 2 TB of SSD storage and you can swap to a 2.5" SSHD/HDD/SSD if you want.

 

I think i'll just stick with a single 1TB SSD (2.5) and upgrade to m.2 later on.

 

That sucks. I thought Dell would have had at least TWO Sata ports on the 13 - the 14 does, so I fail to see why they have done away with one. It's not exactly like an M2 takes up a lot of space.......yet another let down from the 13, from my perspective.

 

Have you looked inside the manual or 13? It's pretty packed in there, majorly due to the battery (it's quite big) and dual fans, to an extent

 

It's way too small to fit two 2.5 drives in there or both an m.2 + 2.5 drive.

 

so does the 13 have a normal 2.5 bay AND an msata slot? I can't find any info on if it has a msata slot or not

 

No mSATA -- 2.5 Bay OR (2) M.2 Slots.

M.2 is different that mSATA

 

Ya thats why i was hoping for msata to be there. Alienware only mentions m.2 or ssd/hdd. Most laptops just have the slot empty or have it as an 8gb cache since it's not normally intended to be for much else. I was hoping for the same in the 13, that way I could just transfer my OS to a 128gb msata and just upgrade the hdd whenever as storage. I really dont want to have to shell out $500 for a 1tb ssd but it looks like I'm going to have to

 

Anyone stick a Hybrid drive in theirs? ive been debating whether to go for a full SSD or a Hybrid, i sure as hell dont want just a 5400rpm drive >.<

 

An SSD or M.2 SSD would be best however if you can't get one then a Hybrid is okay. However I would definitely recommend a SSD or M.2 hdd for the Alienware 13. :thumbsup:

 

The 1080p unit I have right now has the 500 GB hybrid drive that came with it. It works pretty well, BUT... the 5400 rpm speed rears it's ugly head now and then; for instance in an MMO and another player comes into view with textures, etc that haven't been loaded... then there is a sudden lag spike that is clearly due to the disk hit looking for data. Now, a 7200 RPM Hybrid drive that I have in another system the little blip on the retrieval is hardly noticeable. That system with the 7200 RPM hybrid drive is an M11x-R2, which tells you something

I have to agree with reborn2003, the AW 13 just cries out for an SSD to me, maybe its the whole lightness quality, I don't know.

I believe this might be due to the space taken up for the cooling, ie two fans with heat channels? Each to his own, but for me personally one large drive is sufficient for the role of the system.

The AW 13 is not truly a replacement for the 14, it is a replacement for the M11x, people keep forgetting this. If the one glitch on the preliminary page is correct we might see an AW 15 which would likely fit the needs of those looking for a true AW 14 replacement.

 

I guess with the price of SSD storage capacities being what they are now as opposed to a few years back, one large drive could suffice for many.....still, I'd have 'liked' the option to set up a Raid 0 array for super speed.