1530 with 7200rpm hard drive?

Is it possible to get the 1530 with the 320GB 7200rpm hard drive as opposed to the 5400? Months ago on the dell site they had the choice between the two. And now...not. ???

 

I see you have to go to the "red" build for the 7200 option.

 

But then you don't have the LED LCD option. This is frustrating.

 

just ad your own drive

 

you mean like get it with the 5400, pick up a 7200 from newegg and sell the 5400?

are they easy to switch out?

 

I ordered one a few months ago and saw that the 7200RPM drive option was gone. Since they still have them they should let you order with one if you ask them - they did for me.
I asked if I could get one after I ordered so they couldn't change the price, but they switched the drive to 7200RPM and added a free TV tuner card to make up the difference (the 7200RPM was less capacity, cheaper).

 

did you ask over dell chat? or over the phone?

 

Yeah. They're that easy to switch out. A couple of screws is all. Slides right in. And the 7200 from Newegg would be far cheaper than getting it from Dell. At least it used to be.

I wouldn't even sell the 5400 if I were you. I'd either keep it as a spare that you could swap back in in if your primary drive had issues, or maybe for experimenting with an alternate OS (like Linux or Win 7 beta) without messing with dual booting your main drive, or just get one of those $15 USB enclosures and use it as an external drive. Perfect for moving stuff between machines.

 

What tool/software would you use to clone the hard drive to the new 7200rpm drive? Would Segate Discwazard a good option?

 

I always buy laptops with the cheapest hard drive option available and then buy a top notch 7200 drive on your own. This way if the hard drive fails you can send it to the manufacturer and swap in the original HD, or if the system fails and you need to send it in for warranty you can take your HD out and swap in the one that came with the system.

 

Don't know about the Seagate tool, perhaps someone else can tell you. I've always used Acronis Trueimage for hard drive imaging, though in this particular case I'd be more likely to just install from scratch rather than bother cloning the original drive. But if you want to clone it, I know that Acronis can do it.

 

But Acronis Trueimage is not free right? I am looking for a free solution

 

Ah, I see. No, Acronis isn't free.

 

@Nition: did you ask about this through dell chat or over the phone?

 

Just ordered my M1530 w/a 320GB@7200rpm, with the LED screen, right through the site, and it wasn't a (RED) product. Picked the blue one. Hopefully won't take as long to get here as the estimated ship states (2/5). - M

 

Sorry for the late reply. Over the phone.