32GB mSATA SSD drive for Dell/Alienware

I have a Dell Inspiron 17R - 1720 on the way that I'm wanting to put the 32GB mSATA SSD (SAMSUNG SSD PM830 mSATA 32GB) in to take advantage of the mSATA slot and the Intel RST. Trouble is, I can't seem to find the 32GB mSATA SSD on the Dell site to buy. I've typed in part numbers, search terms, looked under upgrades, even chatting with a parts & accessories associate who had no idea what I was talking about, they thought I wanted a 320GB SSD. These are a selling point on most current Dell & Alienware systems, and have been in the systems for the past year or more.

Any ideas on how to buy one of these through Dell or they can only be bought used or in the aftermarket? Seems odd to me they aren't available through Dell, or that they don't have any to begin with, for warranty issues if nothing else.

 

Why not just buy a full fledged mSATA Drive like a 128GB or 256GB Crucial M4 and use that as your OS drive?

 

Because I already have an M18x for speed, this is for another purpose. I got the system super cheap brand new and have a $50 Dell gift card to blow, so I figure I'd spend it on the 32GB mSATA SSD since that would make the most noticable difference in performance without spending more money. The 1TB 5400RPM drive it comes with is plenty fast for the web surfing and file storage it will be used for, I just figure the 32GB SSD would fill in the mSATA slot and be the best use of the GC. It's either that or $54.99 for a 4GB SODIMM from Dell to upgrade the memory from 6GB to 8GB. I'd rather get the 32GB SSD now and get the 4GB of memory later when the price tanks.

 

Well, DDR3 RAM prices have already tanked... But OEMs will be more than happy to overcharge people on RAM upgrades (though 6GB -> 8GB won't make much difference).

I searched Dell's website for just "mSATA" and the only relevant result that shows up is a VisionTEK 60GB mSATA SSD for $89.99. Maybe you could trade in your $50 Dell card for $50 and search elsewhere?

 

Holy bajeesus you can get a 4gb stick of 1600mhz DRAM for less than $50, even the premium low voltage ones barely hit $35. DRAM prices are not gonna drop anymore, in fact, they are increasing now as manufacturers have reduced output (and refocused on making phone RAM) and the market is preparing for DDR4. You best get the RAM now as I don't have a lot of faith in the low capacity SSDs which tend to either have questionable NAND or a really slow controller. If anything, SSD prices are getting better.

 

I realize the price is crazy, just seemed like something to spend it on. 6GB -> 8GB might help with having enough memory for the system and the HD4000 IGP.

I'd like to trade in the $50 GC for $50 to spend elsewhere, not gonna happen on the internet though, people want to give you a fraction of what it's worth.

Getting the 32GB SSD and 4GB memory later when they're obsolete and super cheap is an option, I was just curious if anyone had info on buying the SSD from Dell in the meantime since I had the GC and figure I might as well spend it on something worthwhile for the system.