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    Alienware 17 Storage drive upgrade question

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by LordFrz, Jul 19, 2014.

  1. LordFrz

    LordFrz Newbie

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    I just purchased a Alienware 17 with the following specs.

    • 32GB Dual Channel DDR3L at 1600MHz (4x8GB)
    • NVIDIA(R) GeForce(R) GTX 880M graphics with 8GB total GDDR5
    • 1TB 5400RPM SATA 6Gb/s + 80GB mSATA Caching
    • 4th Generation Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4910MQ processor (Quad Core, 8MB Cache, Overclocked up to 4.1GHz)
    • 17.3 inch (439.42 mm) WLED FHD (1920 x 1080) Anti-Glare Display

    There was an option to use 3 SSD($800 difference) instead of a HDD, and I was wanting to now if anyone knew if there would be open drive slots when I get my package in. (I'll find out when it gets here, but I would like to order a drive now if I know I will have an open slot.)

    If there is an open drive slot, wha SSD do I need to get for it?
     
    LordFrz, Jul 19, 2014
    #1
  2. tilleroftheearth

    tilleroftheearth Wisdom listens quietly...

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    The physical drive bay will be there. The only questions will be if the drive cage (if necessary) and the actual wiring and connectors will come complete for a simple additional drive addition.

    Only way to know is to ask from the place you purchased and/or wait for the system to arrive.

    As for what SSD, you would need a 2.5" SATA3 model (with possibly 7mm z-height).
     
    tilleroftheearth, Jul 19, 2014
    #2
  3. Zer0 C00l

    Zer0 C00l Notebook Consultant

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    You can remove the optical disc drive and fit a 2.5" 9.5mm height drive i the alienware 17. if the alienware 18 has 3 HDD bays and 1 optical bay the alienware 17 should have 2 HDD bay and 1 optical bay so you may not even have to remove the optical drive. You could also choose to replace the 80GB caching ssd with a 256-512GB msata SSD that is used as the system drive and to install all your programs and games on. If it was me I'd get the 1TB samsung 840 evo msata SSD. Put 2x 2TB samsung spinpoint m9t HDD's in the 2 drive bays and a third 2TB HDD in the optical drive bay make the optical drive external. I have an absurd amount of ripped blu rays in 1080p i need every GB I can get. 7TB local internal storage is not too shabby.
     
    Zer0 C00l, Jul 20, 2014
    #3
  4. TomJGX

    TomJGX I HATE BGA!

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    You can fit 3 SSD's in.. 2 will go into the 2.5" hard drive slots (caddies will already be there) and for the optical disk bay, you will need a caddy to put in a SSD...
     
    TomJGX, Jul 21, 2014
    #4