Alienware M17x SSD

So I ordered the Alienware M17x R4 the other day with 750GB HDD. First off i don't know much about upgrading so bare with me. I heard that there are 2 HDD bays in the laptop. I wanted to know If I could purchase a SSD and install it into the other HDD bay. If this was possible would a 120gb SSD and 750Gb HDD have faster boot times then without the SSD. Also If I did get the SSD should I install it before I first boot the system so I wouldn't have to transfer files to the SSD? Thanks

 

The boot time solely depends on what the OS is installed on.

So a 120gb SSD (OS) w/ 750gb HDD has the same boot time as the SSD alone, the SSD with a 160gb HDD, etc. And SSD's start up considerably faster than mechanical HDD's

And if you buy aftermarket the OS will already be on the main drive since they come with an OS already. So just boot it up etc and do whatever you want then when you get the SSD just install the OS on the SSD and erase it from the HDD and the rest of whatever data will be there.

And yes, the r4 has two HD bays so of course all this is possible.
If you want a 128gb SSD look at this one for $118 (log in to see price) or 256gb for $225 both free shipping.
The Samsung 830 is regarded as one of the top 2 most reliable SSD's out there along with the Crucial M4.

 

The m17x R4 also has a mSata slot for a 3rd SSD

putting the OS and programs on the 120gig SSD and using your 750 for storage is a very common configuration. Your laptop will be night and day. The SSD is the best upgrade you can do. Everything will be faster. Things will be immediate and bootup will be really fast (i mean really fast)

 

Ok so If I install the SSD into the machine how do I delete the os from the 750gb HDD and install it on only the SSD. Also If the SSD ever fails, the only files on it will be the OS so I just install I new SSD right?

 

You just delete the Windows folder on your old HDD.

You can install whatever you want. The OS at least and whatever else you want.

 

Ok I got it, but if there are two HDD's would it be separate folders for each one? Sorry I really don't know much about this stuff.

 

Yes, one Windows folder would be on the SSD and one would be on the HDD.

So you install the SSD then put the OS on it. Go into BIOS and make sure the SSD is set to boot before the HDD. Then it will boot from the SSD, then just go onto the HDD and remove the Windows folder.
Or just take out the HDD, put in SSD, fresh install from there, change BIOS to have SSD boot first then reinstall the HDD and delete the Windows folder on the HDD. Same results, two slightly different methods.

 

ok, this is what you do:

physically install the SSD. You can use either my CPU or 7970m guide as to how to pop off the back panel. Install the SSD into the middle harddrive caddy

start computer, hit F2 continually to get into the bios

From bios, set computer to boot from dvd, put windows dvd that comes with the m17x into dvd drive...save bios, restart

now install windows onto SSD, if the drive is not formatted, format it first, then follow the prompts and install windows.

on first reboot, go back into bios and set the computer to boot from the ssd drive

let windows finish installing.

That's it.

Once done, you can go and format the 750 drive (wipe it clean)...you'll also need to take the driver CD that comes with the m17x and install drivers for your computer components.

If you are ready to do this and you need help...post in the m17x forum for pointers i.e., which order to install the drivers

 

So If Im using the SSD for just os, how much gb do you guys think I should have. Also If Im moving apps or a game to the SSD is it pretty easy, just move to folder? Thanks for your help

 

If all you want to do is install the OS, 64GB should be enough. However, it's a good idea to also install your most used applications onto the drive as well (if not all your applications) to boost their performance as well. Depending on how many software titles you use and how much space they take, you're looking at 120GB or 128GB as a comfortable minimum.

You can get a Crucial M4 128GB SATAIII SSD for $99 right now. I'd only consider Crucial, Intel, Plextor, or Samsung as reliable SSD providers. Intel recently switched to Sandforce, however, so I'd be weary. I've heard that Sandforce-based SSDs (especially from the mentioned brands) have improved recently, though I'm not entirely sure (guess I'll find out with the Intel 300, huh? ).

 

Basically the above.

The Crucial M4 is the best bang for the buck SSD out there right now, quite good and fast too. Also I've got Windows x64-bit installed and it's SEVERELY modified which makes it stack upon the 28 gigs.
-Home premium should be 10-12 gigs if I'm not all wrong

with a 64GB SSD you should have plenty of storage left, enjoy!

 

Hope it's ok to bring up an old post but I wanted to ask on this thread since I'm currently doing the same as Ollygus.

My question is when the SSD's physically installed in my M17x R3, can I use AlienRespawn to install Windows (and consequently all the Alienware drivers) on it? I bought my M17 on Dell's outlet so I don't have a windows recovery disk - I'm hoping the AlienRespawn USB recovery media I made will work instead, and obviously it will have all the drivers and software installed, right? Thanks for any info.

 

Slick, you are a man to be loved couldn't have been explained any better (I just bought a 840 Pro for my new boot drive and was reading some stuff as I never installed another hdd/ssd into my computer, it was only a single drive )