old Alienware M15x new SSD upgrade

I wonder if it's possible to buy a new SSD to replace my current HDD and maybe replace it again to new laptop which perhaps I'll be getting next year. I just want to try the SSD, tempted by many of those who claimed "best possible PC upgrade" And perhaps as the new laptop arrives, I could just replace it and the Windows and all my files are still there. Is it a good idea?


I know my current system probably supports SATA II and SSD nowadays are SATA III. But I can still use it even if it won't be as fast as it is expected to be, right? They are still speedy, right? RIGHTT??

If it is possible (and a good idea too), which SSD is currently the best choice and reasonably priced? I think 256GB will be enough. Oh and I'm also concerned about the lifetime of my storage, just to narrow the question: would it last 5 years of normal usage each day?

 

Yes, you can definitely do that. I am still amazed at how snappy my system is with an SSD - pretty much everything loads up very fast, no more HDD grinding - just for fun, you can open like 50 emails in Outlook and laugh when it tells you that "Opening a lot of items could take some time" (yeah, like 5 seconds ).

256 GB is more than enough (even 160GB is), especially if you use a hard drive as storage (external or in place of the optical drive). I'd recommend the Crucial M4 or a Samsung 470/830/840 Pro (the 840 seems to have a pretty low lifetime, still enough but not up to par with the others). If it's not DOA or it doesn't fail on sleep/BSOD/the first month, chances are it will last for years to come.
Avoid OCZ's and the Intel 320 (which has the surprisingly common 8MB failure)...

Also, don't want to scare you, but they do fail suddenly and without chance of recovery - of three Samsung 470's (one of the most reliable models so far) I bought, one failed, and there are many such stories online. The problem seems to be that they "panic lock" in certain rare circumstances, so even if the electronics are fine, they still need to be sent back to the manufacturer...

 

Just exactly, what do people mean by "fail" in SSD? How often do they "fail" and what to do if they do?

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It just disappears - from Windows, BIOS, everywhere. You can't do anything most of the time - sometimes doing a few restarts would work, the M4 has a 50/50 chance to be revived via a special procedure (leaving it on but not connected for ~20minutes, twice), the Intel 8MB failure can be fixed through a complicated secure erase procedure... But basically, failed SSD means your data is gone...

It doesn't happen THAT often, but more often than HDDs, and there are no warning signs...

 

But considering my HDD is now 3 years old and I have never experienced any fail, do you think SSD will have at least 1 fail in 3 years period?

EDIT: oh and that my-data-being-gone part still echoes through my ears

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I got a 840 for my M15x and haven't looked back. All valuable data is backed up on cloud and all music and vids are on external. Only thing I'd lose is all my precious windows updates.



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Well, I've never experienced any HDD failure, either, on any of my laptops - I've had one hard drive fail on a desktop, and it was a 5+ year old Samsung (I attribute them *not* failing to running them continuously without powering or spinning down, btw).

I chose the SSDs carefully, got the 470 because no one mentioned it failing online. But it failed under a pretty rare circumstance - laptop in sleep (and this Samsung was pretty unique when it was released in that it doesn't have problems with sleep and hibernate), in my backpack for a few weeks and the battery depleted (I think it just shut down, because in all my wisdom I had hibernate disabled).

I still have 2 Samsung 470s that work perfectly (knock on wood and from my experience, if it doesn't fail in the first couple of months, chances are high it will work well for a long time. But I do regular full backups to a hard drive anyway.

From what I can tell, unexpected BSODs, shutdowns and freezes (including when waking from sleep or hibernate) are the most frequent cause of SSD failure - if you don't have them now, you most likely won't have them with an SSD, and the new models like the Samsung 840 have most of these incompatibilities ironed out...

If you're paranoid, you can just get a 128GB SSD and a HDD caddy - it's the best combo for speed and storage space, plus you won't lose your important files even if it fails. An SSD is an awesome upgrade, that's for sure...

About size of the SSD - I've got plenty of stuff on my SSD, including Windows with a lot of software, a 4GB page file and one 36GB virtual machine, and I still use only 102GB, so 128GB would have been enough for me (I even thought that 256GB would still not be enough). However, I do have a lot of files on the hard drive that replaced the optical drive.

You could get a 128GB to see how it works and if you like it, then get a larger one later when the prices come down even further and/or you get a better laptop...

 

I bought this one Amazon.com: Samsung MZ-7TD250BW 840 Series Solid State Drive (SSD) 250 GB Sata 2.5-Inch: Computers & Accessories

But it looks like its not compatible. Can anyone post links to hard drives that are compatible to their m15x's?

 

Hello, I didn't want to open a new thread, so I'm using this one for it's a closely related matter. I also want to replace the HDD of my m15x, but not with a SSD, since the high import taxes here in Brazil make them too expensive for me. I would like to use the SSHD technology, for it is also speedy as I've read. I was thinking about the Seagate ST500LM000, but in a review I saw that it's 7mm. The HDD that came with my computer is 9.5mm. Is it compatible, can It be made compatibe, or won't it work at all? Thanks!

 

As long as the z-height is smaller - it can be made to work...

Use a small folded piece of cardboard or a small piece of plastic to make sure it doesn't move in the drive bay.

That is if it is needed at all - if the drive cage screws to the drive... then you won't need any further padding to prevent it getting loose.


Good luck.

 

Physically it will fit. 7mm Z-Height (thickness) is just shorter than your current 9.5mm. You may need a spacer for a snug fit. On the cheap, cardboard should work.

Edit Redundant. Tiller is fast!

 

Thanks so much!

 

Taking advantage of the thread, I also have an M15X and thinking of getting an SSD.
I have the opportunity of getting a Samsung 840 PRO 512 GB or the EVO version with 500gb, do you guys reccomend either of these disks or should I look elsewhere?
I know the 840 has been discussed quite a lot, just wanted to get the latest opinion.
Thanks!