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    Is it worth it getting a SSD?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 14 and M14x' started by Quethas, Aug 11, 2011.

  1. Quethas

    Quethas Newbie

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    Hi Guys,
    I have recently bought a M14x and it is pretty good. I have been hearing a few people say that the default hard drive is kinda bad, and i was wondering if it was really worth it moving to a SSD, seeing as they are so expensive and have so little space on them.

    Thanks!
     
    Quethas, Aug 11, 2011
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  2. DeeVu

    DeeVu That Compsci/Psych Major

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    The question you need to ask yourself is do you value speed over space? If you do I say go for it. But like myself I need the extra space so when it comes to 200GB+ for SSDs its not worth the extra hundred+ dollars.

    If you give it time you will see in a couple years SSDs will become mainstream.
     
    DeeVu, Aug 11, 2011
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  3. Croatoan

    Croatoan Notebook Consultant

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    If money was no object then buying a 512gb would be the perfect replacement. As thats probably half the value of the laptop probably not ideal.

    I think if you get one, A 256gb is the best bet. Still expensive but a good usable size , smaller than that and I would seriously consider chucking out the dvd drive and using the 500gb drive in a caddy. Alongside a 60gb / 120gb SSD to keep costs down.

    It is very rare I use my dvd drive and probably would be the best option for me. 90% of my games are on steam, so no media. The only time I ever really burn disks is on my desktop and having movies on disk is so cumbersome to carry around. If I wanted to create a movie dvd, I would probably create an image and dump on an external drive for burning later.

    But if I wanted to keep the DVD, I dont think I could cope with less than 120GB. Well I could but would always wish I had bigger :)
     
    Croatoan, Aug 11, 2011
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  4. azelexx

    azelexx Notebook Evangelist

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    Just installed a 60GB OCZ Agility 3 SSD - after tweaking settings and registry I am very impressed at the speed of which programmes/windows startup and shut down.

    I chose the Agility 3 because reading benchmarks it seems to have great performance and low power consumption.

    Will test battery life and hopefully it lasts a lot longer than 3.5hours (default HDD)...
     
    azelexx, Aug 11, 2011
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  5. /Drakk_

    /Drakk_ Notebook Consultant

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    For the price of a 512gb SSD you could pretty much buy another m14x.

    I dunno if I'd settle for 256...I'd personally hold out for a 320gb, since I personally use around 300 gigs right now, and I'm slightly iffy about losing the DVD drive.

    Have you considered a momentus XT?
     
    /Drakk_, Aug 11, 2011
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  6. Croatoan

    Croatoan Notebook Consultant

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    I'm on the iffy dvd losing side also. I think its worthwhile but just know I'm gonna want it when I take it out.

    Certain I wouldnt want just a 60gb drive in it :) Mind you a good usb3 external could be good partner.......
     
    Croatoan, Aug 11, 2011
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  7. Dukien

    Dukien Notebook Geek

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    Ooooh yeees, after this HDD is just .. well - outdated.

    I went safe and went for an C300 since the technology still have it diseases and I love it.
     
    Dukien, Aug 11, 2011
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  8. azelexx

    azelexx Notebook Evangelist

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    Hi everyone,

    This morning my M14x wouldn't bootup anymore... in the bios it says by OCZ Agility 3 is not detected.....

    It was all fine last night and I rebooted many many times after a clean install. Today it just died.

    The only difference in environment is that I run my laptop off battery at work so could it be because I'm not plugged in??

    PLEASE HELP ><
     
    azelexx, Aug 11, 2011
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  9. ted264

    ted264 Notebook Consultant

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    60gb agilities seem to have issues... I have a 120gb agility 3 and i had my m14x show a no bootable devices found a simple restart fixed this.... havnt seen it since, did you upgrade the firmware on the drive?
     
    ted264, Aug 11, 2011
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  10. azelexx

    azelexx Notebook Evangelist

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    yea... went into the store today and they "upgraded" me to a 60gb Vertex 3. BIOS detects the Vertex 3, but I need to wait until I get home to install windows all over again.....grrr.....

    Anyone have 60GB Vertex 3 and experienced boot issues? Namely bios not detecting the drive...
     
    azelexx, Aug 11, 2011
    #10