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    SSD Replacement guide?

    Discussion in 'Alienware 14 and M14x' started by Conspiracy, May 17, 2011.

  1. Conspiracy

    Conspiracy Notebook Consultant

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    My m14x is on order, and I've done a lot of reading before ordering and since ordering, and a majority of that reading has been this forum. The only problem I've seen out of the 14x is the heat problem on the wrist pad, which is partially resolved by swapping out an SSD, which I was already strongly considering for the performance boost.

    I've seen a lot of posts referencing installing a SSD and putting the standard drive in the optical bay and making it your secondary. So I'm gathering there is room in the laptop for 2 hard drives, which was one of my questions. Is the optical bay a external bay that I need a hard drive adapter for, or is it all internal?

    I've also seen a lot of comparisons of SSD drives, and it looks like there are a few front runners to choose from.

    What I want to know is who has installed what, and what your opinions were. I keep reading about upgrades, but it's spread all over the forums. I wanted to get specific opinions on a SSD/HDD setup, what you installed, how difficult it was, are you happy with your choices, and any headaches you ran into.

    Thanks!
     
    Conspiracy, May 17, 2011
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  2. takeabyte

    takeabyte Notebook Evangelist

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    There is enough for two drives *if* you remove the dvd burner. Then you will need an optical caddy so the drive won't be bouncin around in all that free space. There is a thread on this here

    I had a crucial c300 in mine and it was good, but I sold it and got an M4..still waiting for it.
     
    takeabyte, May 17, 2011
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  3. Serephucus

    Serephucus Notebook Deity

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    You're replacing the HDD with an SSD soley for heat reasons? Not to be rude or anything, but save your money. It's just not needed.
     
    Serephucus, May 17, 2011
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  4. Conspiracy

    Conspiracy Notebook Consultant

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    No no. I was already strongly considering replacing the drive with an SSD purely for performance reasons, but I didn't want to lose 250+ GB's of space. Plus the heat issue right at the wrist pad, an SSD would help relieve that. So the heat was just another positive, not the sole reason. The main reason is a faster computer.
     
    Conspiracy, May 17, 2011
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  5. Conspiracy

    Conspiracy Notebook Consultant

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    OHH, now I get it. I didn't piece "optical bay" with the DVD drive, just never clicked I guess.

    So now that I'm clear on that, I just need to find a caddy to mount the hard drive in in that space. I've found a few links to caddy's for sale. Anyone found the best one yet?
     
    Conspiracy, May 17, 2011
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  6. DustoMan

    DustoMan Notebook Guru

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    I don't know if it's the "best" but I was going buy this one on sk3tch's advise based on pictures he posted.
     
    DustoMan, May 18, 2011
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