SSD worth it ?

I am thinking of buying a high-end configuration of m11x R3 (i7, 2gb gfx, 8gb ram, SSD). However the +530£ for the SSD kind of put me off.

Any insights if the SSD is really worth that much ? Were I to buy that drive separately would I pay that much ? I can find 256GB SSD drives for as low as 300£... so I am thinking of actually doing that!

On the other hand I really dont know much about SSDs... so the SSD installed in the alienware might actually be worth it and and may be much faster than other SSDs.

Any help ?

 

Wow, mate, are you me?

I'm in EXACTLY the same boat as you. I'm about to purchase a fully loaded m11x r3, same specs as you, from UK, but I'm going to buy the ram and ssd separately.

Again, just like you, I've never touched the innards of a computer. However I've put a lot of time into reading up on stuff, and again like you, I don't want to pay ridiculous spondoodly on the SSD (and Ram)

From what I gather, we want Sata III 2.5" ssd. The one people seem to go for is the Crucial M4. It's a good balance between reliability and affordability. You can get a 256gb one from Amazon UK for about £275.

Now installing the ssd seems to be straight forward. All you do is remove the bottom plate on the m11x, remove the original hdd and put in the ssd. What I ain't sure about is getting the new shiny SSD to be how it would be if Alienware installed it so I need help on that (i.e. Alienware drivers and such)

I also think it means we will have to buy an external optical drive (which I was gonna do anyway) else how can we install windows 7?

I also recommend you do what I'm going to do, and order it with the base 2gb of Ram and then buy your 8gb of ram off Amazon UK or wherever. People seem to go for Kingston Hyper X DDR3. Now this is very easy to install. I believe all you do is again remove the bottom panel, remove the stock Ram from the clips they sit in, and stick your new ones in. That's it. Done. What I'm not sure about is whether the m11x would benefit from a higher speed eg 1600mhz or whether to just get the 1333mhz ones

So yeah, I think paying about £250 is too much for the luxury of having them put an SSD in it for you, when it is potentially very easy to do yourself. Plus, you'll end up with a spare HDD that you can easily turn into an external hdd by buying an external hdd enclosure.

As for the merits of SSDs over HDD - they're great. You won't be disappointed.

 

I personally wouldn't spend the extra $$ for slightly faster load times. I bought a m17X with a HDD and it runs anything I through at it. Besides installing a SSD down the road is cheaper and easy.

 

DELL like to charge extortionate prices for all their upgrades.

Soprano187 has the right idea: buy your upgrades seperately and you will save a lot of money. Crucial M4 or the Intel 320 series of SSDs are the best of the nuch right now. Dont be tempted by the OCZ Vertex 3 (major stability problems with random bricking issues; encountered problems when i had a vertex2. In fact, try avoid all SSDs with sandforce based controllers)

Use your service tag to download all the drivers and wallpaper from the DELL website. That's what i did when i did a fresh install with a Intel X25-M on my R1 m11x.

With regards to RAM, Kingston HyperX is recommended by the majority of forum members due to its OC stability. If you dont really plan on OCing your m11x, you can pretty much get any brand of dual channel RAM that you can find.

It's possible to install Windows from a USB key thus negating the necessity for an external DVD drive. It's a legitimate process as long as you use the provided license key on the underside of your m11x. You'll be able to find more information regarding this procedure if you do a keyword search; something along the lines of "m11x fresh install usb".

Example:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/595337-fresh-install-win-7-m11x-need-help-bad.html

 

I use photoshop and CAD everyday and i am bad for closing programs and reopeneing all the time. CS5 loads in 2 seconds and Auto Desk 3D Map in 4 seconds. This makes the ssd totally worth it.

I suggest running the regular HDD for a week and then go out and buy a SSD so you will see how much of a difference it makes. otherwise you might not really know how great they are

 

Thx for the replies

I feel relieved to know that more people are in the same boat as me Sucks that dell is cheating on the prices.

So following your advice, I am looking at those producs for RAM + SSD:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kingston-Hy...I0IE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1316358576&sr=8-1

Crucial CT256M4Solid State Drive2 256GB M4 Solid State Drive: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

 

They're the products I'm looking at, can someone with experience confirm they're correct?

In particular, is Ram the same size for desktops and laptops? Don't wanna get the wrong ones.

Also, would the m11x r3 utilize a faster speed eg 1600mhz Ram? (or perhaps the difference is so small it ain't worth talking about...?)

 

Nah desktop RAM is a different size to laptop RAM, search for SODIMM for the smaller laptop stuff. The one in thekriton's link is desktop.

As for installing Windows on to a new drive you can use an external optical drive but you can also use a USB stick or drive. Setting up one is very easy for Windows 7 is really easy. (compared to the old XP ones anyway!)

 

Had a SSD in my M17x R3, boots fully into windows from a cold start in 18 sec. Everything opens really fast and smooth.

Before you install the SSD burn your Alienrespawn discs, these will save you if something goes wrong.

Buying a maxed out M11x R3 from Dell is a waste of money, you can upgrade alot of things yourself and much cheaper.

Personaly I would not feel comfortable spending so much money on a 11 inch notebook.

 

When you say "waste of money" your talking about the dells ssd and ram, right? Not the rest?

And what do you mean, "burn your Alienrespawn disks"? Do we not get those already? That mean I have to boot up the stock hdd and can't immediately put the ssd in?

 

I mean the upgrade's Dell offers yes. Personaly I would not buy a expensive 11 inch notebook. But thats just me.

Ah I was a little confused, take out the original HDD and store it somewhere. Install SSD and install OS, etc, etc.

 

1) An SSD is probably one of the most cost-efficient upgrades you can buy for a computer. You will get a LOT more performance for your money with an SSD... way more than getting more RAM, or upgrading your CPU. If you want an idea of what an SSD can do for your performance, check out some of the videos in my signature.

And you are correct - do not buy your SSD from Dell. Buy an aftermarket SSD (Intel 320 or Crucial M4), and install it yourself. You will pay less money, and get a faster drive, than what you could get from Dell. There isn't anything "special" about the SSDs they sell with their system.

2) Yes, this is the smart way to go if you want to upgrade your computer, without paying exorbitant prices. And yes, a Crucial M4 would be an excellent choice for an SSD, as would an Intel 320.

There are three ways to restore your Alienware M11x to factory configuration:

1) Use the Alien Respawn feature on your computer, to create recovery disks. Alien Respawn is what Alienware calls "recovery disks". They basically restore your computer to factory condition. You will need to find / buy a USB DVD-burner drive to do this.

2) Use a drive imaging program, like Acronis TrueImage (Free limited trial, or pay for fully licensed version) or Clonezilla (free). What you do is put your new SSD into your machine, and your old mechanical HDD into an external USB enclosure. You then boot into Acronis TrueImage or Clonezilla (most likely from a USB flash drive), and use that tool to do a drive image. A drive image will make an exact copy of one drive to another drive. You will need a small USB flash drive (<0.5GB), a USB enclosure, and a drive imaging tool to do this.

3) Reinstall Windows 7 completely from scratch using the re-install DVD that came with your laptop; then re-install all of the drivers, applications for your laptop (from http://support.dell.com); then reinstall all of the Alienware-ish tools like wallpapers, Alienware Command Center, etc. If you have access to a computer with a DVD drive, then you can do your Windows 7 re-installation using a USB flash memory stick.
Microsoft Store Online

I agree with the recommendation to get 2GB of RAM, and upgrade on your own later.

I disagree with the recommendation to get Kingston HyperX memory. It is a waste of money (about $90 USD for 8GB). Any regular memory from any name-brand memory manufacturer will do just fine (about $40 USD for 8GB). So buy whatever memory is cheapest from a name-brand memory manfucaturer; because in the end, it doesn't really matter.

And no, the Alienware M11x does not benefit from 1600MHz / 1333Mhz. Your Alienware M11x will run your memory at 1333Mhz no matter what. So you are wasting your money if you spend extra to get RAM rated for higher speeds.

Again, the smart buy is to get the cheapest name-brand RAM you can.

 

Intel 510 not the 320. The 320 is older and SATA2.

Crucial M4, Intel 510, Mushkin Chronos, Patriot Wildfire and Vertex 3 MAX IOPS seems to be good choices.

The Sandforce based SSD's might require some tweaking.

The M4 and 510 are very popular amongs Alienware users.

 

Doesn't the M11x-R3 run it's memory at 1333MHz by default? Mine seems to do that, at least.

 

THANK YOU so much for taking the time to write that mate, you've just helped me out (and probably the OP) big time. Succinct explanation plus you've saved me money on the RAM - I'm going to try and rep you now.

I felt that I would perhaps be "missing out" on some "alienware tweaks" by doing a fresh install, but it seems I'm just paranoid. I looked into just cloning the entire hdd that dell ships to my new ssd, but I read about 'partition sizes' and 'page files' and felt a bit out of my depth, so I think fresh install of win 7 (which is apparently a simple wizard) and then download the drivers from dell would be best..?

Edit: no idea how to rep! Lol

 

Fresh install is best yes. All the Dell bloatware is gone and you can do the Alienware tweaks later.

Like the startup/close background etc et.

For rep. you click on the scale next to the online/offline status symbol.

 

No, disagree. **NOT** the Intel 510. You definitely want the Intel 320.

Yes, the Intel 510 is SATA3-capable (6Gbps max bandwidth). Yes, the Intel 320 is SATA2-capable (3Gbps max bandwidth). But you definitely want the Intel 320 SSD, even if you have a SATA3-capable system.

The only difference that SATA2 / SATA3 capability makes is in maximum bandwidth during Sequential Read patterns. Real-world usage patterns end up using Random Read patterns (not Sequential Read patterns) 95% of the time. And when it comes to Random Read patterns, the Intel 320 dominates the Intel 510. Therefore, the Intel 320 has higher actual real-world performance, despite being "only" a SATA2-capable drive.

Again, the two drives to consider are a Crucial M4 or an Intel 320, because of their performance and track record of support & reliability. Do not get an OCZ Vertex or Agility drive (history of reliability issues). Mushkin and Patriot are probably fine, but they sell low volumes of SSDs (unproven track record of support).

 

Yes, you are correct, and I was mistaken.

The Alienware M11x R1 and R2 run their memory at 800Mhz default speed.
The Alienware M11x R3 runs its memory at 1333Mhz default speed.

My post was corrected to reflect this. Thank you for pointing this out. +rep for that correction.

 

You are not really missing out on any "Alienware Tweaks".

The only two "tweaks" that are relevant are the Alienware Wallpapers (and Windows Login screen), and the Alienware Command Center suite of tools to configure lighting. And both of those, you can re-install yourself after a clean basic Windows 7 installation. Everything else that comes pre-installed on your Alienware M11x is bloatware.

I actually did a test when I first got my Alienware M11x R2. I uninstalled all of the pre-installed apps that I didn't want. My system booted in ~45seconds (off of an SSD), and used 1.1GB of RAM. I then did a clean format, and installed all of the Alienware apps / drivers that I did want. My system booted in ~17seconds (off of an SSD), and used 900MB of RAM. A clean install will result in a faster-booting system that uses less RAM, despite the fact that the final software / application load between the two configurations was identical. If you are comfortable reformatting / clean-installing Windows, then that is definitely the way to go.

 

All mentioned SSD's work in M14x/M17x R3/M18x R1 so M11x R3 should not be a problem.

510/320 its up to you. I myself would get the 510 if 510/320 was the only option. But thats just me.

Still own a M4 but no laptop to put it in.

M4 is by far the most popular drive amongst Alienware users. 510 follows. At least for the M17x R3.

 

Cool thanks for the advice

Can't wait to get the little bugger now, never had an ssd computer before!

 

Thanks for all the nice replies guys

This memory will do btw ?

Corsair CMSO8GX3M2A1333C9 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 Laptop Memory: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories

 

Another question regarding the process of setting up a new SSD. Is it possible to copy the recovery partition on an external USB and then use startup the latptop from this USB ?

If yes, do I need special software to do that or just windows copy-paste ?