What type of SSD HD for M11x R1?

UPDATE

Kingston 128GB SSDNow V Series SATA II 2.5" Solid State Drive - SNV425-S2/128GB http://www.buy.com/prod/kingston-12...-5-solid-state-drive/q/loc/101/214308841.html

I picked this up from buy.com for 125 after rebate 199.99 today with free 5-8 day shipping


Question:

I will make my backup dvd's as soon as my M11x R1 arrives. Do I then simply swap the HDDs. Put the restore disks in and install windows as normal? Is there anything else that I need to do or simply enjoy faster speed, less noise, less vibration, less heat, and game?

 

That SSD is not a good choice if you're concerned about battery life. It sucks down more power than many traditional platter drives. A Sandforce or Intel drive would be a better choice, albeit more money.

 

How does an SSD use more then spinning platters? Bad design?

Will an Intel be as fast?

 

I can't cancel my order anymore I'm now waiting for a cancellation representative to get back me.

I thought the whole purpose of SSD's was faster, more durable, and less power use. How does it use more power without having to push any spinning metal? I know some are better then others though. Here is the new question.

How much more power does this Kingston use over the standard 160GB HDD? How much battery life would I lose with it? Does it create more heat?

Is this Kingston as fast an an Intel X25-M 120GB (which I assume are both using similar tech for speed and life span)?

 

Been very happy with an OCZ Vertex 2 120GB or my R1.

 

On Newegg.com people are saying the Kingston shortens the life of laptops by around 50% because of it's high temperatures and power consumption being 2x as much as some 7200 RPM drives. Is this true or overblown?

 

That's exaggerating. The difference is probably more along the lines of 10-20% in everyday use. Still significant, but nowhere near as bad as what you've read. Such is the problem with many user reviews.

The Kingston is a great drive for desktops and desktop replacement notebooks, but it's not nearly ideal for an ultra-portable.

 

But I'll definitely still get the benefits of the SSD which should be much faster then the standard HDD?

 

Of course. But you have to decide if the tradeoff of capacity and battery life is worth it. The Kingston uses an older controller technology that's not as fast overall as Samsung or Sandforce drives. The Kingston is faster at sequential writes than the Intel G2, but its 4K read/write performance significantly trails all of the aforementioned. It also runs hotter. In my MSI, the SSD where I have the OS installed runs at about 36 degrees C at idle while the Seagate platter drive runs about 32. Now that's nowhere near worrisome, but it's still something to consider.

Again, for the price (provided you have no issues with the rebate), the Kingston is a great drive for most applications. It's merely an OK choice for an ultra-portable. If you've never experienced an SSD before, you'll be in for a treat.

 

This would be my first SSD drive.

How does the Samsung and Intel stack up to each other? I have heard good things about the Intel drives and I see they are also sold at Best Buys, but have not seen other brands sold in a store yet.

 

For SSD related questions (Which is a good brand?, is this one good?, etc.), post here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...ssd-thread-benchmarks-brands-news-advice.html

This is a general hardware/component upgrade question and we have a forum for that.

We also have a generic thread in the main alienware forum for installing an SSD into an AW system. For those questions, post here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/474521-installing-ssd-tips-tricks-benchmarks.html