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7 Posts
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993
June 6th, 2021 04:00
m17 R1, upgrading to SSHD
I currently own an Alienware m17 R1 and having been experiencing slow load times. Multiple times I've linked it back to the HDD (used separately from the SSD which is used for booting up) as the HDD maxes out at around 95% - 100% even when playing basic games such as Minecraft and will often struggle to multitask such as when downloading a Windows Update in the background.
A while back the laptop did nearly die after experiencing a partition error which didn't affect the SSD but seems to have majorly damaged my HDD and from what I can tell has damaged its performance. Luckily I managed to save my laptop though.
I recently did tests on it using software from userbenchmark. The results it got were:
The CPU: (i7-8750H) Performing way above expectations
The GPU 0: (Intel(R) UHD Graphics 630): Performing way below expectations
The GPU 1: (Nvidia GeForce RTX 2070 with Max-Q Design) (dedicated graphics card) Not tested
The Disk 0: (Seagate FireCuda 2.5" 1TB) (ST1000LX015-1U7172) [HDD] Performing below expectations
The Disk 1: (Unknown KHYPX-MIE 2x8GB) (PC401 NVMe SK hynix 256GB) [SSD] Performing above expectations
Here is the link to the test results: Test Results
I also had a look on Amazon and found a bargain for the latest type of drive an SSHD for £100. Here is the link:
The size would fit in the slot currently occupied by my HDD and I wouldn't need to mess around with the SSD which is performing extremely well. Here are my main questions and please tell me anything else I need to know:
- Would this SSHD be compatible with my laptop?
- Would I need to send my laptop to Dell to get the new drive installed and if so how much would it cost?
- Would it be possible for someone from Dell to come to mine to get the drive installed and if so how much would it cost?
- Are there any better SSDs or SSHDs that would work with my laptop? My preference would be £150 at most and with a minimum of 512GB.
Gamefreaknet
7 Posts
0
June 6th, 2021 04:00
Do note my laptop is out of warranty:
crimsom
7 Technologist
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6.1K Posts
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June 7th, 2021 21:00
Hi @Gamefreaknet welcome to this user to user discussion forum. This is not Dell Support.
Do not understand why you want to use a slow SATA SSHD as your OS(C:) boot drive. Look at the userbenchmark boot drive Note that says: The boot partition is located on a mechanical or hybrid drive. Moving the system to an SSD will yield far faster boot times, better system responsiveness and faster application load times.
The Alienware m17 R3 is a gaming laptop. It should have an ultrafast 1TB M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3.0 x4 NVMe OS(C:) boot drive, such as the 1TB Samsung 980 PCIe Gen3.0 x4, NVMe 1.4 Gaming SSD with up to 3,500/3,000MB/s read/write speeds. (Installing a PCIe Gen4 drive will run at Gen3 read/write speeds.) NVMe partition format should be GPT (not MBR), and then BIOS Boot list option UEFI should be enabled to use GPT.
Put all your personal files on a data storage drive. Install only applications on the NVMe OS(C:) boot drive, leaving plenty of room for creation of temporary files when gaming.
Please ensure that OS Windows 10 x64 versions 20H1 and 20H2 have been installed. Then use Windows 10 Update Assistant to install the Windows 10 x64 version 21H1 update.
Please click on Kudos to say thank you for response from user that is not employed by Dell. Please share an update on progress, so that other users derive benefit from your experience. Thank you.
ejn63
10 Elder
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30.8K Posts
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June 8th, 2021 04:00
Direct answers:
Yes. That said, Seagate's hard drives of recent vintage are unreliable, so something else would be more suitable.
2. Would I need to send my laptop to Dell to get the new drive installed and if so how much would it cost?
No, though you can have a local computer shop do the upgrades.
3. Would it be possible for someone from Dell to come to mine to get the drive installed and if so how much would it cost?
No. See above.
4. Are there any better SSDs or SSHDs that would work with my laptop? My preference would be £150 at most and with a minimum of 512GB.
SSHDs are faster than native hard drives, but even better would be to install a native solid state drive. You should be able to find a good one at 1T for about your budget, and see the best possible performance from it in a way you'll never get from an SSHD.
crimsom
7 Technologist
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6.1K Posts
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June 8th, 2021 08:00
Hi @Gamefreaknet unfortunately the Alienware m17 R1 has up to 32GB of onboard RAM that is permanently soldered onto the motherboard and not user upgradable. Consequently the Samsung 980 SSD with DRAM-less extreme value drive, may not be suitable because it wants to use your motherboard RAM.
IMHO Dell has provided a mundane motherboard that should not be identified as an enthusiasts Alienware gaming laptop. Consequently you should get the more expensive 1TB M.2 2280 Samsung PCIe Gen3.0 x4 NVME SSD with DRAM on its drive. The ideal 1TB SSD is now outside of your stated budget of £150.
crimsom
7 Technologist
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6.1K Posts
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June 8th, 2021 09:00
Hi @Gamefreaknet it seems that amazon.co.uk is currently discounting Samsung drives by more than 40%. For example, the 1TB M.2 2280 Samsung 970 EVO Plus PCIe Gen3.0 x4 NVME SSD with DRAM on its drive, at £138.66, is currently within your £150 budget. The 970 EVO Plus is also an ultrafast drive with Sequential Read/Write speeds up to 3,500/3,300 MB/s.