You can add whatever you wish without voiding the warranty (though the warranty won't cover the second drive, of course).
Thanks, this is an answer to part of my post. If I mark it as answer then does that get in the way of the rest of my post also being discussed?
Also, given that I heard more than once from Dell sales reps before I bought my system that my warranty would be voided if I opened the laptop to insert another hard drive, I will be on the lookout for further answers and experiences on this point.
I'm sure there are good arguments for a spinning drive, and I may get one, but I've decided for some of own reasons that I would like to have some priority on getting a solid state drive.
Assuming this priority, I'd like to get a handle on why Dell thinks it's ok to keep up this business of $600+ for a single drive. If I could get a smaller drive for less money, I"d consider it, but really even if we know that the higher price Dell is charging is for quality and assured compatability, it's still a price that in my fallible view is taking too much advantage of us, particularly as they do not seem to offer something in the 128 gb range for much less money (that I can tell).
Dell knows that there's a good chance that if it sells you a drive, that it'll result in a support call - if you buy from a drop-shipper (Newegg, etc.) you don't get the support. So, should you need it, you'd have to call Dell and pay for it. Do you want to pay for the support in advance, or only in case you need it? Your call.
I am definitely willing to pay a bit extra, but there were in my view at least two problems with Dell's price.
- $640+ for 256 GB seems excessive. I just took another look and maybe it's not all that horrible, if we take into account your point (and I may have been somewhat forgetting the old idea of a premium for laptop components over desktop?). So, that problem seems somewhat less apparent to me now.
- Dell does not seem to offer any other drive that is specifically for these families of laptops. So, there is no middle ground I can explore, like a 128 GB drive for less money (which is something that might interest me, especially as I could replace it after a year or two if-when prices come down for more GB).
This latter issue doesn't seem to have gone away. So, as Dell has it presently set up, it's $641 or nothing if I want to add a second SSD, and that just seems unhelpful.
- Also, I suspect that if I do go buy some drive at NewEgg, I will catch flack from Dell support on other matters, having "opened up" the computer to some additional complicating add-on part. However, I'll maybe talk it over with them some more when I get a chance.
ejn63
9 Legend
•
87.5K Posts
1
May 8th, 2011 12:00
You can add whatever you wish without voiding the warranty (though the warranty won't cover the second drive, of course).
jlsoaz
46 Posts
0
May 8th, 2011 14:00
Thanks, this is an answer to part of my post. If I mark it as answer then does that get in the way of the rest of my post also being discussed?
Also, given that I heard more than once from Dell sales reps before I bought my system that my warranty would be voided if I opened the laptop to insert another hard drive, I will be on the lookout for further answers and experiences on this point.
bacillus
2 Intern
•
14.4K Posts
0
May 8th, 2011 15:00
IMO if your second hdd is just for storage then I would go for a spinning platter hdd.
jlsoaz
46 Posts
0
May 8th, 2011 17:00
I'm sure there are good arguments for a spinning drive, and I may get one, but I've decided for some of own reasons that I would like to have some priority on getting a solid state drive.
Assuming this priority, I'd like to get a handle on why Dell thinks it's ok to keep up this business of $600+ for a single drive. If I could get a smaller drive for less money, I"d consider it, but really even if we know that the higher price Dell is charging is for quality and assured compatability, it's still a price that in my fallible view is taking too much advantage of us, particularly as they do not seem to offer something in the 128 gb range for much less money (that I can tell).
ejn63
9 Legend
•
87.5K Posts
0
May 9th, 2011 04:00
Dell knows that there's a good chance that if it sells you a drive, that it'll result in a support call - if you buy from a drop-shipper (Newegg, etc.) you don't get the support. So, should you need it, you'd have to call Dell and pay for it. Do you want to pay for the support in advance, or only in case you need it? Your call.
jlsoaz
46 Posts
0
May 10th, 2011 19:00
Hi:
I am definitely willing to pay a bit extra, but there were in my view at least two problems with Dell's price.
- $640+ for 256 GB seems excessive. I just took another look and maybe it's not all that horrible, if we take into account your point (and I may have been somewhat forgetting the old idea of a premium for laptop components over desktop?). So, that problem seems somewhat less apparent to me now.
- Dell does not seem to offer any other drive that is specifically for these families of laptops. So, there is no middle ground I can explore, like a 128 GB drive for less money (which is something that might interest me, especially as I could replace it after a year or two if-when prices come down for more GB).
This latter issue doesn't seem to have gone away. So, as Dell has it presently set up, it's $641 or nothing if I want to add a second SSD, and that just seems unhelpful.
- Also, I suspect that if I do go buy some drive at NewEgg, I will catch flack from Dell support on other matters, having "opened up" the computer to some additional complicating add-on part. However, I'll maybe talk it over with them some more when I get a chance.