New Laptop and SSD/RAM

[dedmiston11]

Hello,
I am looking to buy the MSI GT60 Dominator (link)----> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152557
This laptop does not have an ssd, so i was thinking of buying one for it. First, what is the recommended gb size. Secondly, if i do get an ssd should i install it before turning on the new laptop for first time or go through everything then install it.
And for RAM i want to know if 8 gb is a good amount or should i add a little more, and if so should it be the same brand or doesnt it matter
Thanks

 

[Larry WU]

You should get an mSATA SSD, 120gb will be enough.
Ask newegg to install the SSD for you.
8GB of Ram is plenty for gaming.

 

[IDontUnderstand]

I'm not sure how accurate this site is, but according to it http://www.hidevolution.com/msi-gt60-dominator-424-6gb-gtx-870m-15-6.html
There are 2 HDD bays, 1 mSATA, and optical to HDD.
You may purchase any SSD and be able to install them in the regular HDD bay. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211719
Or you can purchase a mSATA SSD to save the drive bay for other extra HDD. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148697

I would install the SSD first before you start putting your programs onto the HDD just to save yourself some hassle.

RAMs are not meant to be mix and matched, so they must be the same brand, model, frequency, timing, and even the year of manufacturer can matter sometimes. I do not recommend getting more RAMs as you know that 8 GB is most likely enough for regular usage.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Rather than do that, I'd suggest you buy the equivalent spec laptop from a Clevo distributor and have it custom built to your specifications. Tho frankly, I stopped putting SSDs in my lappies.... strictly using the Seagate 7200 rpm SSHDs hybrids..... have both SSD _+ HD and SSHD lappies here and there is no observable difference in performance.


Check out XoticPC or LPCdigital

http://forum.notebookreview.com/sager-clevo/91510-clevo-guide-v2-0-faq-reseller-info.html

CLEVO is a large Taiwanese computer company specializing in laptops. While the Clevo brand name is perhaps not widely known, their products are re-branded and sold by known boutique brand OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers)… notably Sager, VoodooPC, Falcon Northwest, Eurocom, etc. They are also considered (by whoever knows about notebooks) to design and manufacturer the best of the best notebooks in terms of superior build quality and innovative designs.

 

[dedmiston11]

I'm not sure how accurate this site is, but according to it http://www.hidevolution.com/msi-gt60-dominator-424-6gb-gtx-870m-15-6.html
There are 2 HDD bays, 1 mSATA, and optical to HDD.
You may purchase any SSD and be able to install them in the regular HDD bay. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211719
Or you can purchase a mSATA SSD to save the drive bay for other extra HDD. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148697

I would install the SSD first before you start putting your programs onto the HDD just to save yourself some hassle.

RAMs are not meant to be mix and matched, so they must be the same brand, model, frequency, timing, and even the year of manufacturer can matter sometimes. I do not recommend getting more RAMs as you know that 8 GB is most likely enough for regular usage.

According to a review by Gentech PC, which showed inside and out of the laptop, there are only 2 HDD bays and no mSATA areas, because the one HDD bay is where the original mSATA area was. But you can add a 2.5" SSD to the second HDD bay

 

[IDontUnderstand]

Indeed, a better explanation is demonstrated in Gentech PC as suggested by dedmiston11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3xkxFDCAEs#t=779

There's two different versions of the laptop, one comes with 2 HDD bay, the other one comes with 1 bay and 3 mSATA slots. Now I'm not sure which one is the one on newegg.

 

[dedmiston11]

You should get an mSATA SSD, 120gb will be enough.
Ask newegg to install the SSD for you.
8GB of Ram is plenty for gaming.

I didnt know that Newegg actually did that. But I was probably going to use gift cards to buy the ssd from best buy online so i may have to put it in myself

 

[dedmiston11]

Indeed, a better explanation is demonstrated in Gentech PC as suggested by dedmiston11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3xkxFDCAEs#t=779

There's two different versions of the laptop, one comes with 2 HDD bay, the other one comes with 1 bay and 3 mSATA slots. Now I'm not sure which one is the one on newegg.

I am asking about the Dominator-424 which is the basic version of the new lineup. The other laptop is the Pro 3k version

 

[IDontUnderstand]

I see, here is a middle in between that also contains mSATA option
GT60 Dominator-423 http://www.msimobile.com/level3_productpage.aspx?cid=6&id=457

The one that you were talking about is
GT60 Dominator-424 http://www.msimobile.com/level3_productpage.aspx?cid=6&id=458

The one that we saw in the video is
GT60 Dominator 3K-474 http://www.msimobile.com/level3_productpage.aspx?cid=6&id=456

 

[dedmiston11]

I see, here is a middle in between that also contains mSATA option
GT60 Dominator-423 http://www.msimobile.com/level3_productpage.aspx?cid=6&id=457

The one that you were talking about is
GT60 Dominator-424 http://www.msimobile.com/level3_productpage.aspx?cid=6&id=458

The one that we saw in the video is
GT60 Dominator 3K-474 http://www.msimobile.com/level3_productpage.aspx?cid=6&id=456

I also looked at the 423, but decided it would be cheaper to buy the 424 and add an SSD to it instead

 

[IDontUnderstand]

Yes, it would be the better option if you are not looking for a lot of storage spaces. If a SSD and a HDD is enough for you, and you are not looking to raid, then 424 and a SSD will fit and work best for you.

 

[dedmiston11]

Thank You "IDontUnderstand" and one more question fast. On newegg, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834152557 , the gt dom 424 is $1399.99, but on MSI's website, http://www.msimobile.com/level3_productpage.aspx?cid=6&id=458 , it is $1499.99. is there a difference or did newegg just not correctly put the price

 

[IDontUnderstand]

Your question is why they are priced different?

Retailers can sell the item at any reasonable price as long as the manufacturer agrees, but there are times when they sell too low, that's when you see the 'add to cart to see the price'.
It's normal for retailers to sell less than MSRP, just like how a car doesn't have to be sold at the price suggested by their manufacturer.

For example this anti-virus is sold on their own website (http://www.bitdefender.com/solutions/total-security.html) for $79.95 for 3 PCs for 1 year.
On newegg.com (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832719120) similar item is being sold for $69.95 for 3 PCs for 2 years.

 

[dedmiston11]

Okay thanks, but would they most likely bump up the price in time or would they keep it the same

 

[IDontUnderstand]

They have the rights to adjust it at any moment, just like how AMD high end GPU's price got fluctuated due to miner, the price go up on newegg.com really fast cuz they are adjusting their price for supply and demand.