Adding an SSD to SkyFire IV 14?

[tasdha]

Hi, this is my current setup

Chassis & Display
SkyFire: 14" Matte HD+ LED Widescreen (1600x900)
Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™i5 Dual Core Mobile Processor i5-4210M (2.60GHz) 3MB
Memory (RAM)
4GB KINGSTON SODIMM DDR3 1600MHz (1 x 4GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 850M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 11
1st Hard Disk
500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BPKX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated 2 in 1 Memory Card Reader (SD, MMC)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
Wireless/Wired Networking
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS 802.11N CARD INC. BLUETOOTH 3.0
USB Options
2 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
Battery
SkyFire 14" Series 6 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Power Cable
1 x UK Power Lead & 90W AC Adaptor
Keyboard Language
INTEGRATED 11.6"/14" MSI UK KEYBOARD
Operating System
NO OPERATING SYSTEM REQUIRED
DVD Recovery Media
NO DVD RECOVERY MEDIA REQUIRED
Office Software
NO OFFICE SOFTWARE
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Google Chrome™
Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 3.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Miscellaneous
FREE £90 IN-GAME VOUCHER with GTX 650 / 750 /7000M / 8000M Series GPUs
Quantity
1


I was wondering, how would I add an SSD to my laptop? What would I need to do?

Also, to just put windows 8.1 boot, chrome and office on there, how big an SSD would I need?


Thanks

 

[mantadog]

120GB should be fine for those applications listed + windows. You could get away with less but smaller capacity drives are not widely available or much cheaper. Not to mention they are often slower.

The only way to ad a SSD to that chassis would be to replace the DVD drive with a SSD caddy or buy an mSATA drive. In the upgrades section of your PCS account you should be able to buy an mSATA drive

 

[tasdha]

120GB should be fine for those applications listed + windows. You could get away with less but smaller capacity drives are not widely available or much cheaper. Not to mention they are often slower.

The only way to ad a SSD to that chassis would be to replace the DVD drive with a SSD caddy or buy an mSATA drive. In the upgrades section of your PCS account you should be able to buy an mSATA drive

So if I buy an mSATA drive I can install it straight into my laptop? What would be the instructions via an SSD caddy, seeing as I dont have a DVD drive anyway?

 

[SpyderTracks]

So if I buy an mSATA drive I can install it straight into my laptop? What would be the instructions via an SSD caddy, seeing as I dont have a DVD drive anyway?

Yes, an mSATA will plug straight in to the existing connector bay, just slots in like a PCI-e card, very easy.

If installing a normall SSD, then you just need to insert it into the caddy and strap it in as you would the DVD drive.

 

[mantadog]

not sure if PCS include a caddy if you don't have a DVD drive, you might need to open it up and look. Otherwise give the call centre a ring.

 

[tasdha]

if there is no caddy (which i think is the case), how would I go about installing/getting one?

 

[keynes]

if there is no caddy (which i think is the case), how would I go about installing/getting one?

As Mantadog mentioned you need to give them a call, PCS can also provide information on how to install it and what is needed