Alienware Alpha RAM & SSD "How to" Upgrade Guide
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- Опубликовано: 21 авг 2024
- In this video tutorial I show you how to upgrade the RAM and Hard Drive in the Alienware Alpha.
Crucial MX100 512GB 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD: www.amazon.com/...
Corsair Vengeance Performance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3L: www.amazon.com/...
For more details on the Alienware Alpha and to purchase please visit: www.amazon.com/...
I can tell I need an upgrade because this video is still relevant to my machine...
Dont feel bad i just got one in 2021
Got mine last year, after I got one for my brother's birthday
@@82melcoopdeville i've still got mine from 2015 and i'm just now upgrading it because the hard drive has slowed to a horrible crawl. seriously takes like 5-10 minutes from pressing the power button to getting steam big picture up on the screen.
i have an hdd but it boots up less than half a minute:DD (i got it since 2017)
I bought the most expensive model when this thing first came out. the one that cost almost 1000$ (i7). I think that's pretty bullshit they didn't give me 16gb of ram and a SSD for that price. but that aside for my first pc I couldn't be happier. people say you can build a pc for way cheaper. ok good for them but I don't know shit about building pc's + this thing is so fuckin small its awesome!. what's it been like 2 years since it came out? I haven't had a single problem with it and I leave this thing on 24/7. if you are looking for a pc that does not hog space and can handle high graphic settings then give this thing a shot.
The case also looks cool af
I've had the i3 for 2 years now. Never had a single issue with it, these pc's are awesome. I don't care about building my own pc either. I just want to play some games on a decent settings which is what I can do now. I think for the price at the time it was on sale for 400 i got the 8gig version. I should probably upgrade it soon though.
i had my i3 alpha for 2 years as well , no problems and i could run lots of games in decent settings , very well worth to upgrade the ram to max out at 16gb , thinking about upgrading my CPU in about a month
george castro i have this model as well and i slapped an i7 in it and was planning on putting 16GB ram in it , but apparently one of my fans broke ? not sure how but thats the only issue ive had in the 3 years ive had it
I just bought my friends used i7 model for $100. Upgrading the SSD here soon and may do RAM. Good to know it's relatively easy!
Thank you for this video.
I love how u were so patient with the video and not taking the viewers knowledge on computers for granted.
With this guide I could finally do what I wanted to do with my alpha for a long time.
Thanks so much for putting this up here. Just installed an SSD, and wow... that's quite the difference. Having watched this video made it so easy. Thanks!
+arthurhjorth Thanks for watching and glad it helped!
Hey I know it's been awhile since this was posted but thanks so much for the easy to follow tutorial. The steps are super simple to begin with but watching someone else do it first just made it way easier. Thanks again!
Good, newbie-friendly video.
It's also grammatically redundant to say "SSD drive" :D.
I personally would've gone with a smaller SSD for the sake of saving money, and using the stock 2TB hard drive externally for game storage.
Good point, never thought of that - solid state drive drive ;)
I just wanted to say THANK YOU for such an important tutorial. I am waiting for my Alpha to show up. I plan on doing this same thing with a different hard drive. Thank you again.
aye thanks man! did this upgrade and never been so satisfied with my alienware alpha.
wow i am happy that there is finally an video that can be clear with instrutions about upgrading thanks metagamers..... hey man can you please add and link for all of the stuff that i can buy of what you have so i can upgrade mine as well i want to make sure i buy the right parts.. please
and i subscribed by the way.
Thanks! Sure thing I will get the links added tonight.
*****
thank you man ill be on the look for them and nice page by the way to
TheRealFatBoyGamer Thanks again, I have added them to the description. Feel free to hit me up on twitter @metagamers if you have any questions.
*****
thx homie whooooooop
The best explanations of computers and their maintenance I have seen since a long time. This video is systematic and superbly researched. Congratulations to a very well done video. Worthwile to subscribe. Best of the lot.
Great video! Just bought the base model on sale, I plan on upgrading ram and SSD based of your video! Very informative like a "how to for dummy's"
Waxxen Berg cool, glad it helped!
just bought one, and a SSD thank you for the info
QnA
Q: Can this RAM or SSD or CPU upgrade work on i3 model
A: Yes
Q: if I upgrade the RAM, will I have to backup?
A: No you don't
Q: HELP my system is blinking with yellow lights!!!
A: Did you change the CPU? If so it may need more power than provided.
Q: Will changing the SSD help run
A: Not really, maybe a slight 1fps difference in texture heavy games, not really a big deal. This is best for video editing.
Q: I just bought the Alpha, do I need to backup?
A: No you dont.
Q: Can I Change the video card?
A: No it's soldered on.
Justsomekirbyfan cheers kirby
hey how did you do that?
id like to do the same thing.
So my alpha came with 100% disk usage constantly. I was able to make it chill out but every time the hard drive is used I shoot up to 100% briefly. Is this normal?
I bought a hyperX 16gb ram. when I replaced it it says I only have 8gb ram when I replaced it with 16gb if you can help that would be awesome
+lewis Sinclair *8 gigs is the max
petey1115 nah I've seen plenty of people with 16gb including my friends
Thanks so much for the video! Even someone like me who doesn't know much about computers, was able to follow these simple instructions :)
Thanks man. Helped a lot! Just upgraded my system 😊
awesome awesome awesome video, i just bought the alienware alpha and I swapped out the hard drive for an SSD and this video made it so easy, thanks bro!
Glad it helped! Thanks for watching
Was going to buy one myself. I had a question for anyone. If I'm only just changing the hard drive to an SSD, do I need to do the whole backup thing?
all i did was change the hard drive for an ssd and i did the back up so it is recommened
Reich 58 Yes, you need to do the backup because the new had drive will not have an OS or any other essential programs needed to run the machine
Tard
I know this was a while ago but thanks a ton it really helped me install a SSD in my alpha i7
Awesome! Thanks so much and glad to hear it still helps people :)
Another bouquet of thanks here. I dug mine out for a job in the studio and it works like a champ. I did have a problem loading W10 on a new SSD, but it went right on the old drive just fine. How the hell do I get rid of Aliencrap?
Great video! Took me 20 minutes to swap ram and ssd! Thank you!
Hey I followed all of your steps and with my USB in it says loading files after putting in my ssd but then alienrespawn doesn't show up. Nothing shows up but my Tv saying no signal
Excellent video, well done. Love to see more re the Alpha.
Thanks sir! Your video went into the perfect amount of depth to understand how to do this. :)
Muchas gracias por el detalle mostrado en el video! Excelente! Thank you so much!
Great video, high quality and you didn't miss a thing.
Wow, that was literally EVERYTHING I wanted to know! Thank you! :D
I dont even have an Alpha but found this video interesting as hell. Thanks!
Thanks for watching!
Great video! Perfect instruction for this task, now easily accomplished.
Wow great video, love it, I think im going to buy it just for this reason. Question: do you have to be hardlined into internet to do this? Or can this be done safely without any internet connection? I ask 'cause I have inconsistent internet at home, and didn't want to catch myself without it. Thanks!
Two questions. One: is that SSD necessarily an "upgrade" due to the lower amount of storage it provides? Two: On the box that the ram came in, it showed the logos of the i5 and the i7, but not the i3. Does that mean it won't work on the i3?
Name Goes Here I was wondering the same thing
+Political Loopholes It's a computer... u put ram in and it will work, u put a HD in and it will work reguardless of the processor. And yes, it is an upgrade. Some lag in games come from live rendering of textures and other things in games, SSD's can reference and load files and other things faster than a HDD. So not only does boot up time increase, pretty much everything increases in speed. As for it being less space, i've never filled up 500gb so it wouldn't effect me none other than it being faster. I guess some people hoard games and actually need 1tb-2tb of space.
True true. Thanks!
yes and no
The ssd is very necessary if you upgrade to win 10. I'm over here trying to get my pc to stop using 100% of the disk. Get the ssd the stock hdd can be garbage.
so if I buy an alpha fresh out of the box do I need to backup anything ? or can I just unbox the alpha, upgrade the ram and ssd and turn it on time
turn it on then *
+BRUH no, you need to run the backup and put the backup files on a usb drive first.
+Dark Madamo yes usb hardrive
Looks like I'm gonna have no trouble. Thank you for the video!
Thankyou so much. Note. People must remove the usb during the 1st reboot after windows initial instal
great video,,, thanks so much,,, love the way you conduct your tutorial.... what is the app that you used for recording your PC screen...?
Great video. I did notice where you messed up the HD instalation. Good job covering it up with your hand after installed in cradle, but I do think you should have informed or edited it to be proper.
I thought that seemed a bit odd.
Hey Rick, I am all prepared to follow your guide for replacing the SSD and my RAM on my Alienware alpha. However, the Alien Respawn seems no longer available. I am a bit lost, can you help me with what I need to use instead?
Many thanks.
Gary Collings what did u do then? And besides i dont want to back up my files with my old hard drive i want a fresh new ssd. Will i need a new windows if i would do that right? How bout the other stuffs like the rgb control?
Best system ever
very thorough guide, i really appreciate all the info.
Thank you, I'm glad it helped
Awesome!!! I’m getting the R2 will quickly replace the HDD
Just bought mine. This video is very helpful, thanks!
Thank you! Glad it helps :)
+metagamers can I put corsair vengeance 16 gb of ram into my alpha i3
Hey man could you explain to me what you mean by getting a kit? I have never done anything like this before so I'm confused.
Kregg Carter Sometimes people mix and match RAM. A kit meaning something like I show in this video - One package that includes both DIMMS that are matching.
Thank you sir
Kregg Carter no problem, you are welcome :)
Great video. FYI, the Crucial MX100 has been replaced by the MX200.
Hey man just wondering if the Crucial MX200 500GB SATA 2.5 Inch Internal Solid State Drive would also fit. Nice and easy to follow vid btw 😀👍
Just curious but would the i3 be compatible with the upgrades you used?
You are the most intelligent person on earth
I built my own PC i had no idea about anything back then so fuck off kindly.
SuperManthing1 Hey I don't have any idea now lol should I buy a base i3 one and spend 200 on a ssd and ram ?
Really Good Guide, Thanks
How much of the setup and driver updating should be done if you're going to backup the install software to install an SSD?
Watched the video and then swapped the hard drive and installed additional RAM. Everything went exactly as planned. Hardest part was using the screwdriver. ;)
Yeah so I followed ever step but when making the bootable backup on my 32Gb flash drive it always fails and says I need 197Gb to do the back up.
For the 16gb memory upgrade you don't need to use that backup USB right that's only for the hard drive right. Sorry I'm new to this whole upgrading thing
Thank you way to be a badass !
Late to upgrading mine, but finally got around to it. I tried to follow this guide but my Alpha is upgraded to Windows 10 and Alien Respawn doesn't exist for Windows 10. I don't know what my alternatives are for maintaining my installation of Windows onto a new SSD
for anyone else reading this, all you have to do is sign in with a microsoft account and when you install windows 10 on the new ssd, it will carry over your install. it won't keep any of your files or anything, you'll probably have to get a USB drive or put it in cloud storage for that, but nowadays your microsoft account is tied to your copy of windows 10 so you don't have to purchase it again.
Thank you so much that was so easy. Thanks for all your help :)
Thank you very much for this video, its gonna be very helpful on the future for me :D
No problem, glad it helps
Great video mate, I was considering one of these for a media PC and because of your video I'm sold. Also does the System support 5.1 surround using the toslink port, Thanks again.
Thank you. Yes, the system supports 5.1 if memory serves me correct. I can double check that and get back to you
+metagamers I just need to verify that the 5.1 works via the toslink port, so if you could confirm that would be greatly appreciated.
How well would you say the overall performance of the machine has been enhanced due to your upgrades now that you have had plenty of time to play with them?
So my hard drive crashed and so I replaced it but now I don't have Alpha UI, how would I get that back?
IAMGRODDY It's actually useless bro,
Excellent video.
Does it matter if I use a Crucial MX200 500GB SATA 2.5 Inch Internal Solid State Drive - CT500MX200SSD1 instead of the MX100 512GB?
Excellent Video!
If I clean-reinstall windows 10 on my HDD, then use this back up process, can I fit the only the basic programs and OS on an 16gb flash drive? I just didn't know if I need to buy a new flash drive or not.
So when you turned the Alienware back on, after the upgrades, did you press F12 or anything to access the reboot files or did you just turn it back on without doing anything?
Very good tutorial...Thanks ☺☺
Upgraded the CPU,RAM, SSD, and wireless card but my alpha won't boot up. The logo keeps flashing yellow. Do you know what could be the problem or how I can resolve this? Thanks
Same here! Did you find out how to fix it?
+JerzyShingo1234 That would be a power issue.
What CPU did you put in there? If your system draws more than 300 watts you will get that error.
Do you need to do a backup if you are just upgrading ram?
no
I followed these steps but when I try to load the disc image it says "your hard drive size is not supported for this process" and says I need a drive with at least 980gb. I have a 256gb SSD that I am trying to upgrade to. Please help. I am stuck in an endless loop now.
EXCELLENT vid.
Can i just buy another 4 gb for the i3 thats compatible and pop it in with the one that was originally there?
Hope you didn't do it after 3 days. Typically, you want to buy the two of the same model simply so they run easily. Unless stuff like voltage and and sped are the same, it's usually recommended to buy the same brand.
Spiller can you link me?
Please help me asap after upgrading only my memory (ram) it has stopped turning on and is stuck on a yellow flashing light
+Dowdy Gamer it sounds like a RAM comparability issue. What kind of RAM did you install?
thank you. also. do you have links as to where u got ur usb. I want to get the exact one becus. I'm looking on ebay and I don't want any 3rd party fake usb
seem one of these older units for $200 half tempted to get it..the 8.1 version with i3 intel and such..really want it just for a grab and go PC
which exact screw driver did you use ? please tell me exact model . Thank you
Hi, really enjoyed your video. I'm planning on getting the i7 model. If I wanted to upgrade the RAM only would I still need to do the re-boot etc or is that only when upgrading the cpu/hdd? Thanks.
+Ew you should be able to just swap out the RAM no other steps needed.
will this work on the Alienware steam machine I7. i put windows 10 on it. pretty sure it would. let me know
do i need to do the alien re-spawn thing if i am just replacing the ram?
I don't think so.
I just ordered my i3. I was wondering if the MB will support the i5-6600 due to it being 1.35v as well
Can I do the same as a repair job if I don’t have the respawn? I’m getting 4 yellow flashes for memory/ram failure. This would be a quick repair
I upgraded my Alpha with the same exact parts (PNY thumb drive, Corsair Vengeance 16GB kit), except for the SSD. Instead I picked up a Samsung 840 EVO 500GB. So now my specs are Intel Core i7, 500GB SSD, 16GB or RAM, and I overclock using MSI Afterburner. Everything flies. The biggest upgrade is the SSD, hands down.
Hi, is it possible for you to give me a list of what you used to upgrade your alpha and where you purchased all the parts from? Also what did you use to back up everything? I'm new to pc's and I would really appreciate you feedback. I could use the help.
- thanks in advanced
My parts are listed. I bought the RAM, Thumb drive to backup, and the SATA to USB cable to clone the old drive all at Best Buy. The SSD I bought from eBay. Now there's great deals on SSDs on SlickDeals.com every day. It's very simple to upgrade.
Okay thanks I apprecite the help.
Jordan Hayes When it comes to RAM, I recommend Corsair vengeance or G Skill RAM, as they're low latency. For SSDs, Crucial or Samsung are fine. Shop around, as PC parts go up and down in price daily.
***** I actually bought mine with the Core i7 4765T configuration. With that said, any Haswell i7 will work. Most people stick with Amazon and NewEgg.
can you use a fresh windows install usb instead of the respawn usb backup? Just incase someone does not want to use any alienware peripherals or softwares and rather just use plain fresh windows 10. Thank you
would just a 2.5 inch drive work? in your vid, you said it had to be 2.5" and 7mm so i didnt know if anything shorter would work
Is there a 2TB SSD? I love how fast the SSD makes it but I don't want to sacrifice the 2 TB of space.
you said it doesnt matter which version you have but the corsair vengeance RAM says its for i5 and i7 doesnt mention i3.
I got a steam machine which doesn't have windows OS, do you know where I can download the recovery image? I am thinking to upgrade to a Alpha with SSD. Thanks.
I got an error: IDS_ENVIRONMENT_INCOMPLETE
Hi
I just bought the alpha, should i update the windows before the backup or leave until i install th SSD
This video is so cool .. Hey i have lost the ability to change the LED lights color after upgrading it to windows 10 .. Command center does not work .. any clues?
Hello loved this vid, but can you please give me a link where I can buy a single 4gb of ram? I need to make it 8gb thanks
Would the SanDisk Internal SSD 240GB 2.5-Inch SDSSDA-240G-G25 work?
great job with this video. Insanely helpful A++++
Thank you
No thank you bro. This thing flys with an ssd and more ram. I don't know if people know how decent of a PC this thing is with an ssd in it. It's more than a gaming console.
I know this video is now quite dated, but I was wondering the specifics regarding RAM selection. Is the alpha not compatible with ddr4 RAM, or is it possible to get DDR4L 1600MHz ram as an upgrade for this machine? Seems a better improvement and waste not to go with the faster more recent generation double data rate components. Could someone explain why it would be restricted?
i know i'm late to this comment but if laptop ram is anything like computer ram it physically will not fit in the slot, let alone be compatible with the motherboard. it needs to be ddr3l.
Super tutorial!
***** thank you
what if I had a 1 tb 3.0? I have 110 games,could I just put my steam library on it, then do the backup?
On Vengeance rams it shows that them are compatible with i5 & i7, what about i3? Would it be possible to use the same rams you have used with the base i3 version of alienware alpha?
I have the i7 version. can I upgrade the ram and hardware? if so, what would you recommend?
I'm getting an alienware alpha soon, if I'm just upgrading ram do I need to backup with alien respawn or is that only for ssd ?
How do you dual mount the harddrives? SSD for boot and HDD for storage?
would you do windows 10 upgrade first before changing hdd?
they don't come with 512 hard drive anymore and I thought about upgrading to a SSD harddrive but I am afraid I'd break the Alpha if I tried
Is the alienware r2 compatable with ALL bluetooth devices like hesh 2 wireless headphones and an anker speaker??
I'm going to be getting i7 soon I wanted to know do I need to save a backup just for switching the RAM or not
Hi my question is can i buy a bigger hard drive like 1tb or 2 im running out of space for games?