Help needed on installing SSD in Lenovo y500

Hi,

This is my first post on this forum and I joined specifically for help on this issue.

I am very near about to buy a Lenovo Y500 with 1TB HDD & 16GB SSD used as a cache

Lenovo IdeaPad Y500 15.6" FHD i7-3632QM - Nvidia 650M 2GB (16GB, 16GB SSD + 1TB HDD,Blu-ray, Win8) - Expansys.com UK

Now I thought this would be great until I saw that the SSD is just a cache, now I can buy the version without the SSD for around £200-300 cheaper as linked below:

Lenovo Ideapad Y500 15.6 inch Laptop-Black (Intel Core i7 3630QM, 8Gb RAM, 1Tb HDD, DVDRW, LAN, WLAN, BT, Webcam, Nvidia Graphics, Windows 8).: Amazon.co.uk: Computers & Accessories


However, I want to know from people with experience with SSD's and preferably even this model, if it possible to buy the non SSD version, buy an SSD myself (lets say 128GB) and install it in the laptop, then use the SSD to install the OS on (this will be windows 8). I am aware that Lenovo has an ultrabay which is basically a component where you can swap out for something else such as an SSD, having looked at various websites I know that Lenovo don't ship the disk for windows 8 with the laptop, it uses the BIOS as a key.

Also the optical drive can be taken out and then replaced with such SSD, however this would result in problems installing the OS on the SSD.

I need to know whether it is possible to effectively have a configuration of say 1TB HDD - 128GB SSD - 16GB SSD Cache (although not too fussed about this) and the OS is on the 128GB SSD.

Now if this is possible I would like an explanation of how this is done, I'm not an expert but not a beginner so a moderate explanation perhaps, I would appreciate greatly if anyone can advise me on this I do realise this is a lengthy post but your help would go a great way!

Thank you

Ajay

 

Please try this. Credit to Intel d00d
http://forum.notebookreview.com/win...vation-code-downloading-win8.html#post9305612

You can clone the drive or make a clean install (the better option). You don't need caching for an SSD. It is plenty fast. You can try to hawk it off to someone else if you get the cache SSD version. If you need more space, then getting a 128GB mSATA drive would be the better option if you cannot get the appropriate caddy from Lenovo.

If you don't need a quad core, have a look at this.
Buy Samsung NP770Z5E-S02UK Laptop, Intel Core i5, 2.6GHz, 8GB RAM, 1TB, 15.6", Silver online at John Lewis
But you would have to compromise on storage options. Ignore this if you need a lot of storage.
Review Samsung Series 7 Chronos 770Z5E-S01DE Notebook - NotebookCheck.net Reviews
Similar laptop.

 

Thank you, what would you recommend then in terms of SSD, what size SSD would be best to "speed" my laptop up, and would installing the OS on the SSD be the best way of doing it, and what exactly does it mean by using i as a cache?

Sorry for the questions haha

Ajay

 

This is why we have forums.

How much space do you exactly need. If you need a lot of storage, then just keeping the OS and the regularly used programs on the SSD is recommended. Minimum would be 128Gb with 20% space kept empty to help maintain the performance of the SSD. The speed boost is actually due to low latency of the SSD when compared to normal HDDs. Normal HDDs have latencies around 17-25ms while that of an SSD is about 0.1ms. There is no delay when something needs to be executed.

Caching is the process of dumping the repeatedly used data in to the faster drive making sure the data is accessible in the least amount of time. The latency is close to zero giving you that instantaneous response that you get with a normal SSD. This happens in the background. There are some improvements in user experience and performance of the drive but still falls way short of an SSD. There is plenty of material available online for you to explore this topic.

 

OK thanks a lot! Well if I just want the SSD to install the OS on what size would be best 128GB seems plausible, or, in your opinion, is it best to use SSD as a cache?

 

If possible, 240-256GB or bigger SSD is the way to go. The smaller sizes, in the same model line, will have lower performance. It's best to use the SSD as the OS/boot drive. As idiot101 wrote regarding caching:

 

A 480GB SSD isn't going to show a noticeable jump in speed to the average user over a 128GB SSD. Definitely not over a 256GB SSD unless you are going to fill the smaller ones up to over 80% of their capacity.Sure the benchmarks will show larger read/write numbers but if you can distinguish 7.2 seconds from 7.8 seconds then you should definitely spend the extra money. If not, the 128GB SSD + HDD is the best way to go imo. Oh and I concur with the cache. No point purchasing those unless $100 is all you have to spend and you absolutely need over 500GB of space.

 

OK yeah I mean budget wise I think I could stretch to 256GB, only problem I can see is the installation of windows on the SSD, as Lenovo dont ship the disk the product key is in the BIOS, so what would you do?

I am aware of making a virtual image of it and doing it that way but I'd need a detailed explanation as I'm not fully sure how to do it.

 

With the more fully 'managed' systems like a Lenovo: I would create the Recovery disk(s) and install that to the SSD. No worrying about keys/drivers/etc. that way (even though I myself would do a full bare metal install with only the programs (and O/S version) I want.


For the Recovery disks: see if you can create it on a USB drive - the creation of the Recovery setup and the actual installation will be at least 3-5x faster.


Good luck.

 

Ok got it, with doing that, I boot up as normal install to the usual HDD, then create said recovery disk, shut down in goes the SSD boot up and install?

I'm not quite sure on how to do that