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    after market SSD and Thinkpads

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by yuio, Jan 20, 2009.

  1. yuio

    yuio NBR Assistive Tec. Tec.

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    I was reading somewhere that Thinkpads are not liking aftermarket SSD's all that much with the exception of Samsung ones(which is the one Lenovo sells).

    Any truth to this? anyone got a newish Thinkpad with an aftermarket SSD installed as an OS drive?

    The drive I would like try is the OCZ Core V2 60GB (170MB/s read and 98MB/s write )
    http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227360

    personally I think the sources I read are full of crap, but at the same time I haven't tried it.

    Any thoughts? (I am aware of lag issues)

    Edit:
    anyone know if this drive is any good?
    http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220342
    or
    http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231220
     
    yuio, Jan 20, 2009
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  2. yuio

    yuio NBR Assistive Tec. Tec.

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    no one? I got more hits at Desktopreview.com?
     
    yuio, Jan 20, 2009
    #2
  3. K-TRON

    K-TRON Hi, I'm Jimmy Diesel ^_^

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    I have never heard of that before. It sounds misleading. I dont think the manufacturer can limit harddrive/ssd recognition on the SATA interface.
    You should be good to go with any ssd you want.
    I dont know very much about ssd's but i know you cant limit their recognition. (on the sata interface)

    K-TRON
     
    K-TRON, Jan 20, 2009
    #3
  4. jedisolo

    jedisolo Notebook Deity

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    The g.skill Titan SSD that I have in my Thinkpad is a pretty fast drive.
     
    jedisolo, Jan 20, 2009
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  5. yuio

    yuio NBR Assistive Tec. Tec.

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    sweet, now to convince my self to buy it...
     
    yuio, Jan 20, 2009
    #5
  6. miro_gt

    miro_gt Notebook Deity

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    thinkpads have that bad limit in transfer speeds ... almost all limit to SATA 1 even with SATA 2 controller inside .. kind of stupid but oh well. In reality, the limit comes at about 120mb/s.

    however, that with 0.2 mS access time is pretty fast anyways though :)

    p.s.
    what interface the device is recognized as doesn't guarantee the speed at all, as there can be other limiting factors
     
    miro_gt, Jan 20, 2009
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  7. yuio

    yuio NBR Assistive Tec. Tec.

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    so, is there way to know if that limit is in affect for my model(if it is I am going to buy the cheapest 60+GB drive I can find)

    my controller is the 'Intel(r) ICH9M-E/M SATA AHCI Controller'

    hmmm. looks like ALL thinkpads are affected... not impressed Lenovo, not impressed at all :mad:
     
    yuio, Jan 20, 2009
    #7
  8. davepermen

    davepermen Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    don't get an ocz core. they are very bad.

    and as lenovo manages to even get a highend ssd to stutter (the intel mlc ones), i don't even want to know how a bad ssd (ocz core, they get your os stuttering by themselfes) works on this.

    yep, bad lenovo, not impressed at all :(



    edit: i know i say it much too often, but i'd suggest getting an mtron 64gb in your case. they work great on s-ata 1 levels, are slc memory and work even for ide pata connections. so they should not stutter and give much much higher performance than the ocz. they cost more: 399$. but on the other hand, you get a fully working system.
     
    davepermen, Jan 21, 2009
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  9. Ch28Kid

    Ch28Kid Notebook Deity

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    I agree with davepermen, SLC Mtron 64GB sounds like a good idea.

    I have 48 GB Mtron and I love it. Its been a year and everything is still working very smoothly.
     
    Ch28Kid, Jan 21, 2009
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  10. AvalonXIII

    AvalonXIII Notebook Geek

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    I tried an Intel X25-E in my X200s. Don't worry, the full speed of SATA-II is supported. Only the last generation llaptops (Santa Rosa) and back is capped at SATA-I. You're in good shape. But still, don't try OCZ Core. Try something else, like Samsung.
     
    AvalonXIII, Jan 21, 2009
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  11. yuio

    yuio NBR Assistive Tec. Tec.

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    what about the T500/T400? they have different intended uses, and Lenovo many have treated them differently when designing.

    really I have heard good things about the newest OCZ drives, I'v heard they do stutter a small bit but only on random writes, which I only do on windows updates and that's it. I am looking for a fast boot time and overal responsiveness. I know the old OCZ Core V1 are crap. but how about V2?

    I don't think I can afford a Samsung, atleast not now.
     
    yuio, Jan 21, 2009
    #11
  12. mullenbooger

    mullenbooger Former New York Giant

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    I believe its all models before the new refresh when the t500/t400 came out but I could be wrong. Can anyone who knows actually verify.

    I have a t61 penryn and would like to get an ssd eventually. What are people's experiences in the t61.

    Also, any word from lenovo on a workaround. I mean we have sataII controllers, you would think there would be someway to get full sataII speeds out of it. Boo lenovo
     
    mullenbooger, Jan 21, 2009
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  13. yuio

    yuio NBR Assistive Tec. Tec.

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    Latter today, I am definatly going to contact them and find out. I post the response, and hope for the best.
     
    yuio, Jan 21, 2009
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  14. martinmach

    martinmach Notebook Evangelist

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    i am thinking of getting a ssd for t500. what is the best i can get for 250$?
     
    martinmach, Jan 21, 2009
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  15. yuio

    yuio NBR Assistive Tec. Tec.

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    no sure, we're trying to find out if the T500/T400 support transfer rates >120MB/s or not.

    Anyone getting through to Lenovo? I'm not.
     
    yuio, Jan 21, 2009
    #15
  16. yuio

    yuio NBR Assistive Tec. Tec.

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    I can't believe NO one here has upgraded a T400 or T500 to an SSD faster than 120MB/s.
     
    yuio, Jan 21, 2009
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  17. mullenbooger

    mullenbooger Former New York Giant

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    http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=208242&page=236

    Check out Jedisolo's comments. Looks like he's got a t400 and is getting over 200 on reads. So maybe theres hope for the t400 and newer.

    I've seen this problem mentioned elsewhere and on the lenovo boards, but theres not a lot of info out there. I mean why make a sata II controller if its just going to be sataI speeds. Stupid
     
    mullenbooger, Jan 21, 2009
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  18. AvalonXIII

    AvalonXIII Notebook Geek

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    The SATA controller depends on the chipset, and the X200s and T400/T500 use the same chipset, so I would think that it supports SATA-II transfer speed as well.
     
    AvalonXIII, Jan 21, 2009
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  19. yuio

    yuio NBR Assistive Tec. Tec.

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    what post number is that? I don't see anywhere where he has posted any benchmarks etc.

    So far it is looking good for T400/T500 support.
     
    yuio, Jan 21, 2009
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  20. jessea510

    jessea510 Notebook Consultant

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    I have a t400 with a samsung slc ssd as main and gskill 64gb mlc ssd in the ultrabay. The samsung has max of 100mb/s read and like 85 write. The gskill, im getting 150mb/s read and 90mb/s write. I have gotten close to 160mb/s read with atto. I have the t400 in AHCI in bios. therefore im pretty sure its not capped.
     
    jessea510, Jan 21, 2009
    #20
  21. yuio

    yuio NBR Assistive Tec. Tec.

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    I just saw Jedisolo's result's for his titan and it can't be capped. he achieved 218MB/s read.

    so I think it is a safe assumtion that the T500 W500 W700 also do not have capped SATA controllers. but it apears earlier thinkpads do.
     
    yuio, Jan 21, 2009
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  22. John Kotches

    John Kotches Notebook Evangelist

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    Capped or SATA 150 vs. SATA 300?
     
    John Kotches, Jan 21, 2009
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  23. yuio

    yuio NBR Assistive Tec. Tec.

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    as in,

    T500, T400 = SATA II controller @ SATA II speeds (uncapped)
    T61 = SATA II controller @SATA I speeds. (Capped)
     
    yuio, Jan 21, 2009
    #23
  24. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    We just haven't reached the point where SATA/300 is saturated. I wager that the next gen drives will though (probably max out anywhere from 240-270MB/s).
     
    sgogeta4, Jan 21, 2009
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  25. davepermen

    davepermen Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    i've read that the 240MB/s read speed the intel drives can reach is sort of the real maximum one can get on s-ata2. but then again, no clue :)
     
    davepermen, Jan 21, 2009
    #25
  26. yuio

    yuio NBR Assistive Tec. Tec.

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    soon we are going to need a new Interface or atleast as speed upgrade to exsisting SATA connectors.
     
    yuio, Jan 21, 2009
    #26
  27. sgogeta4

    sgogeta4 Notebook Nobel Laureate

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    SATA/600 is coming in soon. Just in time to compete with USB 3.0 :) Another piece of good news is FINALLY powered eSATA, the new spec is eSATAp (for powered) and it also supports 600MB/s transfers!
     
    sgogeta4, Jan 21, 2009
    #27
  28. yuio

    yuio NBR Assistive Tec. Tec.

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    decent, I can hardly wait.
     
    yuio, Jan 22, 2009
    #28