420 Ssd

I am looking at the 420 with a SSD. I spoke to a lenovo rep and he could not give a model number for the 128 G sad. Does anyone have that info and is it worth getting that option?

 

The FRUs for the 128GB drives are 45N7995, 45N8007 and 45N7981. It's all in the HMM.

 

You are better off buying your own SSD, Lenovo's SSD markups are insane and unjustified. 128gb SSDs can be found for about $175 if you hunt around.

 

+ 1 on getting your own SSD's they are very easy to do it yourself (trust me I am not a computer hardware person) also I personally love the Intel X-18/ X-25 product line.... (we have had a few OCZ's fail on us)

 

Thanks for the advice. The only problem I would have is once it is installed how do I format and put on the software (windows). Also how would that affect the warranty?

 

You don't need to format it, just installs things like any other HDD. It's very easy to set up and it won't affect warranty, though some users like to put back the original HDD into the notebook (I've found it unnecessary) when returning for repair.

 

Lenovo will be upgrading its SSDs.

It looks like they will be updating the Intel 160GB SSD (the X25-M) to the new 320 series. It won't happen immediately, but soon. In short:

Right now, T420's are getting the X-25 series SSDs (Lenovo Model: 43N3435).
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=MIGR-75702

They will, however, eventually update the T420's to have the Intel 320 series SSDs (Lenovo Model: 0A33983)
Lenovo Support - ThinkPad 160GB 2.5" Intel X25-M Solid State Drive II - Overview

Currently it looks like Lenovo's Intel 320 page is not updated. I did however get confirmation from a Lenovo rep to expect them in a few weeks.

The 320 series is definitely a step up.

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Lenovo will also be updating its 128GB SSD as well. Currently it is the 'ThinkPad 128GB Solid State Drive' (Model Number: 43N3406)
Lenovo Support - ThinkPad 128GB Solid State Drive - Overview

It will however be updated to '128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive II' (Model Number: 0A33984)
(The website has been up and down, although the German one is up. The 128GB SSD will have greatly improved read/write speeds. I saw 250mb/s read and 170mb/s write a few days ago.)

If you can get a student discount on the SSDs, they are a very good price, otherwise buy it from newegg

-david

 

David,

Thanks for the info and I will wait a couple of weeks. Do you know of any other upgrades for the T420 coming out soon.

Rob

 

David: How will we know when Lenovo updates its Intel 160 SSDs? Will it show up in the CTO options as Intel 160 II. I don't think they give the Lenovo Model (0A33983) on the CTO SSD options.

Thanks

 

Lenovo uses all new Toshiba HG3 as their 128gb selection. I heard it is comparable to Samsung 470. I have the drive somewhere in my storage, but too lazy to find it and install it.

 

Rob, I would stagger a guess that there will be very few other internal upgrades to the line. An SSD is a simple replacement, anything else though is pretty tough to do without reengineering the product

The rep I spoke with simply said they would be the default drive when Intel ramps up production. If you check out the tabook ( http://www.lenovo.com/psref/pdf/tabook.pdf), it lists the 0A33983 as the default SSD. I would suggest chatting with a rep in a couple of weeks, and asking if they've made the switch by then. It makes sense for Lenovo to upgrade it sooner rather than later. The 320 series is a good 30% - 40% cheaper than the X-25M in bulk quantities.

Cheers,
David

 

Thanks David

 

Hello, new to the forums. Just got a T420 and added Lenovo's 128GB SSD II. The model I got was:

Lenovo PN (as ordered from PCConnection): 0A33984
Lenovo PN on the acutal SSD: 45N8076

It turned out to be a Samsung MZ7PA128HMCD-010L1.

I can't find any information on this drive. But made recovery disks from stock 500G drive and the SSD recovered without issues.

Mark

 

Mark,

How much was the SSD option?

 

Roz, $315. Its a company laptop and IS wanted the SSD to be covered under warranty otherwise I was going to buy an Intel SSD. Here's the link:

PC Connection - Detail