Ordering Y500 from Lenovo, want to upgrade SSD

Can some recommend (ideally provide a link) to a 240GB ssd for the Y500.

I found two on amazon, they are both ssd, but different so I want to make sure I get the right one.

Amazon.com: MyDigitalSSD 50mm Bullet Proof 4 BP4 50mm mSATA Solid State Drive SSD SATA III 6G (240GB): Computers & Accessories


Amazon.com: MyDigitalSSD 240GB BP4 2.5 Inch Slim 7mm SATA 6G Solid State Drive (240GB)(256GB): Computers & Accessories

 

They are both compatable but they fit in different slots. An msata SSD would replace the 16GB cache but you can use it as a primary hard drive with some tweaks.

I think the most popular msata SSD is this one:

Amazon.com: Crucial m4 256GB mSATA Internal Solid State Drive CT256M4SSD3: Computers & Accessories.

The second one is a full 2.5 inch SSD which would replace the 1TB that the computer came with. I replaced mine with this one:

Amazon.com: Samsung Electronics 840 Pro Series 2.5-Inch 256 GB SATA 6GB/s Solid State Drive MZ-7PD256BW: Electronics

 

The "simple" answer is to just buy a Samsung 840 256GB SSD, and be done with it.
http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-MZ-7T...=1366544113&sr=1-1&keywords=samsung+840+256gb

The Samsung 840 series SSD is currently favored by computer enthusiasts, because of its relatively high performance and affordable cost-per-GB of storage. You can find cheaper drives that are 240GB / 256GB capacity, but those drives tend to use older storage controller hardware that has lower performance than a Samsung 840.

I've been using SSDs for the past 4 years. I recently bought a Lenovo Y500, and the first thing I did was put a Samsung 840 512GB drive in there.

 

You can grab a Samsung 840 250GB SSD for $164.99 @ Newegg, Best Buy or Future Shop. Best value IMO.

 

I agree with Sundin.

The original link to Amazon.com that I had posted showed the INCORRECT (higher) price for the Samsung 840 PRO model. The correct item you want is the Samsung 840 NON-PRO 256GB SSD beign sold for about $170.
Amazon.com: Samsung MZ-7TD250BW 840 Series Solid State Drive (SSD) 250 GB Sata 2.5-Inch: Electronics

My previous post has also been updated with thsi information.

 

Hi Kent,

You seem really experienced. So I would like to get some advice from you. Since I planned to changed the 16gb msata cache instead of the 1tb hdd, do you have any good yet affordable msata sdd (like the samsung 840) to recommend? This is because I would like to run os and main programs from the sdd but still keep the 1tb hdd as storage. considering samsung 840 only fits in the sata slot, I would need to find alternate ssd.

 

Yes. For that situation, get a Crucial M4 256GB mSATA drive for about $190 ( link). You are correct, that using the mSATA drive slot for SSD storage, and using the 2.5" SATA drive slot for "bulk media" storage on a 1TB 5400rpm mechanical HDD is the most efficient way to get SSD-performance, but still retain low cost of mass bulk storage. That is what I am doing today.

 

can you fit a 7mm SSD ?

 

what does the 16gb ssd that comes with the laptop do?

 

Buy the plextor m5m 256gb...
16gb ssd is a cache drive which stores boot up and essential drivers.. makes the boot up nearly instant.. Getting the plextor won't affect boot up much, but can be used as the primary storage device which would affect any program put on it (fast as can be)

 

Its also worth looking into crucial's new m500 line up of ssd's. Will provide a link below. Their 2.5 inch ssd goes up to 960gb at a going rate of $599.99, now I know that's a lot of money but compare to ssd's before this they were gong for $1000-$2000 range just for a ssd in that storge range. Their msata only goes up to 480gb and that's more then enough for a msata drive. The only problem is getting your hands on one. Crucial.com - Crucial M500 SSD

 

Plextor M5M is the fastest mSATA around that's the only reason I endorsed it

 

True, not all ssd's were created equally but crucial has a good history and if my memory serves me right Samsung has the best msata ssd's but their not being sold on a consumer level. With that being said do you think people are really going to notice that little difference in what they offer. Maybe you would but I think others would not. What I wanted to do was buy a crucial m4 256gb msata (being my boot drive) and a Samsung pro 840 512gb sata (for programs) and that would be my drive setup with a external drive for media file's and such, but with the new m500 line up, theres much more to do with above average performance and a hell of a lot more space.

 

A few reviews of the M500


Crucial M500 480GB Solid-State Drive Review - Crucial Goes Large With The M500 - Legit Reviews

AnandTech | The Crucial/Micron M500 Review (960GB, 480GB, 240GB, 120GB)

 

problem about m500 ssd

Only 480 GB and 960GB are the better side

128gb-256gb are lower end version of M4 aka V4

 

Like I said their the average to above average performance class of the ssd world, they are also replacing the m4 class. With all this adding the large capacity, it makes them ideal. Yes if you want a dedicated msata drive or what ever with more performance then there are others out there, but as any expert will tell you, in real world application of these drives you wont notice the difference in the m500 compare to others that have better performance stats. Yes on the lower end of the ssd scale you probably would but that's not the case with the m500.