Questions about mSATA + HDD on my new X230T

Hello,

This is my first post here. I ordered a X230T that should arrived in the next few days. This will be my very first Lenovo product, and my first Tablet PC as well. I'll have a 500GB 7200 RPM HD but I'd like to add a mSATA drive to make it the main (boot) drive and keep the 500 GB one to store stuff.

What would be the best suggestions for mSATA drives? I'd like to get at least a 256 GB one ( I think 512 GB ones are not available yet?). What are the best brands? I'm in Canada, so if some have links from Canadian online stores, that would be cool.

Is it complicated to install that mSATA drive?

If a system has 2 drives (one mSATA and one HDD), does it influence the battery? Will I get less battery life?

 

Intel, Crucial, and MyDigitalDiscount sell mSATA drives and I'd take a look at them. MyDigitalDiscount has a NBR Resellers account here, so you can PM them to ask any questions if you like.

Installing a mSATA drive is pretty easy, akin to installing a RAM stick. Just slide it in, push flat, and (iirc) screw it in. This thread might be of help to you.

Any electrical component in a computer will consume energy, so the mSATA will have an effect on battery life. However, this is a very, very small effect; maybe a few minutes or so. Practically, there's no effect on overall battery life.

 

Thankd for the reply and the link to the thread.

I checked out MyDigitalDiscount. As for 256 GB, would the MyDigitalSSD 256GB BP3 Bullet Proof 3 mSATA III (6G) MDMS-BP3-256 and the Crucial 256GB M4 Internal SATA III (6G) MLC mSATA - CT256M4SSD3 be both great picks?

I found the Crucial 256 GB in a local online store: Crucial M4 256GB Mini SATA 6.0 SSD CT256M4SSD3 PCCZONE.COM Canada - Acheter au meilleur prix.

So, 512 GB mSATA drives don't exist yet? 256 GB being the bigger ones?

Thanks.

 

256GB is the current limit, as far as I see. Maybe in the future we'l have 512GB mSATA drives, though you'll have to wait for NAND technology to develop enough to allow that capacity on the small device.

Both are great picks. I'd get whichever is less expensive.

 

I believe the biggest mSATA right now is that 480GB by Mushkin. Even then I'm not 100% sure you can actually buy one yet.

EDIT: Shipping in January: http://www.engadget.com/2012/12/06/mushkin-480gb-msata-ssd-500-jan/

 

Another question:
My X230T will come with a 500GB HD, then I'll add that new mSATA 256 GB drive, so will I be able to clone the original OS from the HD, transfer the image to the mSATA drive (with Acronis or other similar app) and then change the mSATA as primary drive in the BIOS? Then reboot. Could it be as simple as that?

Also, my goal is to install Windows 8 pretty quickly on my machine. I'm planning to buy the $14.99 upgrade from Microsoft. I read that some devices/apps have to be uninstalled on Win 7 prior to install Win 8. I'll do that. Yesterday, I went to Lenovo's site and downloaded all Windows 8 drivers available for the X230T. So, I suppose that doing all of this, the upgrade process should go smoothly?

Thanks.

 

As simple as that.

 

I just ordered the Crucial 256GB mSATA. Can't wait to receive it and the X230T!

 

Let us know how it goes

 

Will surely do!

 

Not sure what brands have 256GB, but Crucial makes a 128GB one. For most person's boot drive, 128GB should be sufficient. My 80GB works great though I admittedly would get 128GB if given the choice today.

No, the mSATA is not complicated to install. I literally had almost zero experience with installing anything but RAM into a computer, and I got everything up and running within a few hours. For the x220, I listed out steps for myself on the x220 owner's thread on page 209, comment no. 2082. Maybe one step is not correct, but it should be pretty clear once you do the installation. The videos that Lenovo posts are also very helpful.

I actually think you get slightly better battery life with the mSata because the HDD is not spinning as often. I may be wrong, however. Regardless, I was pretty happy with my battery life afterwards. I was getting about 10-plus hours of decent use on a 9-cell with no touch screen.

 

I checked out the steps in the post you mentioned. It should go well.

Like I mentioned earlier, I ordered the Crucial 256 GB mSATA SSD, that'll become my main drive with the OS. And the 500 GB 7200 RPM HD will serve as storage. Hopefully, the computer and the mSATA will come in next week so I have time to tune it during the Holidays...