SSDs in Thinkpads

I can't seem to find much information on the SSDs being used. All I know is that Lenovo uses Samsung drives and most likely they are SLCs. Is that true?

On the web I cannot find any reviews on the Samsung 128gb drives, only on the 64gb SLCs. Can I assume that the 128gb drives perform better than these early drives?

How do the lenovo SSDs compare to the Intel X25-M? Would it be wiser to order without SSD and buy one of these on the internet? I could live with the capacity and on ebay they go for $400 bucks.

Thanks

 

I think lenovo ships all samsungs. Some are SLC, and I think recently in some cases they moved to MLC. But they are good drives anyway. The 128gb is probably MLC

 

If you are picky about your drive (SSD or HDD), the best way is always to order it separately and install it yourself.

I believe Lenovo transistioned in full to MLC drives to reduce the price of the SSD option (the 64GB SLC Samsung still retails for $600+).

The MLC drives Lenovo is using are good, but not quite the quality of the original Samsung SLC (especially for simultaneous random writes).

The top quality (and most expensive) drives remain the Samsung SLC (also rebadged as G-Skill and OCZ), or the Intel x-25M. The Intel x-25M is currently reviewed as the best drive, and you may in fact be bottlenecked by the controller (at least on reads) as many ThinkPads only support the older SATA 1 interface (no drive before the Intel x-25M could ever justify SATA 2 [and SATA 2 draws more power]).

 

I think I might buy the drive seperately then (Intel X25-M). How hard is it to install a new drive in a Thinkpad? Can you access the hard drive from the bottom?

So the procedure would be to create the recovery CDs from the current disk, then replace the HD and put on a fresh install of vista 64 (without thinkvantage etc). Are there any tutorials on that for the T500?

 

The T61 has Sata 2 right?

 

According to this Blog Post (directly from Lenovo) about the Intel x-25M, the T61 has the older SATA 150 (AKA SATA 1), instead of the newer SATA 300 (AKA SATA 2).

Direct quote from Matt Kohut @ Lenovo:

"Technically adept readers are probably yelling at their screens saying that this isn’t a fair test. I’m clearly pulling a spark plug wire on a 5.0L Mercedes and then taking it to a drag race. For those that have no idea of what I’m talking about, my T61 has an older SATA 150 interface. The Intel drive is capable of newer SATA 300 speeds. In my T61, I’m not giving the drive enough bandwidth to truly give it a workout."

That being said, performance will still be very good (far better than a 7200RPM HDD), you just won't get the absolute fastest sequential read speeds.

 

The Samsung 128GB is MLC for sure. I don't think they have any more 64GB SLC, last time I checked the 64GB were MLC. Hopefully they can get the new 256GB MLC SSDs from Samsung in (which increases the sequential R/W speeds from 90/70 to 220/200 MB/s!)

 

1 Lenovo changed to the MLC's because of the cost to the end user. They just don't advertise what type the SSD is, which led to a lot of confusion and disappointment when they actually switched over. The x301 however seems to have kept the 1.8 Samsung SLC drive. It's annoying, but its a case of knowing that msot customers were not going to pay for the massive upgrade. Also I imagine that it allows a more logical price comparison between a 64 GB and 128GB option (the 128GB would have been cheaper). Incidently I think they only offered the 64 GB SSD before the switch, they used the switch to debute the 128GB.

2. Apparently the T61 has a SATA 2 interface that Lenovo emasculated in order to save power (or money for them). It basically is SATA1. The T4/500's have a new Frankensteined SATA 2 controller that performs nearly as fast as a standards compliant one, but it's still not quite SATA 2.

3. Samsung, and as far as I know everyone else, have not created SLC drives larger than 64 GB. Too expensive. The Samsung MLC's are fine, but the Intel is faster than them. (granted the Samsungs still maintain some of the best power consumption numbers)

 

I own x300 carries MLC drive

I think it's not a bad SSD, but I'm going to upgrade to sandisk G3 due to the limited to this dirve. ( some software used to be freeze caused by this drive, because it's designed by samsung )

 

are u sure abt that? 64G sumsung SSD with MLC?

 

When I ordered my X200, I got the following Part#:
44C5212 SBB 64GB SOL.ST,DRIVE,SER.ATA

Since I ordered during the SSD sale, I was worried I was going to get an MLC. One of the first things I did was check the hard drive through Device Manager: MCCOE64G8MPP-0VA

It turns out I got an SLC!

 

Interesting; maybe you got lucky.

 

What about the X200 Tablet?? Does it come with the slower one or faster one?

 

According to post 5 in this thread, the x200 does have a SATA 300 interface.

The user put a Intel x25-M in his x200, it reported as 3gpbs (as it should) and observed read speeds of ≈200 MB/s. Conversely, the x61 tops out at 98 MB/s (this is still very good).

The x200, x200s, and x200 Tablet should all use identical controllers (and it would appear to be the faster one).

 

Have you had any problems with yours? How are you liking it so far?

 

I don't have an SSD (only a 320GB 5400RPM drive at the moment), but I love the x200 Tablet and don't have any problems with it.