T410 - order stanard HDD and replace with SSD?

I'm thinking of ordering a T410, but I want an 80g Intel solid state drive as the primary drive. If I order the T410 with the cheapest option (250g HDD, 5400 RPM), will I be able to order the Intel 80g SSD myself and just pop it in? Or is there more to it than that?

Ideally I'm going to slap in an 80g SSD for the primary drive and a 500g 7200 RPM in the ultrabay. I can do it cheaper by ordering both drives separately than from Lenovo.

The Intel 80g SSD I'm looking at says: Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 4.3 x 0.9 inches. Is that right (yes, it's 2.5" form factor)?

 

You can put a 2.5" SSD in and replace the HDD, yes.

 

You can look at its model to know which size is it. With Intel SSD:

X-25 E/M/V G1/2 means 2.5" form factor.

E = Enthusiast
M = Mainstream
V = Value

G means generation. G2 is newer and smaller NAND technology.

X-18 means 1.8" form factor.

 

If you haven't ordered the 500GB yet, why not consider getting the T410 with one, and then use in the Ultrabay. Saves a purchase.

 

This is exactly what I did when I purchased my T410. The 80GB Intel X25-M fits perfectly in the main HDD bay. I have a Hitachi Travelstar 7K500 in the Ultrabay. I sold the original 250GB HDD that came with the T410. This ended up being the cheaper option compared to ordering the T410 with a 500GB 7200RPM drive.

 

If you do not need alot of space, just buy the v series. The only difference between that and the M series is the size. The R/W speed is just marginally slower in benchmark, but not a lot of difference in real world use.

 

Is the difference between the two really that negligible? From a few things I've read it seems that the V is pretty significantly slower. http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/255206-32-80gb-40gb-raid

I'm also looking into getting an SSD and placing the original HDD in the ultrabay. It sounds like the X25 are the best way to go, but are there any other drives out there that are a bit cheaper but also pretty quick? I wouldn't need much drive space, about 32 or 40gb would do just fine.

 

You're right. When I was typing my original post I was pricing the 500g through Lenovo VS the 320g 7200 through newegg/amazon/etc. I planned to purchase a 320, not a 500. The price would be about the same either way - so yes, I would order the 320 from Lenovo. Good point.


Edit:
Actually, it'd cost $63 extra to get the 320g 7200 RPM drive (instead of the 250g, 5400). The 320g 7200 RPM WD Scorpio Black is only $68 through Amazon, so for only $4 you can have both the 250g 5400 RPM and the 320g 7200 RPM. I could use the 250g for backups here and there.

 

Well, if you think >30% is marginally...
http://www.anandtech.com/show/2968/...30gb-ssdnow-v-series-battle-of-the-125-ssds/5

 

Unfortunately, I need a lot of space. I don't even like going with 80g for my main drive, but it should be sufficient. 40g wouldn't cut it.

 

@TinyRK
But you still wont notice the difference in real world use.

 

Right away? I had to remove the black plastic spacer on top of the X-25M otherwise it wouldn't plug in completely. Stupidly, removing it opens the top metal lid as well, which can't be fixed with the long screws holding the plastic piece. It would be really annoying if I didn't happen to have fitting screws from the HDD casing I bought at the same time.

Nobody else had this problem?

 

Are you sure? The black spacer makes the X-25M the same height as a standard 2.5" hard drive, so it should fit snuggly with the spacer on.

When installing my 80GB X-25M G2 in my T500, I removed the hard drive, took off the rubber rails, unscrewed the thin metal caddy (the one with the pull tab to pull out the drive), screwed it onto the SSD, and then capped on the two rubber rails again. Fit tightly in my T500's hard drive bay.

 

I also did the same with my T410 (same SSD too), and it fit perfectly. ^ ^

 

The 80GB Intel X25-M fit perfectly in my T410 without having to remove the black spacer just like MidnightSun described.

 

Yeah I'm sure. Surprised that everyone else didn't have to though.

The spacer occupies the whole length of the SSD while the HDDs have a small step at the connector (see the attachment for the HDD, I'm not gonna take out my SSD now)

edit: the issues bugged me enough so I opened the compartment and discovered the reason: I have a small pin right above the connector (see attachment, red arrow). You guys obviously don't... really strange...

 

I'm starting to think that Lenovo is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get until you open it.

 

E doesn't mean Enthusiast, it means Enterprise

 

just got a T410 w/500gb option, very interested in this upgrade, thanks for the information so far
2 questions, 1 sub question
1- did you just install the SSD with the lenovo-partition-discs?
sub-question - if I do a Windows 7 backup to an external drive, I presume I can restore to the SSD with that? (then I would reformat my 500gb drive)
2- is there a power usage difference having the 500gb drive in the ultrabay? can I set it up to powerdown all the time until I need it? maybe this is automatic..

 

1. Can't help you with that. I bought mine without the Lenovo preload so no recovery stuff etc, did a clean install. I assume it would work as you described...

2. I'm using a 320GB drive in the ultrabay. I haven't done any measures in power usage and expect it to be negligible. I do have set it to power down after a while when on battery, but usually it goes right back up because I use it all the time. I don't think 10min extra runtime (or whatever the impact) is worth the hassle (worrying about the "optimum usage" and waiting for the platter to spin up every time you need some data).