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    T430s - RAID SSD?

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by navik_pathak, Dec 1, 2012.

  1. navik_pathak

    navik_pathak Notebook Enthusiast

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    Hi All,

    I will be getting my new T430s next week with following Spec


    HTML: 
    Processor : Intel Core i7-3520M on MB

Operating system: Windows 7 Professional 64

Total memory: 4 GB PC3-12800 DDR3 (1 DIMM)

Hard drive: 320GB HDD 7200rpm

Optical device: DVD Recordable, UBS w/SWR

Battery: 6cell LI Battery T81+

Bluetooth: Bluetooth 4.0 w/ antenna

WiFi wireless LAN adapters: Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300
    I already bought 16GB RAM and i am planning to put in SSD and wanted help with that.



    1) What SSD should i be buying? I want high performance and long lasting?

    2) Is it possible to do RAID in t430s with SSD?



    Thanks in advance

    Prashant
     
    navik_pathak, Dec 1, 2012
    #1
  2. Kaso

    Kaso Notebook Virtuoso

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    If you still can get Samsung 830, get one. If not, get the new Samsung 840 Pro. Be willing to pay for what you want.
     
    Kaso, Dec 1, 2012
    #2
  3. Thors.Hammer

    Thors.Hammer Notebook Enthusiast

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    No, you cannot RAID drives in the T430s. The only possible way I can think of is to remove the 4-1 multicard reader from the 34mm ExpressCard slot and use a third part RAID card in that slot. You would have to use an external enclosure.
     
    Thors.Hammer, Dec 1, 2012
    #3
  4. Kaso

    Kaso Notebook Virtuoso

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    ... another possible way is to CTO a W530 with RAID enabled.

    RAID two SSDs? Hmm...
     
    Kaso, Dec 1, 2012
    #4
  5. navik_pathak

    navik_pathak Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thanks Guys..got it..

    Samsung 830 256gb i have too many option...can you guys please shed some light if you can on which one to buy

    SAMSUNG 830 Series 2.5-Inch 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7PC256B/WW
    Samsung 830 - Series MZ-7PC256N/AM 256 GB 2.5 Inch SATA III MLC Internal SSD Laptop Kit with Norton Ghost 15
    SAMSUNG 830 Series 2.5-Inch 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7PC256B/WW
     
    navik_pathak, Dec 2, 2012
    #5
  6. Kaso

    Kaso Notebook Virtuoso

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    It depends on what you need.

    First link points to a Samsung 830 256GB.
    Second link points to a Samsung 830 256GB with upgrade kit.
    Third link points to a Samsung 830 512GB.

    Those are not "options" for a single set of requirements. You cannot "compare" them.

    If you already have the hardware and software tools to do cloning from stock HDD to new SSD, you can skip the upgrade kit. Other than that, go with the size you need/want/desire/assume.
     
    Kaso, Dec 2, 2012
    #6
  7. Thors.Hammer

    Thors.Hammer Notebook Enthusiast

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    I would also recommend shopping for price. The 256GB drives you linked to on amazon seem high to me. See newegg.com for a comparison.
     
    Thors.Hammer, Dec 2, 2012
    #7
  8. OtherSongs

    OtherSongs Notebook Evangelist

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    Agreed with what you said (above).

    Amazon 3rd party sellers are all over the map; keep your eye on the number that actually sell the product that is listed. A bigger number of sellers generally means realistic current pricing.

    And while I sometimes buy from Newegg, more often I buy from Amazon.

    And with regard to Samsung 830/840 SSD units, I suggest you see: "Update on Samsung SSD 840/840 Pro Failures" on 11/28/2012 at: AnandTech - Update on Samsung SSD 840/840 Pro Failures

    A 256GB 2.5" Crucial M4 SSD at Amazon at $195 looks the better deal to me.
     
    OtherSongs, Dec 2, 2012
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  9. jumico

    jumico Newbie

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    Why wouldn't software raid work on a laptop? Just curious.
     
    jumico, Dec 2, 2012
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  10. navik_pathak

    navik_pathak Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thanks all.. I will now start my bargain hunt...look for deals in XMAS..i am not in hurry at all
     
    navik_pathak, Dec 3, 2012
    #10
  11. power7

    power7 Notebook Evangelist

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    It would. But the added pain-in-the-neck and dependency on OS to do the right thing (and not BSOD at some particularly unfortunate moment) usually makes the exercise pointless and the system less reliable than w/o RAID.

    Actually, benchmarks aside, it's really hard to find a good use case even for hardware RAID on a modern laptop. All SSDs are already RAID-0 with super-smart controller under the hood, and laptop CPUs are just too underpowered to do anything useful even with 400-500MB/sec data stream that a single SATA III SSD can deliver. Probably setup like mSATA boot SSD + 2x 1TB mechanical drives in RAID-0 would make some marginal sense, for some users who need 2TB+ of storage inside the laptop.
     
    power7, Dec 3, 2012
    #11
  12. Burz

    Burz Notebook Enthusiast

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    I have seen benchmarks where RAID0 boosted sequential reads to over 1GB/sec. It doesn't really help random access times though.

    IIRC the Express card slot is too slow to keep up with a RAID0 SSD at those speeds. It would be better and easier to use a single SATA III connection with a drive like the Samsung 840 Pro or the OCZ Vector. That should give you a solid 500MB/sec read and write.

    Sony turned some heads with their built-in RAID SSD configurations, but from what I can tell, they started that a little while ago when the drives were about half as fast as they are now. I haven't seen any benchmarks lately that put a Sony laptop RAID SSD much above 500MB/sec.
     
    Burz, Jan 23, 2013
    #12