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    Which Thinkpad supports SATA III SSD?

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by MDDZ, Jan 11, 2012.

  1. MDDZ

    MDDZ Notebook Deity

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    Sorry if this question is silly or so obvious to you.

    Cheers.
     
  2. Tsunade_Hime

    Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow

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    All Sandy Bridge ThinkPads (_X20 series) should all support SATA 3 SSDS @ SATA 3 speeds. Otherwise all SATA ThinkPads will support a SATA 3 SSD but not run @ SATA 3.
     
  3. MDDZ

    MDDZ Notebook Deity

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    Does T520 support SATA 3? I googled and notice some talks about T420 and T520 are Sandy Bridge related.

    Thanks!
     
  4. Tsunade_Hime

    Tsunade_Hime such bacon. wow

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    Yes T520 houses Sandy Bridge processors and can utilize SATA 3 speeds offered by SATA 3 SSDs.
     
  5. MDDZ

    MDDZ Notebook Deity

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    Thank you so much for your confirmation. Here is my situation, I would like to hear your assessment regarding whether I can benefit from SATA 3 SSD and the follow configuration.

    I am going to have a T520 (64-bit Win7 Pro), SATA 3 SSD, and a 500GB disk in ultrabay (I will take out the DVDRW device). SSD will be my primary disk for system boot. I will also put all software on SSD. I am going to put data (job related, database, family multimedia, etc) on the 500GB disk.

    Do you recommend a clean re-install of Win7 on T520 first? When re-install, can I re-use the product key coming with the computer? (I never done clean install on a new Thinkpad).

    Cheers!
     
  6. ZaZ

    ZaZ Super Model Super Moderator

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    Unless you copy and paste files all day, there's little practical difference between SATA II and III. The real benefit of SSDs is the near instantaneous seek times. Since both are .1ms, you're unlikely to notice a difference.

    I like a clean install, but it is more time consuming. Yes, you can use the key on your machine for either x86 or x64. I would do the install, but don't activate it until after it's finished. You can't use the recovery media for the clean install, but you can download a disc in the Windows forum.
     
  7. MDDZ

    MDDZ Notebook Deity

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    ZaZ, good to hear you again! Thanks for the install tip.

    Tsunade_Hime, thanks for all your input!

    I am a happy laptop user since I switched to Thinkpad a few years ago.

    I am a happy Thinkpad user because of you folks!

    All the best.