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    X220T - mSata Boot SSD + SSD for Storage?

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by oscarlucy, Sep 22, 2011.

  1. oscarlucy

    oscarlucy Notebook Enthusiast

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    Does anyone have this setup?

    I currently have the Intel 310 Series 80GB mSata as a boot drive with a WD Scorpio 500GB HDD.

    A friend of mine offered to sell his laptop's 256 GB SSD at an EXTREMELY ridiculous price (under $200) - now, I don't really NEED it, but was curious, is there any less of a battery drain with an mSata SSD + SSD combo, compared to having a mechanical HDD for storage?

    I'm tempted to run my rig without a mechanical drive, and the SSD my friend is selling is no doubt at a crazy good price, but I don't necessarily need it unless there's going to be a somewhat-noticeable amount of battery power being saved.

    Any input would be appreciated, thanks!
     
    oscarlucy, Sep 22, 2011
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  2. jashsu

    jashsu Notebook Geek

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    Why don't you just run everything off of the 256GB SSD? I have no idea what model it is, but it ought to be faster than the mSATA.
     
    jashsu, Sep 22, 2011
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  3. JohnsonDelBrat

    JohnsonDelBrat Notebook Evangelist

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    I run the 310 + 7200 combo and just spin the HDD down... so it basically uses no power. I think the question is what kind of power does your buddy's SSD use. The 310 is the constant right? You will be keeping that? So really you just need to find out the power drain on the SSD compared to the HDD. I'm guessing you probably wouldn't see much battery difference. Who knows it may be worse with the SSD instead of the HDD. When active my HDD uses ~2w... some SSD's use that much as well. But when spun down, my HDD uses nothing. I'd say stick with what you have. You said it yourself, you don't NEED it. Spend the money on beer and hookers, under 21 skip the beer.
     
    JohnsonDelBrat, Sep 22, 2011
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  4. Iucounu

    Iucounu Notebook Consultant

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    Assuming you have most of your programs on your mSATA SSD, and that you use those and the OS files more frequently than what's on your mechanical disk, you shouldn't see much battery difference. You will then be considering whether having half the storage at faster speeds is worth it to you. (I would say not, but that's me. The WD Scorpio Black 750 GB and its ilk are what will tempt me next.)
     
    Iucounu, Sep 22, 2011
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  5. thetoast

    thetoast Notebook Evangelist

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    Keep your current setup, buy your friend's SSD, flip it, and pocket the cash.

    As someone else said above, set a fairly aggressive spindown time for your HDD, and battery life will be fine.
     
    thetoast, Sep 22, 2011
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  6. oscarlucy

    oscarlucy Notebook Enthusiast

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    Thanks for the input everyone! I'll stay put for now...
     
    oscarlucy, Sep 22, 2011
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