x230t with 512gb ssd?

i'm very close to buying this so i'm consulting everyone;

Amazon.com: SAMSUNG 830 Series 2.5-Inch 256GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-7PC256B/WW: Computers & Accessories

512gb for $543.46

is this a good buy?

additional questions;

question
any videos of anyone getting a 9mm ssd to fit x230t?
should i attempt fitting a 9mm or get this 7mm?
is a 9mm better and can it hold more?
will the ultrabase series 3 or battery slice fit after it?

question
if i wanted to add a second ssd to the ultrabase series 3;
amazon dot com/Thinkpad-Sata-HD-Bay-Adapter/dp/B002HKFE2K/
would that work with the thinkpad x230t?

also is this a good sata to usb? links to better ones?
Newegg.com - Vantec 2.5"/3.5"/5.25" SATA/IDE to USB 2.0 Adapter - Model CB-ISATAU2

everyone thank you very much

 

You can fit a 9.5mm drive in the X230, but must leave off the bumpers and modify the case, which may have consequences for your warranty. I think from a cost perspective, a better solution may be to pick up a smaller mSATA SSD that plugs into the miniPCI slot under the palm rest and the getting the 500GB 5k500 platter drive when purchasing the X230. mSATA go up to 256GB and this benefit of this is you have a SSD for the boot drive, which gets you speed, but a larger platter based drive for storage where performance is not as important. I have this setup on my X220i. It's quite slick.

 

If I remember correctly the Samsung 830 Series should be 7mm thick. It's currently the best choice for ThinkPad laptops. The Intel 520/330 are using SandForce controllers with some BSOD problems (see newegg). The Plextor M3/M5 are also good but they are mostly 9.5mm thick.

 

i'm sorry. minipci slot? whats that used for?
thinkwiki doesn't list x230t as a model that has it
but thinkwiki may be out of date
is that where the modem card goes or something?

that and intel 520 seems to only be 120gb
lenovo's site had an intel ssd and said its 160gb..
x230t is.. 160gb or 180gb?
plextor seems to go up to 480gb and not sure if thats 7mm

these ssd's also go up to 512gb
Amazon.com: Crucial 512 GB m4 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SATA 6Gb/s CT512M4SSD2: Computers & Accessories
Amazon.com: OCZ Technology 256GB Vertex 4 Series SATA 6.0 GB/s 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive (SSD) With Industry's Highest 120K IOPS And 5-Year Warranty - VTX4-25SAT3-256G: Computers & Accessories
but again not sure if its 7mm thick

after waiting a day i was hoping for more responses
i dont wanna modify the case or void my 4 year warranty
so i guess i'll go forward and get the samsung 7mm ssd
so thank you very much for responding

 

Most thinkpads, including yours have a mini PCI-E slot that can house a WWAN Card but can even house a mSATA SSD. mSATA SSDs have the same benefits of the more common SSDs but a much smaller form factor allowing you to have a SSD for your OS while keeping your traditional HDD for storage thus saving money versus buying a similar sized SSD. The drawback with using mSATA SSD is you're not gonna get the SATA 3 speeds you'd see if you used replaced the traditional HDD with a 2.5" SSD since the mSATA SSD is connected with SATA 2. The speed is still much faster than what you'd see with a traditional HDD. By installing a mSATA you would not be voiding your warranty. Unless you really need all that storage in a SSD that most practical option is to get a mSATA SSD and keep your HDD for storage thus providing speed and storage at an affordable price.

Lenovo ThinkPad X220 Upgrade Guide | StorageReview.com - Storage Reviews

 

How do you make the mSata a boot drive? Do you clone the msata drive from the main hard drive? Thanks.

 

i see
thank you very much for your detailed explanation
but i have the 180gb ssd already so probably getitng this
still your solution saves money so thank you very much

i'm not an expert on this but,
..f1 to access the bios and choose what drive boots first??