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    Clevo X7200/Sager NP7280 SATA III Question

    Discussion in 'Sager and Clevo' started by mrjoezobud, Nov 23, 2011.

  1. mrjoezobud

    mrjoezobud Newbie

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    Hi everyone! I've been a long time lurker and you fine people here at notebookreview has helped me decide to buy my first ever laptop more than a year ago. I have a Sager NP7280 that I've bought a few months after it was just released.

    I was planning to buy a new SSD but from what I understand and have read, I can only have SATA II speeds max. for my laptop? I see the customizers from all the Sager resellers that they have SATA III SSD's for the x7200. Is there something different with the "newer" NP7280's than mine? Could I do anything so that I could use SATA III speeds?

    I am not a hardware expert and would greatly appreciate any help. :)
     
    mrjoezobud, Nov 23, 2011
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  2. jclausius

    jclausius Notebook Virtuoso

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    mrjoezobud,

    Your NP7280 comes with a hardware controller supporting SATA II (3.0 Gpbs) devices. It just so happens that a SATA III (6.0 Gpbs) device will drop to SATA II if it cannot negotiate with a SATA III controller. There's nothing you can do to make this faster except to replace the controller, which would mean a new laptop.

    With that said, my guess is most resellers will use mostly what they have in stock. As SATA II is a bit more older, they most likely have used those up and are dipping into their SATA III inventory.

    So, if you are looking for a new SSD, you really don't need to worry about either SATA II vs. SATA III. Instead look at reliability - Crucial / Intel are at the top of the list, price, and req'd disk size. For example, while the C400/M4 is the latest SSD from Crucial, if you find a better price on the C300 (for the same size), then that is where your money is best spent.

    Also, pay attention to the details of the SSD drive. Research the drive for reviews and other material (benchmarks, etc.). Pay particular attention to the drive's control board. There have been numerous reports of SSD drive failures using the SandForce controller. You may want to be wary if you start looking at a drive with one of these drives.

    Finally, if you get stuck, you can always search this forum or post a new question.

    Good Luck.
     
    jclausius, Nov 23, 2011
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  3. mrjoezobud

    mrjoezobud Newbie

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    Thanks jclausius, will do just that.
     
    mrjoezobud, Nov 23, 2011
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