Take a look at our
ThinkPads.com HOME PAGE
For those who might want to contribute to the blog, start here: Editors Alley Topic
Then contact Bill with a Private Message

mSata for W530

W530/W540/W541/W550 Series
Post Reply
Message
Author
indicium
Freshman Member
Posts: 101
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2008 5:54 pm
Location: atlanta ga

mSata for W530

#1 Post by indicium » Wed Mar 19, 2014 10:58 am

What's the general consensus on brands for a mSata SSD for the W530. I will be using it for Express Cache, paging files and most likely temporary internet files. I'm looking at 120 or 128 GB.

thanks

jcvjcvjcvjcv
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts: 754
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2007 8:42 pm
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Re: mSata for W530

#2 Post by jcvjcvjcvjcv » Thu Mar 27, 2014 10:24 pm

I don't think there is any general consensus.

My personal consensus is:
1) avoid anything and everything Samsung.
2) Slightly biggers SSD's are faster and cheaper per GB, so just get 256 / 512 GB and use it as main drive for OS and programs. Use HDD for bulk storage. Don't bother with separate caching drive.
W520
T61

ajkula66
SuperUserGeorge
SuperUserGeorge
Posts: 17303
Joined: Sun Feb 25, 2007 11:28 am
Location: Belgrade, Serbia

Re: mSata for W530

#3 Post by ajkula66 » Thu Mar 27, 2014 11:43 pm

jcvjcvjcvjcv wrote: Don't bother with separate caching drive.
+ 1.
...Knowledge is a deadly friend when no one sets the rules...(King Crimson)

Cheers,

George (your grouchy retired FlexView farmer)

One FlexView to rule them all: A31p

Abused daily: T520, X200s


PMs requesting personal tech support will be ignored.

indicium
Freshman Member
Posts: 101
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2008 5:54 pm
Location: atlanta ga

Re: mSata for W530

#4 Post by indicium » Sat Mar 29, 2014 11:22 am

What's wrong with Samsung SSD's?

jcvjcvjcvjcv
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts: 754
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2007 8:42 pm
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Re: mSata for W530

#5 Post by jcvjcvjcvjcv » Sat Mar 29, 2014 6:38 pm

That they are made by Samsung, d'uh. As far as I can see Samsung uses the cheapest stuff they can get away with. Their monitors had huge inputlag, their HDD's sucked at everything but sequential read, their videocard RAM seems to fail a whole lot more often, etc. etc.
W520
T61

jonashendrickx
Posts: 33
Joined: Tue May 13, 2014 2:57 pm
Location: Tienen, Belgium
Contact:

Re: mSata for W530

#6 Post by jonashendrickx » Wed May 14, 2014 1:45 am

Separate caching drive is barely going to make a difference. The mSATA slot is limited to SATAII speeds.

Don't waste the money and grab a Samsung 840 Evo of 500GB. Even at the current usage levels, my Samsung 840 Evo will outlive me.

For SSD brands I only trust Intel (which is slightly slower but most reliable) and Samsung. Crucial is good too, but the write speeds are quite bad. But they don't cost a lot.
Lenovo Insider
Microsoft MVP - Windows Consumer Expert
Co-Founder at ThinkScopes
ThinkPad Fanatic

jcvjcvjcvjcv
Senior Member
Senior Member
Posts: 754
Joined: Tue Jun 26, 2007 8:42 pm
Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Re: mSata for W530

#7 Post by jcvjcvjcvjcv » Wed May 14, 2014 4:01 am

Write speed doesn't matter nearly as much as read speeds. Also: you can buffer and wait w/o problems with lower write speeds.
W520
T61

indicium
Freshman Member
Posts: 101
Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2008 5:54 pm
Location: atlanta ga

Re: mSata for W530

#8 Post by indicium » Wed May 14, 2014 5:48 pm

I installed a mSata, setup Express Cache and added 16 GB (2x8) Ram and reduced the boot time from 42 seconds to 27 seconds and application loading and run to 12 seconds or less. I also added a 2nd HGST 1 TB HDD and am happy with this configuration. I intend to add another 16 GB Ram in the next couple of weeks, I do a lot of VM work.

oeuvre
Junior Member
Junior Member
Posts: 333
Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2011 10:41 am
Location: New York, NY

Re: mSata for W530

#9 Post by oeuvre » Mon May 26, 2014 8:36 am

Bit late, but I have a Crucial M4 128GB mSATA in my W530 and it was still faster than an HD. I replaced the 500GB HD with a 256GB 840 Evo and installed Windows on that drive, used mSATA as a data drive. Smoking fast; there's noticeable difference with the M4 and Evo (not even sure if it's cause of SATA II vs III or just the Evo is a faster drive than the M4).

Post Reply
  • Similar Topics
    Replies
    Views
    Last post

Return to “ThinkPad W530/W540/W541/W550 Series”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 22 guests