Easy SSD for T43/T43p

[ThinkPadophile]

T4x owners face the problem of limited HDD upgrade options. Few new PATA drives are available, and those that do (like the WD Caviar Blue) are slower 5400RPM models. Then, there's the desire to experience the performance boost of an SSD. What's one to do? Some have taken to modding the motherboard to allow the use of SATA drives. I suspect that's beyond the ability of most people. It's certainly beyond mine.

There is an easy (although, not necessarily cheap) option for owners of T43/p models: use one of these new high speed expresscard SSDs with ReadyBoost (if you run Vista or Windows 7) or eBoostr. Personally, I prefer eBoostr.

This scheme offers several distinct advantages:
1) It's plug-and-play: simply put the expresscard SSD in your expresscard slot, enable ReadyBoost (or, preferably, install eBoostr), and enjoy! There's no need to reinstall Windows, load your apps, etc.
2) It offers near SSD speeds. I upgraded myT60p with a Samsung SSD a year ago, but before I did I employed this scheme using a 48GB Wintec card in conjunction with eBoostr. Quite frankly, I experienced very little real-world performance gain from the SSD.
3) There's no need to purchase Windows 7 to get Trim, etc. eBoostr runs great on Windows XP; in fact, it was designed for it.
4) It's unobtrusive. The expresscard fits perfectly in its slot without protruding. It's not like having a USB flashdrive hanging off the side of the laptop. You'll never even know the expresscard is there.
5) It offers additional benefits. In most cases, you'll only need around 8GB for your disk cache, regardless of whether you use ReadyBoost or eBoostr. That leaves lots of other space for other uses: installing apps, as the destination for your backup files, for your data files, or for safeguarding sensitive data (if you need to leave your laptop, simply remove the expresscard and carry it with you).
6) It lets you upgrade to a larger, 5400RPM HDD if you need the storage space, yet still enjoy near SSD speeds.

There are a few drawbacks:
1) It's not an option for owners of T40/41/42 laptops, since those models do not have an expresscard slot.
2) It doesn't accelerate Windows' boot time significantly because Windows doesn't get around to loading the needed driver until comparatively late in the boot sequence. However, once the driver is loaded, it's gangbusters!
3) The cost. The high-speed expresscards don't come cheap; and, if you have to purchase eBoostr, that just adds to the cost. However, a 24GB card is all you need, and that plus eBoostr (if you're running XP) will cost you less than $100.

As I said, I used the scheme for quite a while and was very pleased with it.

One final word. The eBoostr homepage has a graphic showing performance improvements. Quite frankly, it's unimpressive. More to the point, those performance gains were probably measured using a USB drive, which is significantly slower than the high-speed expresscards I'm recommending. Your performance gain will be much greater than eBoostr's graphic shows.

[RealBlackStuff]

Removing the SATA-PATA bridge and then installing a SATA hard drive in the T43/T43p/R52/X41 is cheaper and brings the same or more.

[ThinkPadophile]

I agree with you on both counts. Removing the SATA bridge is undoubtedly the more elegant solution. My point, however, is that some people will find that procedure rather daunting. My solution gives them an an alternative upgrade path, although I do admit that it is expensive.

[Bibin]

That's a good alternate solution, I wasn't aware that you could boot from the expresscard slot.

[I still feel compelled to plug http://mikejmoffitt.com/sata however]

[ThinkPadophile]

No, you can't boot from the expresscard slot. The OS has to load a driver before the laptop can recognize the expresscard. This doesn't happen until fairly late in the boot sequence, and that's why Windows boot times don't benefit all that much. What this scheme does is to provide a high-speed disk cache for frequently used files. Once the expresscard driver and disk-caching software are loaded, Windows reads files from the faster of the disk cache or the boot device. The high speed SSD expresscards read as fast as, or faster than, the laptop's hard drive in nearly every incidence. Smaller files especially benefit since the SSD has much shorter seek times than a platter drive has.

RealBlackStuff is right: removing the SATA-PATA bridge and installing a SATA SSD is the best solution. But that procedure is beyond the ability of many, whereas this scheme is a true plug-and-play solution.

[dorronto]

Removing the SATA-PATA bridge and then installing a SATA hard drive in the T43/T43p/R52/X41 is cheaper and brings the same or more.

Dominic, is that just a software deletion for the SATA-PATA bridge?

Thanks,
Ron

[ajkula66]

dorronto wrote:

Dominic, is that just a software deletion for the SATA-PATA bridge?

Let me answer for our mutual friend: no, it's the physical removal of the bridge along with IDE connector, and installation of SATA connector on the mobo.

[dorronto]

ouch..........oh well, thanks George for the info..

Ron

[RealBlackStuff]

The IDE connector could remain in place, even though it would be useless.
This SATA-PATA-bridge chip removal option exists only for T43/T43p, R52 and X41/X41T.
Due to space constrictions, it's hardest inside the X4x models, where the additional problem of 1.8" drives occurs.

[Bibin]

The IDE connector could remain in place, even though it would be useless.
This SATA-PATA-bridge chip removal option exists only for T43/T43p, R52 and X41/X41T.
Due to space constrictions, it's hardest inside the X4x models, where the additional problem of 1.8" drives occurs.

That's what I did; I cut the planar traces going from the chip to the SATA pins and soldered wires in the place of the pads while leaving the chip otherwise connected. I only did this because I don't own a heat gun or other materials to let me de-solder the chip.

While the X41 (not X40, that's native IDE) makes it harder to fit a drive, the actual modification is easier simply because the chip has longer traces going to the pads, and two of the points are easily tapped into near coupling capacitors while on the T43/T43p it's a much smaller working area as I detailed in my writeup.