SSD on a T42 worth it for just Web surfing?

[fefrie]

I just migrated from a t23 to a t42 and have a small case of upgrade-itis. I've got it in my head that a ssd would be sooo great.

However, ssd's for PATA I've researched is problematic and expensive.

On top of that, I use my laptop mostly for web surfing with Opera, where I've configured it with 400mb of RAM usage and a disk cache of 400mb.

I use Adobe reader speedup. Also I use a program called Startup Delayer which lets you stagger or turn of certain programs as you start them, and I use hibernate and standby often and use turn off or restart only when I plan on being away from the computer for awhile to 'flush' out any issues (just an old habit)

The only slow thing I use this computer for is when I start viewing a video file. Windows media player is slow to start up. And with that I'm thinking of searching for a slim/light media player.

So basically, I don't think I need a ssd drive.

Although I still want one.

[poshgeordie]

If you're using your t42 mainly for Internet work, I'd suggest running a linux based OS like Ubuntu 10.10 which works very well with these laptops.

I'm typing this on a T40 running 10.10 with Opera on a standard 5400rpm IDE hard drive. Start up to ready to go is much less than a minute too.

You could also set it up as a dual boot with XP so you can choose which one to use.

[pit1337]

Make a ramdisk (tmpfs if you are using Linux) and move browser cache on to it.
It will be even faster than SSD

[w0qj]

I've installed a SSD on T42 (2373-K5H) previously, with mixed results.
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 55#p616655

For web surfing, you're probably better off using a 7200 RPM HDD for much cheaper bang for your buck!

[fefrie]

Well I'm hoping the upgrade-itis will pass.

If I do go SSD, i'll just wait till t60's get cheaper!

[Orclas]

If you dont care about sound/noise, a mechanical disk is probably still best, yes. The benefits of an SSD (using a Kingspec 32Gb myself) is silence and some additional battery life, however at the cost of some stuttering at times (fixed to a large degree by using Flashfire though). Load time is great though

Media Player? Do yourself a favour and download VLC media player asap, you will never want to go back! There are probably even slimmer ones, but VLC is a very stable, quite lightweight mass market open source player with a huge user base.

[fefrie]

It's the silence I mostly want, but I'm being nitpicky. It's only noisy, when the house is dead silent. Just that high pitched whine. Not loud, but noticeable. Hopefully as I pass into my 40's I won't hear it anymore.

[Orclas]

Bad news! I'm 41 and I still hear/heard it

I know exactly what you mean and it was the very same reason for me to indeed get an SSD. The main use of my TP is late evening, girlfriend in bed, me half reclined on the sofa with TP on my belly in a very quiet flat, under which circumstances the HD (and fan) are quite loud. It's just such a bliss having an absolutely silent computer and if sound is a parameter, then the answer to your topic subject is "yes".

From what I know there are two ways to go about this; either by buying a 2.5" PATA SSD or a 1.8" SATA one plus a SATA to PATA bridge. There are some good threads regarding the alternatives on this forum, so do a forum search (or use google and the site search parameter "site:forum.thinkpads.com"). In both cases you'll probably want to use Flashfire since you may run into stuttering performance due to drive cache issues.

In my case I'm now on stage 2 of modding for silence, looking at finding and installing a long fan in the hope of less and more quiet fan time (see my post here).

Sorry about feeding the upgrade-itis

Edit: stuff about 1.8 SATA SSD in T4x here

[w0qj]

The bottleneck is the PATA hard drive adapter to the 2.5" hard drive.
As we all know, PATA is slower than SATA.

So putting a 1.8" SATA hard drive into a SATA/PATA adapter, which in turn connects to the T42/PATA would not help, since the main bottleneck is the PATA hard drive connector on T42.

And yes, this brings back memories, I can confirm that my PATA SSD also stutter quite noticeably under Win'XP-Pro 32-bit English.

I was very worried about the possibility of data corruption and/or programs behaving abnormally due to long stutter/lag times.

Anyways, after working with my T42 with PATA SSD for almost one year, there was no case of SSD data corruption, and all programs run properly despite this SSD stuttering/lag.

Just sharing my actual experience, give back to the Thinkpads community

[fefrie]

Which would have a greater bottleneck.

A PATA ssd running through the 'stock' connector, or

a SATA ssd running through a sata/pata bridge through a stock connector?

[w0qj]

The T42's PATA interface is by far the slowest link, as compared to any SATA hard drive.

It's like a Ferrari (the SATA hard drive) stuck in a traffic jam (the T42 PATA interface).

[ThinkRob]

I've got a PATA SSD in my T41, and I'd say that it's still worth it.

Here's why:

1) I don't have to worry about shocks or drops causing damage.

2) Even with the PATA speed limit, the massive improvement in small random read/write performance is noticeable.

3) Reliability is dramatically improved -- I've got a SiliconDrive SLC SSD, so I'd be willing to bet that the drive will working fine long after my T41 is not.

YMMV of course.

[fefrie]

Jeez, I hate you guys.

Ok, so what should I do?

This t42 I have runs 64mb graphics which is just fine for everything I do. I run the stock XP OS and the only reason I see to upgrade would be if i can find a t60 with an XP license with an 14"SXGA screen for about $125 (a couple of years off maybe.) The t60 is in my opinion the last reliable 14"SXGA laptop worth buying. Newer 14" laptops don't interest me because I don't like the wxga format with only 800 pixels in depth. Like most girls say it's not the girth that matters, it's the depth. after that the next upgrade would be to a t5xx series with a 1650X1080 screen

So since a $125 t60 is a ways off, I might as well ssd now.

So which should I do? PATA SSD with zero chance of taking it to the next laptop, or should I 1.8" SATA SSD with sata/pata bridge with forward compatibility to other laptops?

In addition, I run a stock hard drive with 40gb (32available, 15gbfree). I don't need a very big hard drive since I have a desktop that runs and stores most of my media and when at home the laptops are sufficiently networked.

With a t42 will I get the 2010 hard drive error, or is that just a t43 issue?

[RealBlackStuff]

Why do you insist at spending all that money for something that will be obsolete next?
PATA HDs are still reliable enough (and cheaper/bigger than SSDs), and SSDs have yet to stand their endurance test!

[ajkula66]

I'm with RBS on this one...

Not impressed with XP on SSDs altogether, even with tweaks.

Even less impressed with SSDs on older machines, with the sole exception of X40/1 where nothing could possibly be worse than the original hard drive.

"2010 error" belongs to R52, T43/p and X41/T only.

[lukee]

Don't worry about 'Error 2010'. It's history now. Go to the link in my signature and just upgrade your BIOS.