Best drive upgrade for T60P

[taichi]

Still loving my new/old T60P with its beautiful FlexView. But I'm feeling cramped by the stock 100 GB hard drive. What do all of you wise Thinkpadders think would be a good upgrade? It seems that hard drives are still a better economic choice than SSDs. And I realize that I could use the ultra-Bay for another drive or (very useful in its own way) an extra battery.

I'd be very grateful for some sensible advice on this. In the past I have owned both Hitachi and Seagate 7200 RPM drives.

Have a great Sunday.

taichi

[GrandMasterKhan]

What is the speed on your current HDD?

[sjthinkpader]

See this post:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=86750

I haven't tested the newer 5400rpm WDs yet. The 1TB seems to be a three platter design. The 750GB and 640GB ought to be pretty fast. Otherwise the 7200rpm 500GB Hitachi and 250GB Seagate are very fast.

[taichi]

I'm pretty confident it's the 7200 RPM stock 100 GB that comes with the 2623 DDU. How would I check for sure?

I saw an Hitachi 250 GB 7200 RPM for 49.95.

Do I use a Sata drive? Would that be the fastest non SSD? I also know that 5400 RPMs are faster than before, but all things being equal wouldn't a 7200 RPM of the same design be faster? And what's the best use for the UltraBay? From what I know the T60P has the slim Ultra-Bay.

Thanks,

taichi

[Ralf Hutter]

Today's FRY's print ad has the Hitachi 7200rpm 500GB drive for $64. Heckuva deal for that drive. Supposedly the fastest non-SSD 2.5" drive available right now.

I use the WD 500GB SATA drives and love them. Fast, cool and quiet.

[taichi]

I searched for that drive on Fry's website but somehow am overlooking it. Do you have a link?

Thanks

taichi

[billp117]

The sale is over at Fry's...and they went out of stock very fast. Check www.newegg.com as they had them on sale.

[sjthinkpader]

That is a great deal. I bought the 500GB 7K500 Hitachi a few weeks ago for $90. Then WD brought out the new line with up to 750GB too. There is a 1TB model but at 12MM it is too thick for T6x (may be 3 platter design). Since WDs are 5400rpm, then 750GB and 640GB may have about the same performance as the Hitachi 7K500 500GB.

[GrandMasterKhan]

You are better off with the Hitatchi. The current gen 7200 RPM is better than your stock HDD but remember you have the SATA cap. Nevertheless a 5 gigger will work in a T60. Have seen units using that HDD working fine. Dont ever buy Seagate.

http://www.frys.com/product/5966014?sit ... IN_RSLT_PG

Its just under 1 Benjamin. Still good deal braddah.

[ZaZ]

The SATA cap has very little relevance for most uses.

[taichi]

The reason I considered Seagate in the recent past is because now they have a five year warranty on their newer drives which implies greater reliability. I believe the Hitachi warranty is only for three years, but I might be mistaken. I also understood that there was some significant improvements in the Seagate platter design.

I am ignorant about the SATA cap. Please enlighten me, gentlemen.

Do you think the Hitachi attached to the above link is the best model for purchase, SATA cap or not ?

thanks,

taichi

[ZaZ]

The T60 is limited to SATA I speeds, but most typical computer usage will never exceed it. Now if you're copy/pasting files all day or putting a heavy load on the controller, then it may make a difference. I wouldn't be too considered about the better warranty. I can't remember when I kept a hard drive more than three years. Even if you do, chances are if it makes it 3 years, it'll go 5. Honestly, I'd buy on price as in real world usage they all seem about the same to me, even if one or the other score better in some benchmark or another. Good luck.

[GrandMasterKhan]

Fred is right on the SATA cap for real usages purposes but many T61 owners focused on specs are obsessed over it as the cap is limited by the BIOS. No solution there. BTW anecdotally there are too many stories of Seagates going bad. Lenovo for their TP line and Apple use Hitatchi HDDs for their configured systems. You can read other boards on the Hitachi. Relative to your current one, they have made some improvements. Its very low (no) noise and runs cool. I would get the Hitachi.

[taichi]

Thanks for all the excellent input and advice.

So I should focus on a Hitachi SATA 1 drive. Do they all have a single, uniform height and size?

Also, what creative uses has the slim UltraBay been put to? Another drive, or have people on the forum installed extra batteries on their T60Ps?

taichi

[GrandMasterKhan]

The one with the Fry's link will work. 2.5 inch. HDDs have advanced since your T60P but they are backward compatiable as far as SATA speed. Many people have put it in thier Thinkpads without problems. IMO, its the best one. You can wait to catch another sale. As someone said it was going for less than $70 but and under 1 Benjamin its still a good deal.

Unless you buy an Ultrabay for the HDD, you cant put it in there. If that is what you plan for the new drive you dont necessarily need to get a 7200RPM HDD as all it would do is store data. I thought you want a new boot/OS HDD and the Hitachi mentioned is a good choice for that if you dont want an SSD.

There are 40 GB SSDs for about $120 from Intel (best one) that you could get as a boot/OS drive. That is not a bad option either.

We don't know what you are trying to do. Maybe you could get an SSD and put your old HDD in the Ultrabay but remember you need the adapter for a HDD. $50 to $60 from Lenovo is my guess.

[GrandMasterKhan]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... name=Intel

SSD's. You dont need a high capacity one. Too expensive anyway. You just need enough space for your OS and programs. This is the single upgrade that will make your T60P faster. Remember its also capped due to SATA 1 on your motherboard. Can read the reviews there as plenty of people with TPs have installed it too.

[taichi]

Sorry, gentlemen, if I didn't specify my goals.

The simplest goal is simply to increase my hard drive storage capacity without resorting to external devices. If I went to a small capacity SSD wouldn't I still need to have a secondary drive for files which accumulate like rabbits?

I have to say my T60P is no slouch even running Vista 32, with only a core duo processor. So I would be happy with a 250 or 500 GB Hitachi. By the way I was expecting to find that Vista was a nightmare, but it runs smooth as butter for me.

I was just curious if any forum members have found good use for the UltraBay, including using it to install an extra battery.

Thanks,

taichi

[GrandMasterKhan]

If you only want another storage HDD, then any 2.5 inch in the UltraBay may be the way to go. Then you don't have to reinstall the OS at all. So buy 1) a HDD, 2) UltraBay HDD adapter and 3) HDD caddy (suggested).

It's up to you if you want to put a 7500 RPM HDD in the Ultrabay. For storage occasionall access maybe all you need is a 5400 RPM. See the cost difference and decide. If you wnat a new primary HDD then the Hitachi is one that has worked (they all do) in TPs. It's just fast and low heat/noise. WDD is also good but I don't recommend Seagate.

IF you wnat speed radically improving your system then get an SSD. But it seems your goal is just more space.

You can also just buy a USB drive. Western Digital is recommended. They are all 5400 RPM.

I have a T61, not much different than your TP. Would not consider another battery because have the 7 cell and its obtrusive and makes the machine heavy enough to carry around . Moreover, the battery life is not that great so end up carrying the AC adaptor around too adding to the weight. IF you really wnat more battery power then get an UltraBay battery. IMO the incremental weight and cost makes it a no go. You will be carrying around the same stuff you do now. Maybe instead of the AC adaptor the extra battery will add weight so what do you gain?

[taichi]

I think what I might do is just clone my present drive to a new Hitachi 7200 RPM,
hopefully a 500 GB when another bargain rolls around, and just swap the drives using 100 GB in an external enclosure as backup for extra storage.

That way I don't have to reinstall the OS either.

Thanks to all for your excellent suggestions.

One great thing that Bill has done as a further enhancement to his immaculately designed website is that it's easy to go directly to last post with a click. There are plenty websites where you have to dig to find things.

taichi

[GrandMasterKhan]

http://www.storagereview.com/hitachi_tr ... 500_review

BTW It won't go down to $65 again, maybe next year when larger capacity becomes the norm. If you need it, I would get it. It's a fair good price.

[Crunch]

If you're going to spend $100, it might as well be for a 750GB from Western Digital.

If you don't have one yet, though, I'd definitely get an SSD like several people have suggested. Period. You have to have experienced one to know what it means to boot up in less than half a minute. Remember the time when you cursed your ThinkPad (which is inexcusable in any scenario, mind you) because you just installed that driver for your new gizmo, and Windows tells you that you have to reboot? Those were the days...Now, and especially with Windows 7, I reboot for fun.

Even a full blown installation of the entire Windows operating system doesn't take long at all, especially when your installation DVD isn't a DVD at all. If you have another 5 bucks, get a 4GB USB flash drive (even for 64-bit Windows 7, a 4-gigger is plenty), make it bootable, and dedicate it to Windows 7. It's ALL flash memory that is at work here. No DVD, no hard drive, no moving parts. Your CPU is your new bottleneck!

[taichi]

Isn't Western Digital less reliable than Hitachi?

If I got an SSD what size and make do you suggest?...I heard Intel's was the best.
It seems that most are recommending SSDs for the OS and something additional for storage. So if you were recommending a setup would would you suggest?

taichi

[tporter]

If you're going to spend $100, it might as well be for a 750GB from Western Digital

I don't recommend this particular model (WD7500BPVT). It's perfomance is really poor because of 'advanced format' ...
Through WD5000BEVT (500gb) and WD6400BEVT (640gb) are great drives.

[ThinkPadophile]

I agree with Crunch on the SSD. I recently upgraded from a fast and big WD HDD, and the difference is astounding. Boot times that were on the order to 2-3 minutes are down by 2/3 to 3/4. BTW, I was running Vista 32 on the HDD, but upgraded to Windows 7 w/ the SSD to get Trim. Windows 7 is well worth the expense also, although like you I was happy enough with Vista.

As far as which SSD to buy, Intel drives give the best performance. Especially desired are their second generation X25-M drives, since they offer support for Trim (Intel's first generation X25-M drives don't, and probably never will).

$200 will get you a good 80GB second generation X25-M on eBay, or a 128GB Samsung SSD. The Samsung drive does not perform quite as well as the Intel drive, but is still quite fast. Samsung recently came out with a firmware update for their SSDs to run Trim. It's an easy update and well worth it. I opted for the Samsung drive because 80GB seemed a bit too small for my needs. I'm quite pleased.

[taichi]

ThinkPadophile:

How do you like your UXGA Flexview?

I had UXGA on my 15 inch A21P, and never had a problem with small fonts because of the screen's clarity. My Flexview UXGA is even better. Plenty of real estate on a not-huge screen that is fully usable, and pleasing on the eyes.

taichi

[ThinkPadophile]

Ditto your comments, and I absolutely love the Flexview. I don't see myself moving up from my T60p until Lenovo comes up with an affordable screen to match it.

[GrandMasterKhan]

You need to make an executive level decision and stop whaffling back and forth between options. Maybe think of it from a useful life perspective. The additional CAPEX of an SSD extending over the remaning service period of your TP. Should always consider the all in cost including warranty and divide that by the number of years you expect to use your TP. The longest divisor would be the warranty if you have an extended one.

[Bigdaddychud]

So I was all set to get a new hdd (HITACHI 0A57546 250GB 7200 RPM ) but then I see this http://www.anandtech.com/show/3734/seag ... ybrid-hdd/

hmm seems interesting..thoughts?

[taichi]

I read about a forthcoming drive...I believe it was a Samsung or possibly an Hitachi that was also a hybrid drive, but with a significant amount of NAND memory on it... something on the order of 40 GB. But like a misplaced piece of paper, I can't find that article anywhere.

A hybrid with that much solid state memory on it sounds more intriguing to me.

taichi

[ZaZ]

You're probably thinking of the Seagate Momentus XT, which has 4GB of flash.