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SL on x220 i5 with usb 3

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pablovanwetten
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2014 10:33 am
Location: Amsterdam, Holland

SL on x220 i5 with usb 3

#1 Post by pablovanwetten » Fri Jul 25, 2014 10:49 am

Dear all.

Would love to run SL on my thinkpad x220 i5 quadcore with usb 3 port.
Need to know if anyone has everything working, USB 3 is a must.
Have seen that some people have usb 3 working but is it with true usb 3 speed?
As I understand only the sd card reader doesnt seem to work on some forums but an external card reader on the usb port should work, right?

I have a little experience but not to much, would be real grateful to anyone that can send me a manual or a disk copy for me to install. have a licensed copy of SL so am not breaking ´the law´
I just want to make my x220 a dual bootable workstation with windows 7 and SL.

Am an Artist living in Amsterdam and would be willing to send you some beautiful photography, (A print) as a gesture of my appreciation.

Thank you so much for any help, I feel this will become the computer of my dreams. A stable workhorse for me to work on with Final cut pro 7 and some Logic stuff.
Last edited by pablovanwetten on Fri Jul 25, 2014 2:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.

dr_st
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Re: SL on x220 i5 with usb 3

#2 Post by dr_st » Fri Jul 25, 2014 12:58 pm

Only the Core i7 motherboards in the X220 have the USB3.0 port. There are also no Quad core CPUs in the X220 (there are dual cores with hyper-threading - showing 4 logical cores). So please double check your sources.

It is possible to add USB3.0 support via an ExpressCard adapter.
Thinkpad 25 (20K7), T490 (20N3), Yoga 14 (20FY), T430s (IPS FHD + Classic Keyboard), X220 4291-4BG
X61 7673-V2V, T60 2007-QPG, T42 2373-F7G, X32 (IPS Screen), A31p w/ Ultrabay Numpad

pablovanwetten
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2014 10:33 am
Location: Amsterdam, Holland

Re: SL on x220 i5 with usb 3

#3 Post by pablovanwetten » Tue Jul 29, 2014 7:43 pm

Thanks for the news.

So does the express card provide true usb 3 speeds?
I am a video editor and on a macbook usb 3 meets more then my needs, will the speed of usb 3 on a thinkpad i5 with an adapter be in the same league?

Thanks for your time.

dr_st
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Re: SL on x220 i5 with usb 3

#4 Post by dr_st » Tue Jul 29, 2014 11:29 pm

Yes, the ExpressCard adapters provide true USB3 speeds. Some of them are a bit flaky, though, in terms of reliability. Most specifically, the AKE 54mm dual-port ones, with Renesas uPD720202 chip, have power-management-related issues and require workaround to function properly in an X220 (but with these workarounds - their performance is superb).
Last edited by dr_st on Fri Aug 01, 2014 4:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Thinkpad 25 (20K7), T490 (20N3), Yoga 14 (20FY), T430s (IPS FHD + Classic Keyboard), X220 4291-4BG
X61 7673-V2V, T60 2007-QPG, T42 2373-F7G, X32 (IPS Screen), A31p w/ Ultrabay Numpad

pablovanwetten
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2014 10:33 am
Location: Amsterdam, Holland

Re: SL on x220 i5 with usb 3

#5 Post by pablovanwetten » Thu Jul 31, 2014 4:00 pm

Wow that is GREAT news amigo!
thanks for the help!
So what card is the best do you think, and if there is a work around, what is is it?

I have my eye on this second hand x220 i5 to make my ideal hackintosh computerrr.
Right?

Bless you

dr_st
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Re: SL on x220 i5 with usb 3

#6 Post by dr_st » Fri Aug 01, 2014 4:15 am

You can read my findings and summary in the following thread:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=110163

Specifically, the uPD720202 (54mm 2-port adapter with power plug) is one to be wary about. You can read about some of its problem and solutions here:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 9&start=90
and here:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=108201

While the workarounds worked for me, it is a bit annoying to have to resort to them. Unfortunate, that is, since the card works great once you disable L0s. However for your X220 the ASMedia ASM1042-based adapter (which I also mention there) may be a good solution.

Finally, you can get USB3.0 and eSATA in one package, by using an adapter like this:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hidden-USB-3-0- ... 540ca873ea

I have one, it is also based on ASM1042, so I would expect no strange issues. It performs well, but seems to drain quite a lot of power, even when idle, which will affect your battery life. I haven't performed accurate measurements, but plan to at some point. :)
Thinkpad 25 (20K7), T490 (20N3), Yoga 14 (20FY), T430s (IPS FHD + Classic Keyboard), X220 4291-4BG
X61 7673-V2V, T60 2007-QPG, T42 2373-F7G, X32 (IPS Screen), A31p w/ Ultrabay Numpad

pablovanwetten
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jul 25, 2014 10:33 am
Location: Amsterdam, Holland

Re: SL on x220 i5 with usb 3

#7 Post by pablovanwetten » Fri Aug 01, 2014 11:34 am

Amazing reply man...

I very much appreciate you sharing your findings with me.

Regards!

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