Thinkpads Forum

I have a Dell with a duo core 1.2Ghz and 2GB Ram running XP with a 80GB 5400rpm HD from work. Just picked up a X301 with the 1.4Ghz, 4Gb RAM and 128GB SSD and have faster specs. However, the feeling is that it is not as crisp or faster than my Dell.

What gives? SSD performance slower than 5400rpm HDs?

chsu74 wrote: What gives? SSD performance slower than 5400rpm HDs?

I've been testing several SSD's lately using a X200s as the test mule. I must say that the results have been mixed. Rather surprising actually. Some like the Intel X model have been fast and quite nice, then others (OCz) have been less than satisfactory. None have been old models or anything less than top of the line.
You did not mention if you are running XP on your X301. Anything else we should know about your X301?

There are faster ssds on the market (slc and intel mlc ssds are the fastest) but you have plenty of storage on your mlc ssd which maybe more useful for you. Lenovo installs lots of software which runs in the background and makes your computer a bit slower - you might consider removing unneeded software from your notebook for faster performance. There are also tweaks discussed to improve speed on your mlc ssd (disabling windows vista superfetch is one of these discussed topics).

ssd_thinkpad wrote:There are faster ssds on the market (slc and intel mlc ssds are the fastest) but you have plenty of storage on your mlc ssd which maybe more useful for you. Lenovo installs lots of software which runs in the background and makes your computer a bit slower - you might consider removing unneeded software from your notebook for faster performance. There are also tweaks discussed to improve speed on your mlc ssd (disabling windows vista superfetch is one of these discussed topics).

Precisely... well said!

You've brought up some very good points that I'm exploring. As we all know this is a new application for this technology and there is a lot to learn and improve on. Even though I've had some that perform very well, I'm enjoying the learning process and eager to watch as the manufacturers sort out their drives to optimize them for best performance. While many of them have to a certain degree, there is a ways to go yet before we can simply choose one and have it meet our expectations. Like anything else, as an early adopter I do not expect perfection or an easy time of it. I'm simply enjoying the experience and ramping up my knowledge about these drives.

Cheers...

archer6 wrote:You did not mention if you are running XP on your X301. Anything else we should know about your X301?

I am running XP. The Dell is SP3 and X301 is SP2. It can be the fact that its running XP. The laptop came with Vista Business 32 and when messing around with it, I recall it being faster. I am just looking for other people's observations on HD performance between traditional and SSD. It would be interesting if comparisons are made so people would make better buying decisions.

I would take a look at all the processes running in the background and kill anything that's not needed. I would also be sure to remove any trial software that you are not using.

archer6 wrote:I would take a look at all the processes running in the background and kill anything that's not needed. I would also be sure to remove any trial software that you are not using.

How do I go about recognizing and removing which "background process" is not necessary?
I have also removed trial softwares in the program list.

Here are some links with tips.

http://www.optimizingpc.com/optimize/wi ... vices.html

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... START.html

Read through these to learn what they do and if you need them or not. Then remove what you do not need.

What HD test is suggested to test a SSD. I just installed the 256 Samsung SATA2 in my X200 tablet and would be interested in software I could download to test it.

I use a few, this one is a favorite: HD Tune

http://www.hdtune.com/