X200 with Intel 160GB SSD v. Lenovo 128GB SSD v. 160GB 7200

[Hazarrd]

I'm in the market for the Lenovo x200 and wanted to get some feedback from the more-informed community about storage options. I have a general understanding of SSD v. HDD, but wanted to get more information on which option is best. As indicated in the title, the three options I'm considering are: (1) Lenovo's 128GB SSD (they claim that it is "Lenovo" that manufactures it, does anyone have info. on who really manufactures it?), (2) Intel's 160GB SSD, or (3) the old-school 160GB 7200RPM drive.

I don't do any intense computer work outside of excel, word, web browsing, etc., but I'm a multi-tasker, meaning that I have many of these programs open and running at the same time (obviously this only affects memory, not storage). Anyway, I'd like to get some more thoughts about the differences between Lenovo's SSD and Intel's (other than size and price) and whether or not it's really worth getting an SSD at this point in time.

Thanks!

[csv96]

The Lenovo 128gb is probably a Samsung MLC which is a very good drive (I have 3 of these). The Intel 160GB is definitely faster, but not worth the extra cost in my opinion. You'll notice a huge improvement going from the 160GB 7200rpm to the 128GB SSD, but you probably won't notice any real world difference between the Lenovo 128GB and the Intel 160GB.

The other option would be to get the cheapest hard drive available (80gb?) from Lenovo, then upgrade to an SSD yourself. It's easy and will save you several hundred dollars (plus gives you many more SSD options).

[Hazarrd]

How would I go about getting the OS and preinstalled drivers/software from the factory drive onto the SSD? Also, if I go this route, can you give a few recommendations for an SSD drive around 128GB? Is the Samsung the best bang for the buck? Will it just pop right into the slot or is there another part I'll need?

[csv96]

When you get your computer, use the Lenovo utility to create a set of recovery DVD's. Install the new SSD, then boot from your recovery DVD's to load the original factory install onto the SSD. If you don't have an optical drive, it's a little trickier. You'll need to get Acronis or other disk utility and an external USB drive enclosure to clone your original drive onto the new SSD. There are a number of guides on the internet (and probably on these forums) describing the process.

To actually install the SSD, it's just 5 screws. One screw to take the caddy out of your laptop, and 4 screws that hold the drive to the caddy. All you need is a small philips head screwdriver and about 5 minutes.

I bought all of my Samsung drives on ebay. Newegg also has a lot of 128gb drives from other manufacturers but I'm not really familiar with those (I've heard the latest OCZ drives are pretty good too).

[Hazarrd]

Great. Thanks so much for the advice. I have an optical drive, but only CDRW, no DVD burner. Is this still doable? I don't mind if it means more blank CDs. Also, I realize that by not using the factory-installed HD, the HD I purchased won't be covered under Lenovo's warranty plan. Is that something I should be concerned about at all? I take it these drives have a very low failure rate, but what are the odds of receiving one off of eBay DOA? Also, will this void the Lenovo warranty on other parts in the system? One last thing. Could you give me the specific model number of the drive that I should be looking for? I see that there are several different flavors of the Samsung 128GB SSD (e.g., 1.8", 2.5", etc.). Model number and any descriptive words would be very helpful.

Thanks again, you've been a tremendous help!

[ZaZ]

You can use the CDRW to make the recovery CDs. It might be advisable to find a DVDRW even borrow one if you have to, because you'll end up with a lot less discs using DVDs.

Though it is not covered by Lenovo, the drive should be covered by the manufacturer warranty.

I don't know if it's possible to do a True Image backup with a CDRW, but I know when I make a Vista image using True Image, it's about 8GB, which would require 12 CDs at minimum. It would be my guess the Lenovo partition would be quite a bit larger.

The X200 uses a 2.5" drive. If you happen to end up with a 1.8" drive, you can buy an adapter.

[csv96]

Odds of DOA are pretty low. Just remember to buy from a reputable seller (good feedback, good scores) and pay with a credit card. I would just stick with the 2.5" version.

[elvair]

Get intel one , very basically every other drive out there is malfunctioning one way or the other, Samsung are somewhat ok, but still exhibit problems, every other manufacturer out there I would not even look that direction cos they are rebranded Samsungs at best.

At the very least what you are gonna experience is small hangs up for a second or so , and only intel drives work as they should

Detailed explanation is available at this excellent article ! - [url]http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/in ... spx?i=3403[/url] and [url]http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3531[/url]

after i've read that analysis i figured that there is no way im getting any ssd out there other than intel in a forseeable future

cheers !

p.s. the article also explains a very interesting phenomenon whereby any ssds performance slows down over time

p.p.s. (edit) , maybe im being a bit too radical here, and by all means you should have a look at those articles and form your own judgement, they are not too technical and any power user should be able to understand them, they are more about the statistical numbers and concept + im a bit of a perfectionist when it gets my hardware/software. Hence my feeling will be that I will be upgrading to X-25E, once the capacity will be higher. At the moment I'm not exactly happy with 64GB, once that hits at least 128, or more, Im definently getting. In addition there are new powerfull functions on the horizon, like inbedded hardware encryption and TRIM (supposedly supported by Win 7, and which will ensure that drive is not slowing down with time). Obviously in tech market its hard to say when technology is mature, cos its all evolving big time rapidly, however I think it is approximatelly when Win 7 hits the market and gets patched somewhat, it will be the right time to get one of those high powered SSD. But again, by all means, you need to make your own judgement !

Cheers !

[elvair]

Btw my Samsung 128 MLC does stutter once in a while, sometimes when I play video on youtube, it just pauses for a while, or when running applications - for example when I type, the line sometimes does not appear instantly etc ...

Lenovo, hello ? Why include such poor low quality components in your super expensive systems ?