Thinkpads Forum

hi guys
i want to ask about the ssd hard drive , which is better ordering T410 with ssd 128 GB from lenovo(by the way what is the ssd brand that lenovo support ?) ,or buy Intel X25-M 160 GB from any other place ?

putting in the consideration the system transition, will i face any kind of problem while doing that ? what is the recommendation about that ?

please help experts
thank you

Some thinkpads come with a Samsung, some with Toshiba and some with Intel SSD. I think the T410 comes with Samsung SSD, but not 100% sure. If you search this forum i'm sure you will find the answer since this been discussed several times already. If it's 128gb it's for sure not Intel. The Intel X25-M is either 80 or 160gb.

I would recommend to buy the Intel X25-M G2 SSD separately. Then you don't have to worry about what kind of SSD you get, if it support trim and and the Intel SSD is faster. Also the Intel is either 80 or 160gb so if you buy the 160gb you get a larger SSD as well.

If you buy a Intel SSD separately you will get a blank SSD and need some media to install Windows or whatever OS you consider to install. You don't need to buy a new license for Windows though since you can use the product key found on a sticker under the computer as long as the Windows version/edition you install is the same as the license/product key, but you do need the Windows installation DVD. If you buy a T410 with SSD you will get the standard image from Lenovo and easier to get Windows with all the driver/lenovo software installed. If you buy a T410 with a HDD and a Intel SSD separately you can use several tools to transfer the contents from the HDD to the SSD. Then you won't need a Windows DVD installation media if done correctly and the result will be the same as buying a T410 with a SSD, but a bit more work. If you buy a Intel SSD i would recommend to either use the Microsoft AHCI driver or get the latest driver from Intel (Intel Rapid Storage Technology) for trim support. The same goes for any other SSD that support trim though.

I'm in the same boat with wiz

thank you so much it was helpful

Wiz wrote: If you buy a Intel SSD i would recommend to either use the Microsoft AHCI driver or get the latest driver from Intel (Intel Rapid Storage Technology) for trim support.

Has anyone tried the RST driver in a T410, and if so how does it bench against an Intel SSD running the MS AHCI driver? Link to RST driver?

Harryc wrote:Has anyone tried the RST driver in a T410, and if so how does it bench against an Intel SSD running the MS AHCI driver? Link to RST driver?

You can get the RST from Lenovo or directly from Intel (same driver except the one from Lenovo is a older version). Below are the links to download from Lenovo (Windows 7 x86/x64):
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-74431
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-74430
(I'm not sure if the 9.5 version support trim)

To download from Intel just goto download and select your chipset and you should find it. I belive the installation files are the same for all chipsets so i guess it's doesn't matter if you choose the wrong chipset either, but to be 100% sure maybe a good idea to select the correct one. If choosing one that is for another chipset it won't install anything so no harm done.

I tried the driver on a T410, T510 and W500 and all works fine. For the W500 i got the driver directly from Intel and for the T410/T510 i tried both from Lenovo and Intel with the same result. Since the one from Intel is newer and since i'm not sure if version 9.5 support trim i would recommend to get the one from Intel. Why pick a older version.

Tried with benchmark on a T510 before installing the RST (using MS AHCI) and after installing the RST 9.6. The result where pretty much the same with RST slightly faster. I don't have the benchmark result anymore though.