Thinkpads Forum

What is the best setup with T520 & 128GB SSD using Window 7 Professional 64bit?

I do a lot of IT Systems work, and need several connections in the computer center and being connected to support and download sites is normal. In addition I could have multiple FTP connections along with Putty.exe sessions and downloading and/or uploading dumps, reports, new code and fixes as well as having support folks on this T520 as guest sessions at the same time is part of my regular work day. Performance and stability are key.

I move around in the computer room often and from the computer rooms to meetings, all the while leaving the screen up so everything stays connected. When at home I could have just as many open connections moving from room to room. So having a single 128GB SSD will be more expensive, but will reduce the risk of a head crash on rotating disk, with all this movement.

My config so far is: $1950

- i5 2520M, 2.5GHz, 3MB L3
- Windows 7 Professional 64
- Display 1920 x 1080
- 8GB DDR3 Ram, Dual Dimm
- 128GB SSD
- DVD Multiburner
- 6 cell Li-Ion Batt 55+
- Bluetooth 3.0
- Wireless b/g/n
- 90WUltraslim AC/DC Combo Adapter

A couple of questions:
- What is the best way to set up the 128GB SSD? Should I leave it as one C drive? Should I have a C & D drive? Does it matter for performance or backing up the T520?
- Does Windows 7 Professional 64bit, really use all the Ram efficiently?

With SSDs creating multiple partitions will not improve performance, because data can be accessed just as fast from anywhere on the drive. It might make things easier for backups to have two partitions, i.e. one for OS and one for documents and such.

I am not sure about the memory, as long as it's 64 bit it will address all if it but I can not comment on how efficient it will be. Generally the more memory the better, but 8GB is no better than 4GB if you don't have the need for it.

One other thing, I recommend you get an intel wireless card rather than the standard card you have selected. Intels seem to be much more reliable and less finicky.

This configuration should work nicely.

Some considerations for me would be the least expensive ram with 1 DIMM and a HDD instead of the SSD and then upgrade yourself. The T520 supports the newer faster SATA specification which Lenovo doesn't yet offer drives to take advantage of it.

I have heard that if you are ordering on the web there are coupons for a minimum of 10% off and if you feel like calling I have heard of substantially more discount offered with the right telephone rep.

Brad

What is the best setup with T520 & 128GB SSD using Window 7 Professional 64bit?

I do a lot of IT Systems work, and need several connections in the computer center and being connected to support and download sites is normal. In addition I could have multiple FTP connections along with Putty.exe sessions and downloading and/or uploading dumps, reports, new code and fixes as well as having support folks on this T520 as guest sessions at the same time is part of my regular work day. Performance and stability are key.

I move around in the computer room often and from the computer rooms to meetings, all the while leaving the screen up so everything stays connected. When at home I could have just as many open connections moving from room to room. So having a single 128GB SSD will be more expensive, but will reduce the risk of a head crash on rotating disk, with all this movement.

My updated config so far is: $1969

- i5 2520M, 2.5GHz, 3MB L3
- Windows 7 Professional 64
- Display 1920 x 1080
- 8GB DDR3 Ram, Dual Dimm
- 128 GB Solid State Drive, Serial ATA
- DVD Multiburner
- 6 cell Li-Ion Batt 55+
- Bluetooth 3.0
- Intel Centrino Advanced-N 6205 (2x2 AGN)
- 90WUltraslim AC/DC Combo Adapter

As Brad and others have suggested, I could go with third party Ram and SSD, however I am a little hesitant to do so because of maintenance.

For my job, wall-clock-time, is everything and the money I would save on third party parts, minus the time to install, setup and troubleshoot any problems could very well be the more expensive acquisition cost, rather than, paying the Lenovo cost and having the Lenovo Maint. But I am interested in other folk's experiences with this.

How much is your time worth per hour? 30 bucks? 40? (Don't need an answer, but see if this applies).

For reducing possible costs, this is what I would go with, then:

4 GB RAM, single DIMM, 80 bucks. This won't leave your computer unusable if you have to RMA the stick of RAM that arrives, which should be another 1333 MHz 4 GB stick (~40 bucks). It takes 5 minutes to install into the computer, and 15 minutes to run MEMTEST on it (though since you've got high-priority applications I'd assume you'd do this anyways).

So it's cheaper, timewise, to install a third-party RAM module this way. You also lessen your chance of failure that one of the 2 sticks is bad by only buying one. Also, consider that your cost with 4 GB Lenovo + 4 GB yourself ($120) << 8 GB Lenovo ($240) and, well...


Also, If we're assuming 40 bucks per hour, then the Intel 510 is a bit less "worth it" but be aware that the T520 that you order may have either a 320 (faster) or an X-25M (slower) installed.
Let's assume that you're not re-installing from a set of recovery disks, and that you've copied the SWTOOLS folder (that's where all the drivers are IIRC) and Lenovo wallpapers (if you want them) onto a USB drive or similar.

Now, to install Windows 7, it will take less than 15 minutes to do. (see http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1 ... times.html). Installing the drivers should take another 15, following re-install guides (one is found here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo- ... ost6604885) and the fact that installing programs will be faster than the time it takes to download them, and rebooting takes less than 30 seconds to do should you need to do so.

So it should still be faster. Plus, if the SSD goes bad you can still use your computer since you've got a 250 GB hard drive that's ready to plug in and go, no configuration needed though you'll have to re-install your applications should that happen.
Failure rate for Intel drives is near 0.5%. That hard drive is way more likely to fail, to put this into perspective. (more than 5% chance, 6 to 12 months after).

Besides- if that Intel SSD fails and you had it pre-installed you're pretty much up a creek waiting for Lenovo to ship you another drive. But if you buy it separately you'll have way more uptime should that SSD ever fail.

So assuming that total installation takes one hour, you're going to spend 20 more dollars on a far superior product AND backup option (320 + 1 hour time @ $40).

And if you're wondering about warranty, the Intel 510 has a 3-year warranty and any good RAM stick will have lifetime warranty.
Though the RMA process if the Intel drive breaks might be a bit longer, consider the fact that that notebook WILL be operational since you have a drive for it, configured for it. If the Intel from Lenovo drive breaks you're stuck until someone can take a look at it, order the part, and fix it (and you're out of all your applications anyways)- and he might give you a temporary hard drive and recovery disks to hold you over.

So the 3rd party stuff is guaranteed to be cheaper.


By the way, ThinkPads don't get head crashes if you install the APS system (from the driver install page) since when the laptop senses any acceleration it parks those heads off the drive. Thus, no head crash is possible, though you still can break the disk by dropping it.

Ok, this is just the information I and I'm sure others need to go down this route. So is Egghead the best place to purchase from in the US, or are their other/better places to order from? Also who has the better return policy?

Maybe I'm not up on my terms but is that newegg? If so, then yes. Before I moved to the uk I bought all computer stuff from there. They almost always have the best price and have excellent customer service. eBay is also good in small doses.

Q-Ball wrote:How much is your time worth per hour? 30 bucks? 40? (Don't need an answer, but see if this applies).

For reducing possible costs, this is what I would go with, then:

4 GB RAM, single DIMM, 80 bucks. This won't leave your computer unusable if you have to RMA the stick of RAM that arrives, which should be another 1333 MHz 4 GB stick (~40 bucks). It takes 5 minutes to install into the computer, and 15 minutes to run MEMTEST on it (though since you've got high-priority applications I'd assume you'd do this anyways).

So it's cheaper, timewise, to install a third-party RAM module this way. You also lessen your chance of failure that one of the 2 sticks is bad by only buying one. Also, consider that your cost with 4 GB Lenovo + 4 GB yourself ($120) << 8 GB Lenovo ($240) and, well...


Also, If we're assuming 40 bucks per hour, then the Intel 510 is a bit less "worth it" but be aware that the T520 that you order may have either a 320 (faster) or an X-25M (slower) installed.
Let's assume that you're not re-installing from a set of recovery disks, and that you've copied the SWTOOLS folder (that's where all the drivers are IIRC) and Lenovo wallpapers (if you want them) onto a USB drive or similar.

Now, to install Windows 7, it will take less than 15 minutes to do. (see http://www.hardwareheaven.com/reviews/1 ... times.html). Installing the drivers should take another 15, following re-install guides (one is found here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo- ... ost6604885) and the fact that installing programs will be faster than the time it takes to download them, and rebooting takes less than 30 seconds to do should you need to do so.

Though the RMA process if the Intel drive breaks might be a bit longer, consider the fact that that notebook WILL be operational since you have a drive for it, configured for it. If the Intel from Lenovo drive breaks you're stuck until someone can take a look at it, order the part, and fix it (and you're out of all your applications anyways)- and he might give you a temporary hard drive and recovery disks to hold you over.

I looked up the steps to install a fresh Windows 7 on the T520 and it looks like from here there are about 40+ drivers to install. Am I not looking at this correctly or what? Not scared of installing device drivers but this just seems like an exorbitant list of things to tackle.

http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... 77167.html