Intel 310 80gb - will it work in T420s?

[markgca]

i have a T420s with a ssd, but need more room, so was thinking about adding the intel msata 310 ssd/80gb.

will this work in the t420s? i know some equipment is coded not to work, so i just want to make sure before i order this.

this way i will end up with 2 ssd; the 160 main one and this 80gb secondary. should be enough room.

thanks,

mark

[ZaZ]

Yes, it will work. I'd ask why not go for a platter drive in the main bay if you've already got the msata drive?

[markgca]

Yes, it will work. I'd ask why not go for a platter drive in the main bay if you've already got the msata drive?

well, thats what i would do if i had the msata first, but i ordered it with only the ssd and that takes up the hdd space, so the only open slot is the msata...

[ZaZ]

You could sell the SSD.

[jvarszegi]

You could sell the SSD.

I agree, that makes by far the most sense. OP, you can get a nice 500+ GB 7200 RPM drive relatively cheaply to go with your mSATA drive, and have the best of both worlds. If you're running low on disk space already, an extra 80 GB may not last for long.

[markgca]

i agree, but either way i need the msata

where can i get drives that fit the 420s? i know they are some non standard size that i think only toshiba makes.

and what rails/adapters do i need to fit them? i know going the other way you need some different rails for the ssd, and i had read they were impossible to get.

thanks

mark

[ZaZ]

The T420s like the X220 uses a 7mm single platter drive. Right now only Hitachi and Seagate are making them. I believe Seagate offers 160GB, 250GB and 320GB versions in both 5400RPM and 7200RPM speed. Hitachi offers 250GB, 320GB and 500GB in 5400RPM speed, and a 320GB 7200RPM drive. I have the 500GB Hitachi. I think it goes for around $60.

You should be able to reuse the rails and caddy of the drive you have now.

[Q-Ball]

Intel 320 SSDs can usually fetch about 200-250 bucks OEM new (or nearly new), especially the 160GB ones (new ones are 300).

Actually, why not just sell the Intel 320 in the main bay and get a 256GB Crucial M4? That will give you the same capacity, and for about the same price (assuming you get $200 for the SSD). It's faster, too.

That SSD is about as reliable, and it's about the only other SSD that actually fits in the T420s (and you don't actually void your warranty by removing the top cover like you do with the C300).

[jvarszegi]

It makes more sense to buy an mSATA drive and use the main drive bay for "slow", large storage.

OP, this thread may be of interest to you:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo- ... -x220.html

[markgca]

mSata works fine, put it in, it recognized it. Initialized and all is good.

Then rebooted, and for some unknown reason, the bios seemed to think a new drive was more likely to have the os on it than the old drive, and put it higher on the boot list. once this was changed, all is good!

thanks for all the help.

mark