Thinkpads Forum

Hi all,

i'm new to this forum, so please forgive if my question will sound numb. I just want to be sure before I make a purchase.
The subject is Seagate Momentus XT 750 GB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 32 MB Cache 2.5 Inch Solid State Hybrid Drive ST750LX003 http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Momentus- ... =de_a_smtd. Will be purchasing W520 with 160GB SSD as the main system hdd, in addition want to add second HDD for data (via caddy from newmodeus http://www.newmodeus.com/shop/index.php ... cts_id=400).

the questions are:

1) will this hybrid HDD from Seagate fit by the size into caddy?
2) will it work as 6GB/s through caddy of newmodeus? is there any significant difference to 3GB/s?
3) is it reasonable to try this hybrid (since this technology is quite new in comparance to classic HDDs) since it will be used as data HDD (but anyway faster speed would be nice to achieve)? Maybe I should stick with classical 2.5 inches 7200 RPM hard drives for data security?

I appreciate any info that can help me decide.

Best

tranquility wrote: the questions are:

1) will this hybrid HDD from Seagate fit by the size into caddy?
2) will it work as 6GB/s through caddy of newmodeus? is there any significant difference to 3GB/s?
3) is it reasonable to try this hybrid (since this technology is quite new in comparance to classic HDDs) since it will be used as data HDD (but anyway faster speed would be nice to achieve)? Maybe I should stick with classical 2.5 inches 7200 RPM hard drives for data security?

I appreciate any info that can help me decide.

Best

Welcome to the forums! Stick around and read a little bit, as the answers to your questions happen to be in several of the most recent threads in this section.

1. Yes, it is a standard laptop size hard drive.

2. I think the ultrabay is the sata II spec, where the primary hard drive bay is sata III. The difference is not very significant with the Momentus XT.

3. Absolutely reasonable. The idea of SLC SSD caching to complement a traditional hard drive is great. What do you mean by security? The Momentus XT can handle secure erase and/or encryption just like any other drive.

jayton4 wrote: Welcome to the forums! Stick around and read a little bit, as the answers to your questions happen to be in several of the most recent threads in this section.

1. Yes, it is a standard laptop size hard drive.

2. I think the ultrabay is the sata II spec, where the primary hard drive bay is sata III. The difference is not very significant with the Momentus XT.

3. Absolutely reasonable. The idea of SLC SSD caching to complement a traditional hard drive is great. What do you mean by security? The Momentus XT can handle secure erase and/or encryption just like any other drive.

Hi Jayton, thank you for the quick response.
Actually i was observing another thread where exact question was raised and i remained confused since there is a difference between specs on the Seagate website saying it's 9.7 and PDF data sheet where stands it's 9.5. Now it's cleared.

Under secuirty i mean how much trust in such hybrid systems that the data do not get lost, the classic HDD proved themselves with the time so there is not much doubt. What is the risk that such hybrids can fail the shortest term?

also another question came in my mind, when ordering W520 with 160 SSD preinstalled is it in primary hard drive bay?

tranquility wrote: Under secuirty i mean how much trust in such hybrid systems that the data do not get lost, the classic HDD proved themselves with the time so there is not much doubt. What is the risk that such hybrids can fail the shortest term?

These drives are too new to say, but so far they have been very reliable. I do not trust any drives, whether they are spinners or SSD, internal or external, they can all have failures. If you have critical data, you should have more than one copy no matter which style drive you choose. I have not seen any issues with the Momentus XT drives.

tranquility wrote: also another question came in my mind, when ordering W520 with 160 SSD preinstalled is it in primary hard drive bay?

Yes, you can order a few different ways:
1. Regular HDD in the main bay
2. 160GB SSD in the main bay without any HDD.
3. Regular HDD in the main bay and a mSATA SSD in the mSATA slot.

one more question:

as i understand primary bay supports 6GB/s, but will the SSD 160GB that come up with the w520 work as 6GB/s? Are Intel SSDs that Lenovo supplies with the notebooks support SATA III?
if not can be done this way: simply put seagate hybrd to primary bay to benefit from 6GB/s and put SSD into caddy, but boot the system from caddy SSD. Is it possible & reasonable?

tranquility wrote:one more question:

as i understand primary bay supports 6GB/s, but will the SSD 160GB that come up with the w520 work as 6GB/s? Are Intel SSDs that Lenovo supplies with the notebooks support SATA III?

The Intel 160GB drive that Lenovo uses is the X25, which is a SATA II drive. They do not offer SATA III drives as an option to be installed at the factory.

In an earlier post, I was incorrect about the Ultrabay being SATA II. I tried it out today on the W520 (4276-37U) and confirmed that the Ultrabay is indeed SATA III.

tranquility wrote: if not can be done this way: simply put seagate hybrd to primary bay to benefit from 6GB/s and put SSD into caddy, but boot the system from caddy SSD. Is it possible

It is possible to put the Momentus XT in primary and SSD in ultrabay with OS on the SSD. I personally would not do it that way, as I find myself occasionally needing to burn a DVD for whatever reason. If you had your OS on the SSD in the ultrabay, then you would have to use an eSATA or USB solution if you ever had the need to use a DVD. I like having the OS on the drive in the primary bay, but it is up to you to decide what is best for you.

On my T410, I use the SSD in the primary bay and I put the spinner in the ultrabay. The only negative about doing it this way is that the ultrabay adapters do not have the rubber vibration dampeners that the primary bay has. I do not keep the spinning hard drive in the system permanently, only when needed.

tranquility wrote: & reasonable?

It would be most reasonable to get a pair of Corsair Force GT 480GB SSDs and set them up in a RAID 0 configuration.

On my T410, I use the SSD in the primary bay and I put the spinner in the ultrabay. The only negative about doing it this way is that the ultrabay adapters do not have the rubber vibration dampeners that the primary bay has. I do not keep the spinning hard drive in the system permanently, only when needed.

It would be most reasonable to get a pair of Corsair Performance Pro 480GB SSDs and set them up in a RAID 0 configuration.

i'm planning to buy the one from Newmodeus, i heard that it's very good design, may be it has some vibro protection? which one do you use?

http://www.newmodeus.com/shop/index.php ... cts_id=400

tranquility wrote:i'm planning to buy the one from Newmodeus, i heard that it's very good design, may be it has some vibro protection? which one do you use?

http://www.newmodeus.com/shop/index.php ... cts_id=400

This is the one that I bought: http://www.ebay.com/itm/290575508995

The newmodeus ultrabay adapter looks like a good design, but I do not see anything about it that would dampen vibration other than that the drive is fastened to the adapter with screws. The metal top cover may make it less noisy. It would be cool if they designed it so that you could fit the drive in the ultrabay adapter with the original style caddy: http://www.newmodeus.com/shop/index.php ... cts_id=218

From what I've read about the 750G XT, it wont have any benefit from its internal Cache SSD if you use it as a storage drive (given you have the SSD).
If you at all plan to BOOT from it and RUN applications from it, then it caches the stuff well.

But, its what i've read and maybe there is a performance improvement then do report back.