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X1 Carbon 3:rd gen(2015): Exactly what PCIe modules are supported? BIOS whitelist? Any suggestion of good 1TB module?

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 2:00 pm
by bwsb
I read somewhere that the X1 Carbon 3:rd gen(2015) will take any "M.2 PCI SSD" from any manufacturer, presuming that it's of the "PCIe 2.0 x4" specification.

(Apparently there's a "PCIe 4.0 x4" specification out there.)

Can you please let me know,

* What's a good and inexpensive 1TB PCIe module for this machine?

* Does this machine's BIOS have a "whitelist" anymore, or does it take any module from any manufacturer?

* If it takes any module from any manufacturer, then, what spec must it accord to? For instance,

* Any max length or depth consideration? And,

* If I et a "PCIe 4.0 x4" module, would the X1 Carbon 3:rd gen/2015 use it anyhow, and just run it in legacy "PCIe 2.0 x4" mode?

Thanks!

Re: X1 Carbon 3:rd gen(2015): Exactly what PCIe modules are supported? BIOS whitelist? Any suggestion of good 1TB module

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 2:56 pm
by fb1996
As far as I know, there is no 1TB PCIe M.2 SSD yet. However, even if there exists one, it won't be inexpensive.

There is no SSD whitelist, but there is still a whitelist for WLAN and WWAN modules.

You can choose either a SATA or a PCIe based M.2 SSD with a length of 80mm.

It will support PCIe 3.0 or PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSDs (the Samsung SM951 Lenovo uses is a PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD), but it will run it in legacy mode.

Re: X1 Carbon 3:rd gen(2015): Exactly what PCIe modules are supported? BIOS whitelist? Any suggestion of good 1TB module

Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 3:57 pm
by bwsb
fb1996,

Great, thank you for letting me know!

Do you have any idea when an 1TB module ought to be on the market?

(Just for reference, the MacBook Pro:s have had 1TB options for some while now - what's different about its format compared to the X1's? Is it just the wrong socket, or are there size constriants that need to be overcome to make a M.2 PCIe 80mm module of 1TB?)

Re: X1 Carbon 3:rd gen(2015): Exactly what PCIe modules are supported? BIOS whitelist? Any suggestion of good 1TB module

Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2015 9:33 pm
by w0qj
As a side note, pls note that as of June 2015, the X1 Carbon Generation 3 (2015) *does*not* support NVMe SM951 Samsung hard drive.

In fact, it cannot boot up in such a SM951 NVMe after-market hard drive.

For further details, pls see:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?f=62&t=118102

Re: X1 Carbon 3:rd gen(2015): Exactly what PCIe modules are supported? BIOS whitelist? Any suggestion of good 1TB module

Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 1:19 am
by bwsb
w0qj, thank you so much for mentioning.

If anyone knows any update on the 1TB module situation, also please tell!

Re: X1 Carbon 3:rd gen(2015): Exactly what PCIe modules are supported? BIOS whitelist? Any suggestion of good 1TB module

Posted: Sun Jun 28, 2015 7:14 pm
by topmahof
https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Community- ... 57635#M276

I have this machine now, it's running the 512 Gb version and it runs fast.

Regards,
Dave