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T430 - mSATA SSD or SATA SSD?

T430-T490, T530-T590 Series
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IBM_Nut
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T430 - mSATA SSD or SATA SSD?

#1 Post by IBM_Nut » Thu Apr 02, 2020 1:46 pm

Just wondering what the best and fastest way of setting up the computer is?

I have the following available:
64gb mSATA SSD
500gb SATA SSD
500gb HDD

Is it best to keep the 64gb mSATA SSD in for just booting off of and having the 500gb HDD for storage or using the 500gb SSD to boot and store off of?
Last edited by IBM_Nut on Thu Apr 02, 2020 2:10 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Re: T430 - mSATA SSD or SATA SSD?

#2 Post by theterminator93 » Thu Apr 02, 2020 1:52 pm

64GB is a little small for an OS disk. Can it be done, sure, but it will require frequent maintenance to keep from filling up. SSDs also don't do very well when they're nearly full.

Given what you have, I'd install the 64 GB mSATA disk and use that for your swap file (at the very least) and then install the 500 GB SSD for your OS and everything else.
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Re: T430 - mSATA SSD or SATA SSD?

#3 Post by dr_st » Thu Apr 02, 2020 3:50 pm

theterminator93 wrote:
Thu Apr 02, 2020 1:52 pm
64GB is a little small for an OS disk. Can it be done, sure, but it will require frequent maintenance to keep from filling up.
Not in the age of Win10 it can't. It needs tons of space for regular milestone updates, DLL caches and whatnot. I had difficulties even with 128GB (but then I did use it for storage as well). I wouldn't even try 64GB.
theterminator93 wrote:
Thu Apr 02, 2020 1:52 pm
Given what you have, I'd install the 64 GB mSATA disk and use that for your swap file (at the very least) and then install the 500 GB SSD for your OS and everything else.
This is an interesting idea. And if one still wants more storage, the HDD can go into the Ultrabay instead of the optical.
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Re: T430 - mSATA SSD or SATA SSD?

#4 Post by IBM_Nut » Thu Apr 02, 2020 4:21 pm

Ok well I purchased recently and the computer arrived with the 64GB mSATA and 500gb HDD in ultrabay. Nothing in the main computer, currently it is empty strangely.
Just wondering why it would have arrived like this and if I was missing a trick. I’ll likely put the 500gb SSD in. I just wasn’t sure if the boot up was best on the 64GB SSD mSATA and all updates in OS would just fill other drives.

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Re: T430 - mSATA SSD or SATA SSD?

#5 Post by JBUK » Thu Apr 02, 2020 5:43 pm

Heres how I use my T530s. The msata I dont use as its only sata11.
In the main slot I have a 120gb SSD with the OS on and a 1TB SSD in the ultrabay. I have installed all the programs/apps and my data onto partition D on the 1TB and moved everything I can like documents and downloads from the OS to the data partition.
The OS takes up about 15gb and I control updates strictly by doing them myself with cumulatives on all my machines so that the size remains stable. I know that this OS size goes against the previous advice but I find it works for me the way I use my Thinkpads.
Additionally I have another T530 in a second location, with the same 120gb SSD setup, which I go to stay at for a couple of months at a time and I simply take the ultrabay with me and plug it in to the second Tpad to save all the hassle of syncing data at both ends of the trip and keeping my data securely with me at all times.

So I suggest you use the disk slots whichever way suits you as there is no right way at all.
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Re: T430 - mSATA SSD or SATA SSD?

#6 Post by theterminator93 » Thu Apr 02, 2020 7:07 pm

dr_st wrote:
Thu Apr 02, 2020 3:50 pm
theterminator93 wrote:
Thu Apr 02, 2020 1:52 pm
64GB is a little small for an OS disk. Can it be done, sure, but it will require frequent maintenance to keep from filling up.
Not in the age of Win10 it can't. It needs tons of space for regular milestone updates, DLL caches and whatnot. I had difficulties even with 128GB (but then I did use it for storage as well). I wouldn't even try 64GB.
Well, one of the models of devices we support in our schools (HP Stream) has only 64GB of space - unchecked it fills up pretty quickly with junk update uninstall data and user profile info, even with folder redirection sending the bulk of the users' personal data to the file server. We got around having to re-image them every 3-5 months by keeping them to a handful of profiles (instead of dozens or hundreds). We just reimage them once a year (usually in summer with the xx03 Win10 build) and they're fine. Most of the time they hover between 40 and 50 GB used.
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Re: T430 - mSATA SSD or SATA SSD?

#7 Post by cadillacmike68 » Fri Apr 03, 2020 1:07 am

What is an mSATA SSD? Is it some sort of mini SSD that goes in a special place in the T530?

Where would that be?

I like the idea of a SSD as the boot drive and then either a regular or SSD as the 2nd drive that can be swapped for the optical drive if needed. But if I could have a boot mSATA somewhere And the main bay SSD HD and an optical or exrta drive in the ultrabay that would be better, since I don't think any of the T530 docks have an ultrabay any longer.
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Re: T430 - mSATA SSD or SATA SSD?

#8 Post by RealBlackStuff » Fri Apr 03, 2020 1:51 am

mSATA drives can be put in the WWAN-slot of older machines.
Drives like these come in different shapes and sizes: mSATA and several M.2 and are not interchangeable!
T430/T530 need mSATA.
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Re: T430 - mSATA SSD or SATA SSD?

#9 Post by Radioguy » Wed Apr 08, 2020 6:32 am

Me, as I use externals for storage as a rule, I'd max out every possibility on board with a bootable drive and have a double or triple boot machine with an OS on each drive in such a scenario. 64GB would obviously host a flavor of Linux, maybe a second Ultrabay HDD would be macOS if a Hackintosh is possible. IMO, partitioning the boot drive for those installs is best avoided if multiple drives can be carried on board. Incidentally, I would try to do the same with the ExpressCard slot and SD reader as well (Linux will run off SD).

Lastly, while the mSATA is the best use, there's a pci-e card that carries two SD slots that can be installed there too.
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Re: T430 - mSATA SSD or SATA SSD?

#10 Post by AnalyticalMind » Sun Apr 12, 2020 1:59 pm

Go for SATA ssd. Msata is waste of money. You wont use msata device in New Computer.

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