T430 boot drive question mSata

[Hans Gruber]

I have a i7 T430 and I have a 64GB mSata and a couple of 128GB Msata drives. With Windows 10 Pro is a 64GB drive good enough as a boot drive? I will be using a 750GB drive as my D drive. The Msata 64GB has read speeds mid to high 400's and around 150MB write speeds. I think the 128GB SSD is actually slower than the 64GB drive. Can I use the 750GB 2.5" drive in the main HDD bay? I know the T430 doesn't really accommodate 9mm drives. Will the HDD fit with the 7mm slim caddy? My other option is using the ultra bay for the HDD.

Final question. Do the newer thinkpads support SATA 3 6.0 MBPS bus in the Msata port? I am talking T440/T450/T460 or do they still use the SATA 2.0 bus of 300MB's max which is basically 280MB read speeds and around 220-250 write speeds. I know the T420 is the first generation of thinkpads that will accept an mSata SSD in the mini port.

[Thinkpad4by3]

Use 128gb for the w10 drive if you plan to install anything more than chrome and skype. Dont install programs onto the d drive or prepare for hell. For the msata ports, it is negligible difference. It is fine on whatever it is. I used msata in a T520 and T430s. Same drove, same image. Both were about the same speed.The

Sent from my SM-G550T using Tapatalk

[axur-delmeria]

Note that the T440 and later don't have an mSATA slot, but an M.2 (NGFF) slot. The M.2 standard is more complex than mSATA-- more infor can be found here: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/02 ... -next-ssd/


The T440 has a 2242 size (22mmx42mm) M.2 slot with a SATA connection.
M.2 SSDs are more commonly available in 2280 (22mmx80mm) size (which obviously won't fit), so make sure it's the right size before purchasing.

[Hans Gruber]

Note that the T440 and later don't have an mSATA slot, but an M.2 (NGFF) slot. The M.2 standard is more complex than mSATA-- more infor can be found here: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2015/02 ... -next-ssd/


The T440 has a 2242 size (22mmx42mm) M.2 slot with a SATA connection.
M.2 SSDs are more commonly available in 2280 (22mmx80mm) size (which obviously won't fit), so make sure it's the right size before purchasing.

So are you saying the T440 models have both a 7mm HDD slot main drive bay and a M.2 slot instead of a mini PCI-E slot for an Msata? Is the standard drive an M.2 slot or a standard 2.5" HDD like all previous thinkpad T4xx models.

My other question is regarding the T430 primary HDD slot. It requires the slim caddy and rails. I am a bit lazy and have not got around to seeing if a standard 2.5" spinner drive will even fit in the HDD bay. I assume that a 2.5" HDD 9mm drive on a 7mm slim caddy will fit just fine.

[axur-delmeria]

^
The T440 has a 7mm height HDD bay, as well as an M.2 2242 slot .
In most configurations, there's a standard 2.5 inch HDD, while the M.2 slot contains a small 16GB SSD which is used as a cache. It can be replaced with a larger capacity SSD and used as the boot drive.

Refer to the T440 HMM as well as the FRU listing.

[RealBlackStuff]

My X230 (with the same "construction" as a T430) has a 256GB mSATA SSD with Windows 7, and a 500GB 7mm 7200rpm HD in the regular drive bay.
This HD is strictly used for storage and has the power setting to switch off after 3 minutes of non-use (saves battery power).
A standard 9.5mm drive (not 9mm), even without rails/caddy, will not normally fit.
But apparently there are some standard HDs around that are less than 9.5mm thick, so you might get lucky.
However, I wouldn't do that, since there's no shock absorbing for such a drive!

[Hans Gruber]

From my limited testing the problem seems more to be the 9.5mm caddy vs the 7mm caddy. If I stack a standard HDD on top of a 7mm caddy, I think it may fit. Those Chinese ebay sellers are getting a premium for the hard red rubber rails. I plan to use the T430 as my file server machine mostly in the garage. I will probably do the 128GB mSata with a 750GB HDD in either the main bay or the optical bay. I will test out the 64GB mSata as well in the Msata slot.

Is there a power off feature for the 3min shutdown of the HDD in bios?

[RealBlackStuff]

Use your brain!
A standard HD is 9.5mm and already wont fit.
With a caddy (9.5mm or 7mm) that HD-combo will be even thicker and it will NEVER fit!

The power setting is in Device Manager.

[axur-delmeria]

IIRC others have attempted to jam in a 9.5mm drive in the 7mm slot, on the X220 and T420 (also applicable to the T430 as it has the same chassis as the T420). Worst case resulted in damage to the system board's SATA connector.

Not really a good idea.

[dr_st]

IIRC others have attempted to jam in a 9.5mm drive in the 7mm slot, on the X220 and T420

I don't recommend it, but the X220 I purchased was running this way when I bought it from the previous owner (with a 9.5mm drive in the 7mm slot, with no caddy), and it seems fine now (I replaced it with a 7.5mm SSD and proper caddy).

( (also applicable to the T430 as it has the same chassis as the T420).

Almost the same; there are some differences, but I think they are not in the main drive bay area.

Worst case resulted in damage to the system board's SATA connector.

This can happen if you are not careful, because the alignment may be off due to the height differences. However, if you don't jam it in with force, then once it's connected (if it's connected), you'll probably be fine. Still, I don't recommend it. Especially with a hard drive - as RBS said - without the caddy it will be very vulnerable to shocks.

[Hans Gruber]

I am running my T420s right now on a 64GB Hynix Msata SSD right now. I have a Samsung Msata 64GB SSD as well as a couple 128GB Msata's. Just testing out how the mini pci-e slot works. My next step is the T430 that is sporting a 7mm 120GB SSD at the moment.

Below is the 64GB Msata SSD in the T420s. I imagine they will be close to the same in the T430 with a Samsung 64GB Msata. Windows 10 takes up 20GB of storage space.

Sequential Read (Q= 32,T= 1) : 277.953 MB/s
Sequential Write (Q= 32,T= 1) : 175.821 MB/s
Random Read 4KiB (Q= 32,T= 1) : 212.008 MB/s [ 51759.8 IOPS]
Random Write 4KiB (Q= 32,T= 1) : 166.668 MB/s [ 40690.4 IOPS]
Sequential Read (T= 1) : 260.836 MB/s
Sequential Write (T= 1) : 175.954 MB/s
Random Read 4KiB (Q= 1,T= 1) : 13.487 MB/s [ 3292.7 IOPS]
Random Write 4KiB (Q= 1,T= 1) : 37.083 MB/s [ 9053.5 IOPS]

The only thing I have ever broken was an LCD front cover but it still works. I have broken a keyboard or two trying to replace keys.

[sktn77a]

I tried an 80Gb and then a 120Gb mSATA boot drive and neither was big enough. I use a 256Gb mSATA drive now and that's working well

[Hans Gruber]

I have a bunch of thinkpads and my goal has been to have them all up and running with a hard drive be it a SSD or a spinner drive. These 64GB mSata drives work well for Linux or as test drives or temporary drives. I build my own desktops and I have a 500GB SSD and a 240GB SSD as well as a RAID 0 2TB setup on my gaming PC.