ThinkPad T420 Upgrade Options

[vivaelt42]

Hey all,

First of all, I am sorry if I get this all wrong as this is my first post.

A month ago I got a used Microsoft Certified Refurbished ThinkPad T420 from Amazon. Other than a few hiccups, I have had a great experience so far. I have removed the refurbisher's weird surface from the lid, Palmrest, and touchpad, and installed some of the Lenovo apps/drivers.

The battery that came with it was 83% used, so I asked for a new battery... and received a 64% used battery (Both are Sanyo). I got the Crystal Disk Info utility and discovered that the hard disk had 3 uncorrectable sectors. Now it has five. Windows 7 hasn't reported anything so it's not too much of an issue... and it's just an excuse to upgrade to an SSD

But my question is should I: 1) Upgrade to a WD Black Series hard drive, get a new Lenovo Battery, get a palm rest with a fingerprint reader, get a FHD IPS panel, or upgrade the RAM from 4GB to 16GB? I'm not too afraid to get under the hood as long as there is instructions, as I have successfully stuffed 2GB of RAM into my T42 and replaced the left hinge (which was fairly difficult).

Thanks

[axur-delmeria]

As with all Thinkpads, the T420 Hardware Maintenance Manual is readily available.

With regards to upgrades, start with the HDD first. A drive that has an increasing number of uncorrectable sectors will definitely die sooner or later. Check the rubber rails that attach to the HDD. Apparently the T420 can fit HDDs that are 7mm or 9.5mm tall, and the rubber rails are different. If your HDD is 7mm tall and you end up ordering a 9.5mm one, you'd need to order a different set of rails to match.

The WWAN slot also doubles as a slot for mSATA SSDs, which means you can get a 120GB mSATA SSD for OS and programs, while sticking a 500GB or 1TB HDD for maximum storage space. Alternatively, you can just grab a normal SATA SSD and ditch the HDD altogether.

Whether you need more than 4GB RAM depends on what you do on your laptop-- IMO 16GB is overkill for most people.

As for the IPS FHD upgrade, this thread is required reading.

[bit_twiddler]

T420 only fits HDDs that are 7mm tall, so be careful when ordering.

Not to nit-pick, but you are probably thinking of the T420s.
The T420 will take a 9.5mm drive in the primary bay, and a 12mm
drive in the ultrabay. On the other hand, the T420s will only take
a 7mm drive in its primary bay, and I don't know what you can
put in its ultrabay.

I have an HGST 5K1500 in the primary bay of mine.

And, when is RMSMajestic going to get more FHD conversion boards out of the Middle Kingdom?
I'd like to try converting a T420s at some point.

[axur-delmeria]

I stand corrected then.

[theterminator93]

Ah yes, the T420.

Step one is getting the HDD squared away. The T420 has physical space for up to three storage devices; one mSATA SSD, a 2.5" HDD/SSD, and a 2.5" HDD/SSD with an UltraBay SATA caddy. My recommendation is any flavor of HDD combined with an mSATA SSD. 2.5" HDDs are available up to 2TB and mSATA SSDs are available up to 1TB, however for cost-effectiveness I'd personally go with a 256/240 SSD and a 500-750 for the HDD. Install the OS onto the SSD, then use the HDD for stuff like downloads/movies/pictures etc. An SSD is the single most cost effective performance booster for a PC without one (well, we can nitpick some finer details on older setups or systems with limited hardware specs, but let's not for now).

Upgrading the T420 from 4GB to 8GB is easy sauce; the single screw upgrade door on the underside gives easy access to the mSATA/WWAN card port as well as the second DIMM slot. 4GB DDR3 SO-DIMM chips are cheap these days... so certainly, an 8GB upgrade should be in the near future as well since all you need to do is pop another 4GB DIMM into the socket on the underside.

FHD IPS screen conversion kits are probably not going to happen for a number of months, if at all. Re-engineered PCBs need to be produced then tested - then the kits need to be brought overseas in a fairly large quantity by RMS's mainland contact (historically it seems this person visits the US once or twice a year around certain holidays). RMS will update all of us if there is anything new regarding the subject, I'm sure, but since there has been only silence regarding the topic, I can only assume there has been no progress on any front. The last batch was such a mixed up bag of successes and near successes that he's more or less annexed himself from the topic, and I certainly don't blame him either. For now I'd shelve the idea of being able to do this until he says more are coming, since we're not guaranteed to get more.

The CPU can be upgraded but thermal limitations are a concern if you feel the desire for two additional cores, moreso if you have the discrete GPU.

[vivaelt42]

Upgrading the T420 from 4GB to 8GB is easy sauce; the single screw upgrade door on the underside gives easy access to the mSATA/WWAN card port as well as the second DIMM slot. 4GB DDR3 SO-DIMM chips are cheap these days... so certainly, an 8GB upgrade should be in the near future as well since all you need to do is pop another 4GB DIMM into the socket on the underside.

For some reason mine came from the refurbisher with 2 2GB DIMM unfortunately, so I'd rather jump in and get 16GB.

The CPU can be upgraded but thermal limitations are a concern if you feel the desire for two additional cores, moreso if you have the discrete GPU.

I've read much already on this forum and Lenovo's about that. Apparently some have swapped fans as well as CPU successfully. I find the CPU to be more than adequate on most tasks.

FHD IPS screen conversion kits are probably not going to happen for a number of months, if at all.

[/quote]

That is rather unfortunate, as I wouldn't mind using my T420 for editing photos; the TFT in mine isn't accurate enough for my tastes (and it's a TFT). It's more than bright enough though.

Does anybody recommend a good seller on Amazon for a good Lenovo Battery? And what type should I get (55+, 55++ etc.)?

What usually sits in the WWAN slot? I don't really want to lose Bluetooth.

And why/when did Lenovo do away with the wonderful LED indicators on the panel? My T42's indicators make sense (and I find the keyboard to be better than my T420's).

Thanks.

[theterminator93]

Hm, probably keeping the factory 4GB DIMMs for resale or for upgrading systems to 8GB or 4GB (where only 1 DIMM slot is present). Using 2x2GB is cheaper from a recycling standpoint than using 1x4GB...

The T420/520 and W520 are the last generation to sport all of the classic ThinkPad features, including status LEDs and the 7-row keyboard. Starting with the xx30 series, we started losing that. Strictly speaking, the T/W 400/500 were the last with the classic "long strip" of status LEDs; the 410/510, 420/520 and 430/530 series slimmed those down but still kept a handful. Anything since has no meaningful status LEDs to be had (excepting the brand new P50/70 workstations).

On most models there's nothing in the WWAN slot. The Bluetooth radio sits under the right side of the palm rest. The WWAN/mSATA slot is easily accessible (next to the 2nd DIMM slot under the access door on the bottom) for quick visual verification.

I can't recommend a specific Amazon battery vendor, though I can say that the 9 cell battery will give a realistic 7-8 hours of use; 9+ hours is possible under light load. A 6 cell will run the system for 4-5 hours. You can also get a 9 cell "slice" battery that connects to the docking station port underneath to use simultaneously alongside either the standard 9 or 6 cell for 16-18 hours. Weight, bulk and cost are the downsides. If you can identify the cell manufacturer, Panasonic and LG make the best batteries which hold up best over time. Avoid Sanyo or Sony.

Here's a list of batteries and part numbers: https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/documents/pd012165

There are also older batteries you can choose from which are made without an authentication chip that was added for the *30 and newer systems, but will work fine on the *20 and *10 machines (e.g. the older 27++, 55+ and 55++ without and the 28++, 70+ and 70++ with). I have a 27++ and a few 55+ and 55++ for my units.

[vivaelt42]

Avoid Sanyo or Sony. There are also older batteries you can choose from which are made without an authentication chip that was added for the *30 and newer systems, but will work fine on the *20 and *10 machines (e.g. the older 27++, 55+ and 55++ without and the 28++, 70+ and 70++ with). I have a 27++ and a few 55+ and 55++ for my units.

Yeah, the two batteries I have, 55+ and 70+, are both really tired ones made by Sanyo. I've read everywhere that the Sanyo ones are horrible. How much does the 9-cell affect the weight and portability of the laptop?

What MSATA SSD's do you recommend for a good price? I would be limited to buying from Amazon (unless there is a really good deal elsewhere).

[systemBuilder]

I carried one of these laptops for 18 months, from about 2010-2012; mine came with an i5-2520m. Here is what I would do:

(1) First, replace the hard disk because it is failing. I would NOT get a regular hard disk, I would get an SSD instead, somewhere between 160GB and 256GB should work well for you. If you are intoxicated with video games or storing movies, 500GB.

(2) If you have a 9-cell battery I would not worry about it having lost 64% as I have gotten as much as 9 hours out of a genuine lenovo 78 mAh battery, so it should still be working for 3+ hours for your laptop. You can delay this upgrade. If you are super handy you can crack open a 9-cell battery pack and test for the weak cell and replace it and you'll probably get a battery that lasts 6-7 hours. If you have a 6-cell then ditch it and get a 9-cell, they are worth having.

If you don't already have one, get a T41 battery for the Ultrabay. Once you have the series-41 or series-42 ultrabay battery it will be the thing that is getting all the wear cycles and your large battery will last longer. I like to get the mAh rating from Thinkpad Battery Manager and write it on blue tape on each battery so I know which one(s) are in good shape.

(3) One annoying thing about these laptops is the sticker on the touchpad which eventually gets a "bald spot" in the middle (all the nubs rub off). I just ripped off the sticker from my T430s last week, it was amazingly strong. You end up with a trackpad much like a T42, Yeah! If yours is going bald and looking ratty, I would rip it off and would probably not replace it. You can get a replacement for $6 (shipped) but it will look "bald" again in 2 years.

(4) Nobody needs 16 GB of RAM for web browsing or gaming with NVS 5400, on a chromebook I am always happy with 4 GB (it's what I'm using right now - Toshiba CB2 - 3205u celeron.) But windows is a pig and you might consider getting 6 or 8 GB of RAM.

(5) I own many T42/p laptops (all ATI 9600 or FireGL) and they all had 14.1" displays with 101 square inches of display. The biggest failure of the T420 is the microscopic 85 square inches of real estate on the useless 14" display, and unfortunately, this cannot be improved by a screen replacement. I would not bother trying to upgrade to FHD - the screen is pretty bright with okay viewing angles and it is too tiny to begin with, i.e. not worth investing the extra $$$.

[theterminator93]

If you don't already have one, get a T41 battery for the Ultrabay. Once you have the series-41 or series-42 ultrabay battery it will be the thing that is getting all the wear cycles and your large battery will last longer. I like to get the mAh rating from Thinkpad Battery Manager and write it on blue tape on each battery so I know which one(s) are in good shape.

I just tried putting one of my T4x UltraBay batteries into the UltraBay III in a T420 I happen to have here. It does not fit - it doesn't insert fully AND it's not the correct thickness. Even if it did mate up to the connections inside and fully insert into the machine, it would flop around unless you added padding or similar. The T420s is the one which officially supports UltraBay batteries. The T420 does not (again, due to thickness). The T420 does support the slice battery though - the T420s does not.

(4) Nobody needs 16 GB of RAM for web browsing or gaming with NVS 5400, on a chromebook I am always happy with 4 GB (it's what I'm using right now - Toshiba CB2 - 3205u celeron.) But windows is a pig and you might consider getting 6 or 8 GB of RAM.

16 seems like overkill now, but 3-5 years down the road it may be the equivalent to today's 8GB. Modern web browsers and web apps are getting more and more CPU/GPU and RAM intensive, especially over the last few years. Too much RAM is never really a bad thing, unless you are looking at ways to "more efficiently" spend money on upgrades. But there comes a point when the CPU, HDD/SSD etc. can be upgraded no further and the last remaining upgrade is memory. Also keep in mind you're comparing apples to oranges with Windows laptop PC vs. a Chromebook. BTW, the T520/420 discrete GPU is the NVS 4200m.

(5) I own many T42/p laptops (all ATI 9600 or FireGL) and they all had 14.1" displays with 101 square inches of display. The biggest failure of the T420 is the microscopic 85 square inches of real estate on the useless 14" display, and unfortunately, this cannot be improved by a screen replacement. I would not bother trying to upgrade to FHD - the screen is pretty bright with okay viewing angles and it is too tiny to begin with, i.e. not worth investing the extra $$$.

The 14" display options are indeed less than spectacular. The HD+ (1600x900) is tolerable, but having one of the FHD IPS screen mod chips for my personal T420... it really makes the unit much more pleasant to use. The 14" size coupled with a 6 cell battery gives great portability and battery life in a package under 5 lbs. Even with the 9 cell it comes in at about 5.5 lbs - much less than the 15.4" T61p I'd had before which came in at something closer to 8 lbs with the 6 cell. The 16:9 aspect is indeed a minus, but overall I find it an attractive package for a unit that is used more for portability than the larger 15" units, which don't move as much. That said, I do prefer the 15.4/15.6" of the T61p/W520 when I'm doing stuff at home - possibly because that's what I've gotten used to over the last 10 years or so.

Avoid Sanyo or Sony. There are also older batteries you can choose from which are made without an authentication chip that was added for the *30 and newer systems, but will work fine on the *20 and *10 machines (e.g. the older 27++, 55+ and 55++ without and the 28++, 70+ and 70++ with). I have a 27++ and a few 55+ and 55++ for my units.

Yeah, the two batteries I have, 55+ and 70+, are both really tired ones made by Sanyo. I've read everywhere that the Sanyo ones are horrible. How much does the 9-cell affect the weight and portability of the laptop?

What MSATA SSD's do you recommend for a good price? I would be limited to buying from Amazon (unless there is a really good deal elsewhere).

The unit with the 9 cell plus the slice battery is surprisingly heavy and cumbersome. The 9 cell by itself isn't too detrimental to portability since it adds about half a pound to the weight over the 6 cell.

I have a Crucial M550 240 in my T420; I just installed a Samsung 850 250GB in a friend's T420. The Samsung seems to go for about $90; I think the Crucial MX200 is the competitor to that and is about the same price.

[kony]

If you play games, then get an external GPU :)

[vivaelt42]

(3) One annoying thing about these laptops is the sticker on the touchpad which eventually gets a "bald spot" in the middle (all the nubs rub off). I just ripped off the sticker from my T430s last week, it was amazingly strong. You end up with a trackpad much like a T42, Yeah! If yours is going bald and looking ratty, I would rip it off and would probably not replace it. You can get a replacement for $6 (shipped) but it will look "bald" again in 2 years.

One of the first things I did with my T420 was to remove the aftermarket sticker on the touchpad after reading the forums. It IS very much like the T42, though the T42's is still smoother. I have yet to use a better keyboard/touchpad combo than on the T42.

(4) Nobody needs 16 GB of RAM for web browsing or gaming with NVS 5400, on a chromebook I am always happy with 4 GB (it's what I'm using right now - Toshiba CB2 - 3205u celeron.) But windows is a pig and you might consider getting 6 or 8 GB of RAM.

I've eaten up the 4GB multiple times in Windows 7. But on most occasions it is fine.

The biggest failure of the T420 is the microscopic 85 square inches of real estate on the useless 14" display

I could actually go smaller and use more real estate on mine.

I have a Crucial M550 240 in my T420; I just installed a Samsung 850 250GB in a friend's T420. The Samsung seems to go for about $90; I think the Crucial MX200 is the competitor to that and is about the same price.

Thanks. The Samsung 850 2.5" SATA SSD has really good reviews on Amazon. How much of a speed difference is there between having a 6GB/s SSD in the main bay vs. the 3GB/s MSATA SSD in the WWAN slot. Though as I write this, the hard disk currently in mine is a 320GB 7200RPM 3GB/s model.

If you play games, then get an external GPU

I'm a casual gamer, and the Intel Graphics in the i5 2520 are good enough for most purposes; although I wish it had a shader clock and better OpenGL support.

[bit_twiddler]

One of the first things I did with my T420 was to remove the aftermarket sticker on the touchpad after reading the forums. It IS very much like the T42, though the T42's is still smoother. I have yet to use a better keyboard/touchpad combo than on the T42.

What's a good way to do that? Did you have to use a solvent?

[vivaelt42]

What's a good way to do that? Did you have to use a solvent?

First, I had an aftermarket surface installed on mine from the refurbisher; there was very little to no residue (what was on it disappeared after a few hours) after I carefully peeled the sticker off. From what I have gathered, there is little to no residue after taking the stock sticker off.

There is a forum page on it: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=98352

And Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/thinkpad/comme ... kpad_took/

If you take the sticker off, your fingers will have to be clean until the surface gets worn in.

Basically, I was able to peel up a corner and take the touchpad off. It helped that the refurbisher didn't do a good job of cutting the sticker and didn't cover the entire touchpad surface.

Unfortunately taking off the sticker doesn't solve the poor Synaptics software driver (it likes to lock up and crash).

[Zeroin]

About ssd-perfomance issues:
Here in Russia we check the alignment of partitions in a first place. And the earlier argument for not using recovery dvd's, cd's, floppies with obsolete SW, dealing with ssd, serves the same benefit.

So, if partitions were created unaligned using recovery DVD, than reinstalling "clean OS", even with formatting "C", won't make a difference.

free tool for checking/aligning from a Partition Wizard ©

[dr_st]

About ssd-perfomance issues:
Here in Russia we check the alignment of partitions in a first place.

Really? I thought that in Russia, partition alignment checks YOU!

[Zeroin]

About ssd-perfomance issues:
Here in Russia we check the alignment of partitions in a first place.

Really? I thought that in Russia, partition alignment checks YOU!

You got me just don't tell anyone!

[SkiBunny]

I have a Crucial M550 240 in my T420; I just installed a Samsung 850 250GB in a friend's T420.
I think the Crucial MX200 is the competitor to that and is about the same price.

Thanks. The Samsung 850 2.5" SATA SSD has really good reviews on Amazon. I

I don't give weight to most buyer "reviews" on Amazon, unless there is a common complaint about DOA. I think you can do better by reading the professional reviews and the experience of enthusiasts on forums.

The Samsung 850 comes in two flavors - EVO and PRO. The EVO is TLC NAND, which enthusiasts feel should be avoided because TLC is unreliable. The EVO, at least in its previous model 840, eventually failed spectacularly as reads slowed to a crawl over time, and samsung was unable to fix it other than temporarily. On the plus side, the 850 EVO is about the cheapest SSD you can buy now. The 256GB EVO was recently C$79 which is US$56.

The 850 PRO is about twice as expensive but benefits from the use of MLC NAND at a glorious 40nm, and this drive benchmarks the fastest of any consumer SSD, at least in synthetic tests, but its 3D V-Nand is an untested technology. It looks promising, but buying new technology from Samsung is a risky proposition because Samsung seems to use customers as beta testers. And samsung support is infamous for being the worst in the industry.

The MX200 is priced between the two Samsung models and sports Micron's own well-regarded MLC NAND, in a small 16nm (smaller means hotter, slower and less reliable). Among the three drives above, this might be the best value for quality. It is abit slower and it has a nasty performance issue if you fill up the drive, but I think that can be avoided by heavily over-provisioning. In general, the difference in real-world performance among different SSD's is barely perceptible to most users, certainly for the typical user like on a T420, as T420 users presumably aren't power users who are heavily into video editing or CAD.

No matter which SSD you choose, it's recommended you over-privision it by leaving 20-30% of the total drive unallocated. This will help the performance and reliability. For the MX200, I'd go with at least 30% (tom's hardware recommends 50% I think) So you should partition your SSD with no more than 180GB (preferably less) of the 256GB total.

When reading about drives, don't confuse endurance with reliability. These are not the same by any stretch. Endurance is easy to ascertain; reliability is very difficult to assess and not really known until many drives have been used for a long time. I'm struggling to figure out which SSD sold today is a reliable drive. Just because an old Intel or Crucial has been reliable in the past does not mean the new model will be reliable - especially as they shrink cell size and/or change controllers.

I currently own an 850 EVO, Sandisk Extreme Pro, an Intel 535 and an unopened 850 PRO that I might return. I had an MX200 but I exchanged it unopened for the Sandisk Extreme Pro. All of these companies have generally good rep though none are perfect.

The Sandisk Extreme Pro has been out for >1.5 years so it has a track record now, and it has had a good rep for consistency and reliability, although lately I've read a couple of people who claim theirs died and so did their warrenty replacement. Lately the Sandisk Extreme Pro has sold for a great price - same as the MX200 - so I went for the Sandisk as it's considered a premium SSD. Tom's Hardware rates Sandisk Extreme Pro as the best performing SATA SSD as of November 2015 - and the 850 EVO as the best low-budget SSD.
See http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd ... ,3269.html
But strangely and sadly, among all the drives mentioned above, only the Sandisk isn't self encrypting.

I recently realized that OCZ has, by far, the best SSD warranty support nowadays (simply enter your serial# online and OCZ sends you a replacement). And OCZ reliability seems to have improved from its bad SSD's of days past - which is good to see because back in the early 2000's I really liked OCZ memory & OCZ's Rally2 USB-flash drives.

I'd be very interested in hearing about the reliability of specific SSD models. I think your M550 was supposedly reliable, but again, that's no guarantee about the reliabilty of the MX200 because it has different size NAND cell, circuitry, probably a different controller and might be built in a different plant/country than before.

[ajkula66]

I'd be very interested in hearing about the reliability of specific SSD models. I think your M550 was supposedly reliable, but again, that's no guarantee about the reliabilty of the MX200 because it has different size NAND cell, circuitry, probably a different controller and might be built in a different plant/country than before.

M550 is a fine drive, but sports a reputation of running on warmer side, and therefore possibly throttling at high loads.

Intel 730 - while not the fastest drive around - has been nothing short of spectacular in my experience, and I've gone through several of them. OCZ Vector 150 - not 180 - is another outstanding drive in my book, presuming one can still get their hands on an unopened box containing one of them.

My current SSD of choice is Sandisk Extreme Pro. Along with my old SLC-based Intels and Microns, that is.

[SkiBunny]

Intel 730 - while not the fastest drive around - has been nothing short of spectacular in my experience, and I've gone through several of them.

My current SSD of choice is Sandisk Extreme Pro. Along with my old SLC-based Intels and Microns, that is.

Glad to see you're still picking this Sandisk. Is that due to its reliability track record in the field?? (not just its topnotch performance + consistency). Mentioning this Sandisk alongside those classic SLC drives honors it.

The 730's price is out of reach, but I kinda like the Intel 535 when on-sale... it's the Intel for budget-minded folks. It seems to have the same 16nm die, sandforce controller and internal components as Intel's low-end enterprise model 2500, except no charge capacitors to protect in-flight data.

[ajkula66]

Glad to see you're still picking this Sandisk. Is that due to its reliability track record in the field?? (not just its topnotch performance + consistency). Mentioning this Sandisk alongside those classic SLC drives honors it.

I tend to stick with what works *for me* in most areas of life. Extreme Pro has offered - in my experience - an excellent combination of consistent performance and value for money.

The 730's price is out of reach, but I kinda like the Intel 535 when on-sale... it's the Intel for budget-minded folks. It seems to have the same 16nm die, sandforce controller and internal components as Intel's low-end enterprise model 2500, except no charge capacitors to protect in-flight data.

These drives are actually very different, and I'm not a fan of 535 - or any SF-based SSD for that fact - while 730 is the first Intel SSD that I've really fallen in love with since the 320 series. For long-term applications in a serious business environment - presuming one can live with the 480GB size limitation - 730 would still be my top pick.

[SkiBunny]

These drives are actually very different, and I'm not a fan of 535 - or any SF-based SSD for that fact - while 730 is the first Intel SSD that I've really fallen in love with since the 320 series. For long-term applications in a serious business environment - presuming one can live with the 480GB size limitation - 730 would still be my top pick.

Oh I thought sandisk extreme pro was your top pick for consumer SSD ... but that was last November and things can change.

Anyway, admittedly, comparing Intel's 535 with its 730 is like comparing Nissan's datsun with an Infiniti - however that includes the price difference. Sadly, I don't own an Infiniti nor an Intel 730, nor am I ever likely to (I have however owned a used datsun). I'm talking about an Intel 535 that cost just $69 to $79 throughout Nov & December on newegg for 256GB. The intel 535 and intel 2500 both sport SK Hynix NAND (not Intel NAND, strangely) and the same SF controller. So what's really wrong with the SF?? (aside from it being non-intel, older tech and rather slow with incompressible data - which presumably shouldn't impact office workers if you're focused on your job instead of movies, lol).

[ajkula66]

So what's really wrong with the SF??

Everything.

Highly questionable reliability. If there's any to speak thereof in the first place.

Lousy *real life* write speeds.

I'd honestly put aside a few more bucks and get something - almost anything - else. I'd never trust any SF-based drive with my data again.

My suggestion would be to go with this SSD within your desired price range:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... gnorebbr=1

Or, for a few bucks more:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... gnorebbr=1

Happy shopping.

[RealBlackStuff]

George, are you serious?
Recommending an SSD with TLC?

I'd look at a serious new contender: 240GB Zotac with MLC and Phison controller.
It also has the rare power-loss protection!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product

Review here: http://www.thinkcomputers.org/zotac-pre ... ve-review/

[ajkula66]

George, are you serious?
Recommending an SSD with TLC?

Thanks for catching that.

Wrong link, corrected now.

[SkiBunny]

George, are you serious?
Recommending an SSD with TLC?

Thanks for catching that.

Wrong link, corrected now.

Hey George, you're off your game today...lol...that BX200 is another TLC drive

I think you might have meant the outgoing BX100 which bests the new BX200.

Crucial SATA drives are like Thinkpads now - the new model is a step down from the old model

I tend to stick with what works *for me* in most areas of life. Extreme Pro has offered - in my experience - an excellent combination of consistent performance and value for money.

730 is the first Intel SSD that I've really fallen in love with since the 320 series. For long-term applications in a serious business environment - presuming one can live with the 480GB size limitation - 730 would still be my top pick.

May I please ask... In your experience how has Extreme Pro's reliability measured up against others or top models like that intel 320 or 730?
Have you had the good fortune to use more than one Extreme Pro?

(I recently bought a 240 Extreme Pro for my main rig as, yes, it seems good value for performance. I also first got an 850 Pro but it cost $30 more than the Sandisk and thus will most likely go back)

[SkiBunny]

I'd look at a serious new contender: 240GB Zotac with MLC and Phison controller.
It also has the rare power-loss protection!
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product

Review here: http://www.thinkcomputers.org/zotac-pre ... ve-review/

Good find. Nice components, build and features at a great price. Alas it's very hard to find where I am, and where I do see it it's 2-3 times as expensive. Sigh.

[ajkula66]

May I please ask... In your experience how has Extreme Pro's reliability measured up against others or top models like that intel 320 or 730?

No. I've installed more Intel 320 drives than I'd dare count and all of them are still running AFAIK. I likely won't get to having that number of Extreme Pros applied, ever, especially for the fact that my days of building and re-selling are over.

As for 730, I've utilized about a dozen of them, but in a somewhat stressful environment and they're all behaving well for now.

Have you had the good fortune to use more than one Extreme Pro?

Yes I have. No surprises. Pretty dull drive in that respect...

[vivaelt42]

It's finally time for me to start upgrades! I have decided to go with the Crucial MX200 MSATA and leaving part of it unallocated for over-provisioning.

I was looking into replacing the cells within my 55+ pack but quickly decided otherwise...

Unfortunately Lenovo doesn't say which FRU is Sanyo or Panasonic... https://support.lenovo.com/us/en/documents/pd024285

Can any of you guys give input on which FRU is Sanyo so that I can possible avoid that? There is a really good chance that I will by the 9-cell.

Thank you!

[theterminator93]

45N1011 and 42T4801 are the FRUs on the 9 cell Panasonics I have.