Ssd??

[doc5md]

I really appreciate all the articles here and the forum responses, but maybe I've read too much now?!
So, I'm planning on buying a lenovo w701 for photo editing. core i7-720qm 8GB 1333MHz ram.
I will be running photoshop and lightroom mostly, but will run some architectural stuff as well.
I've waffled back and forth on the choice of HD.
I can order it with a 160GB SSD and 500GB 7200RPM secondary drive for date. But, they use Samsung drives for their SSD's which I understand are lousy.
So, I could order it with the smallest base drive and the 500GB secondary drive, then buy an SSD. I could do it right away, or wait until the new intel drives come out.
Then, I'm a bit concerned about migrating the old drive to the new SSD. Would it be best to get the system and on first boot create an image of the machine right away and store it until the SSD migration- then just build the SSD from the image file?
Is there a better way?
Should I just forget the SSD?
Any opinions here?

Thanks, Quinn

 

[taltamir]

order it with the smaller primary drive and NO secondary drive.
Buy a secondary 500GB drive (of higher quality, for cheaper price) and insert it yourself.
When the new intels come out, replace your primary drive with an intel SSD and sell the drive that came with the laptop.

that is assuming that if you order no secondary drive it will come with a secondary drive slot. Look that up first, because laptop makers are prone to having the same "model" have different models based on the customizations you select.

 

[doc5md]

I thought of that too, but it won't come with the things necessary to mount the other drive. apparently they don't ship it with the special rails needed unless you have a second drive in it.
Are the Samsung regular HDD's of poor quality?

Is the transfer to the SSD as simple as formatting the SSD as a bootable drive and cloning the old drive to it?

order it with the smaller primary drive and NO secondary drive.
Buy a secondary 500GB drive (of higher quality, for cheaper price) and insert it yourself.
When the new intels come out, replace your primary drive with an intel SSD and sell the drive that came with the laptop.

that is assuming that if you order no secondary drive it will come with a secondary drive slot. Look that up first, because laptop makers are prone to having the same "model" have different models based on the customizations you select.

 

[FishAk]

Unless the 160GB is a G2 Intel drive, buy the laptop with the two cheapest drives you can. Throw away those drives, and install an SSD with an Intel or Sandforce controller, with enough capacity for your OS and programs. Install a Momentus XT 500GB hybrid for storage.


I too am curious about alignment and images. There is much to read here in the forum, but I'm still not sure if you can create a partition with Windows, and then simply write the image to the partition, and have it stay alligned. It's claimed that some image software won't effect alignment, and some will. I have no experience here.

 

[corkyg]

(1) I thought of that too, but it won't come with the things necessary to mount the other drive. apparently they don't ship it with the special rails needed unless you have a second drive in it.
Are the Samsung regular HDD's of poor quality?

(2) Is the transfer to the SSD as simple as formatting the SSD as a bootable drive and cloning the old drive to it?

1. Don't worry about that. Lenovo caddy and rails are readily available. I have two sets of them so I have a reserve drive ready to go anytime.

2. Simpler. Using Acronis TI 2010, the drive can be cloned without formatting the new drive. That is part of the cloning process.

 

[taltamir]

I thought of that too, but it won't come with the things necessary to mount the other drive. apparently they don't ship it with the special rails needed unless you have a second drive in it.
Are the Samsung regular HDD's of poor quality?

Is the transfer to the SSD as simple as formatting the SSD as a bootable drive and cloning the old drive to it?

Aha, so they do indeed have different models, without the ability to mount a second drive unless you buy one. well:
1. How much is the cheapest secondary drive you can buy it with?
2. How much is the 500GB secondary drive you can buy it with?

The samsung HDD are fine in quality. I am just concerned about price (they normally add a good mark up when selling you more stuff).
it might be cheaper to buy the cheapest secondary drive, then buy a 500GB secondary HDD yourself.

You should do a proper installation with windows rather then a clone. due to SSD alignment issues. Also, you should do a clean format anyways on any new laptop, it comes with tons and tons of crapware preinstalled that gives you terrible performance.

1. Don't worry about that. Lenovo caddy and rails are readily available. I have two sets of them so I have a reserve drive ready to go anytime.

So you are saying he doesn't need to order 2 drives? and he can just buy the needed rails separately? where?

Unless the 160GB is a G2 Intel drive, buy the laptop with the two cheapest drives you can. Throw away those drives

I don't know about you, but I would sell them on ebay.

 

[FishAk]

If he can sell them, great! I wouldn't go into the deal with the notion I could sell them for a reasonable price. However, I know for a fact that I could throw or give them away. E-bay might be essentially the same, but with more hassle.


But I especially like corjyg's idea. If he can find parts, that is the best way.

 

[corkyg]

I bought mine for my T60 two years ago - there are many sources. E-Bay is one, but there are others.

I don't know about the W700 series, but the T series can use the Ultrabay adapter which replaces the optical drive (SATA) and accepts any SATA drive directly with no rails or caddy. I use that also for my data. That can be any SATA drive, SSD or mechanical. And, here is the latest model which will fit the W Series and others:

http://shop.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/c...D77F5867D31462

With this (Lenovo Part # 43N34120) you can simply drop in a 500/7200 drive for data and have the 128SSD as a boot/program drive. If you want to use or view a CD?DVD, just pop it out and insert the optical drive.

 

[jaydee]

Then, I'm a bit concerned about migrating the old drive to the new SSD. Would it be best to get the system and on first boot create an image of the machine right away and store it until the SSD migration- then just build the SSD from the image file?

I don't how much bloatware Lenovo has, but if they're like most laptop manufacturers, forget cloning and do a fresh Win7 install yourself.

 

[Emulex]

lenovo is mad-bloatware these days. compared to hp elitebook about 20 extra running processes. insanity!

 

[corkyg]

One person's bloatware is another's convenience. I never do a clean install on a notebook - too many devices don't work. Clone first, and know it will boot. Unwanted processes can be turned off and unwanted "bloatware" can be uninstalled. That makes for a reliable system in a laptop. The "blue" button is very useful and depends on processes not contained in a Win 7 DVD.

 

[doc5md]

Thanks for all the information. Looks like I can get rails and such to mount a second drive so I can definitely save some cash on getting a second drive.
As for the primary drive. I am thinking I can go with the cheap 320GB 5400 RPM drive, or add 40$ and get the 7200RPM drive. I think I will put an image of it on my desktop raid so I have it, then I can try a fresh install and if it doesn't go well, I could use the image to create the SSD instead.

With Acronis do I have to worry about any alignment issues?
I'm worried a bit about a clean windows install only because of the complexity of this laptop. Besides the typical driver issues for video card, etc. This laptop will have built in Wacom tablet, fingerprint reader, and Pantone monitor calibrator built in. I'm a bit worried about getting it all functional.

Thanks everyone. getting closer to the purchase button!
Quinn

 

[doc5md]

Someone mentioned the momentus hybrid drive in the second bay. As a data drive, do you really get any benefit from the hybrid drive? I'd be using it for my photography storage. (yes I have a back up plan for the data too)

Thanks, Quinn

 

[taltamir]

One person's bloatware is another's convenience.

I politely and respectfully disagree.

I never do a clean install on a notebook - too many devices don't work

what? I formatted dozens of laptops and PCs from dozens of manufacturers, at worst there are a few drivers you need to download from the manufacturer's site. Takes all of 10 minutes and you are done and ready to go.