256GB SSD for $175 on t410s (1.8)!

This guy has refurbished Crucial RealSSD C300 1.8 256GB SSDs for $199. I made an offer to him for $175 and he accepted it. I am not in any way connected to that ebay Seller. I figured I'll pass along a good deal if any of you are interested.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/261041740849?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

Popped it in my T410s and it's humming along nicely. Having 256G SSD is really nice. T410s don't have SATAIII ports to take full advantage of the C300s, but it is still faster than my stock Toshiba SSD which didn't even have Trim function. I'm back on my T410s now after using my Alienware M17xR3 for a while. I do miss the Samsung 830 256GB I had in it...(holy that thing was fast...), but for the price, you can't beat the Crucials.

I guess the C300 had horrific firmware programs until version 006. These come with 007 which supposedly fixes most of the firmware issues (I hope)...so it makes sense that there are lot of refurbs floating around. The units are definitely from the factory. I've had it for total of 2-3 days now and I've been hammering it. So I'll let you guys know if any problems develop within the next few days before the units are sold out.

 

Which firmware version was on the drive as you bought it? Did you have to update the firmware?

 

Mine came with 007, which is the latest, so no manual update on my part was necessary. I've been hammering it with quite a bit of activity and it's holding up well. I can post CrystalDiskInfo screens later if someone wants it.

I highly recommend putting tape on the drive so you can pull it back out of the T410s slot. I first tried it without it and had a really hard time taking it out. I put a tape on both side to make a pull-tab just like Lenovo's original.

 

Never mind. My mistake.

 

Thanks.

That tape trick will be helpful.

I'm going to help a friend upgrade her T410s. I'm considering a smaller Crucial 1.8" SSD (same seller) in the primary bay and a large 2.5" HDD in the UltraBay caddy adapter.

 

They had Crucial M4s 256GB for $170 for the past week or so. At various sites such as Newegg, Amazon, Buy.com, etc. I'd wait for a real one rather than a refurb, especially something that holds all your important data!

 

That is for the 2.5" version, which doesn't fit into T410s (1.8 microSATA slot).

 

The tricky part, which you obviously missed, is that the T410s primary bay accepts 1.8" drive, not the popular 2.5" drive.

 

I bought one of these from the eBay dude that was DOA. I have done Crucial's suggested "power cycle" process 4 times (which takes 40 minutes each time), which temporarily gets the thing to work, but then it dies within a few minutes of use. The drive dies in my 2730P, in my desktop computer, and when in an external enclosure.

Before you buy from this guy on eBay, please note the onerous "customer agreement" on the sale page. Return for exchange only, you pay return shipping.

I am trying an RMA with Crucial.

 

I've been lucky with the drive so far and it's running really well (But I'm on a one sample). In theory, PayPal's Buyer Protection is pretty good as long as you are within 45 days. You can complain that it's DOA (which is different from description) and if you complain to PayPal, they'll pay for your shipping back instead of the seller. His listing is a bit odd where it gives you 15 days to exchange (whether or not it's defective) or 30 days to change (if defective)...or at least that's how I read it.

I've had enough luck with PayPal/Ebay Buyer Protection to take a risk on stuff like this. Besides, this guy has 100% feedback so far...