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    Advice on X230 after market upgrades

    Discussion in 'Lenovo' started by jtplayte, Aug 21, 2012.

  1. jtplayte

    jtplayte Newbie

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    Hi All,

    I purchased an X230 tonight with the following upgrades

    i5-3320
    IPS Panel
    Backlit Keyboard
    720p Cam
    6 cell
    BT 4.0
    Centrino 2200 wireless
    500GB 5400rpm

    All for $827.82 + tax

    Now, I originally was going to upgrade RAM to 8GB 1600Mhz, and swap out HD for an SSD that I have here. Then sell the 500GB in an enclosure and sell the 4GB stock ram to help bring laptop price down. But, my spare SSD is 9.3mm and apparently won't fit! So, then thought about a 7mm 2.5" SSD, but am now leaning toward

    128GB mSATA SSD and leave in 500GB 5400rpm for storage

    But stuck on the RAM, I am thinking it is better to get 1866 mhz with the integrated graphics, but then wondering if 16GB of 1600 mhz RAM would be better. (don't want to spend the money on 16GB of 1866mhz, especially if negligible performance gain)

    Any input or hard numbers would be appreciated

    Thanks In Advance!
     
    jtplayte, Aug 21, 2012
    #1
  2. ZaZ

    ZaZ Super Model Super Moderator

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    Unless you've got a need for memory hogging applications like VMs, most people can't use more than 4GB of memory. The mSATA SSD is the best thing since sliced bread.
     
    ZaZ, Aug 22, 2012
    #2
  3. EmptyKim

    EmptyKim Notebook Enthusiast

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    Agree. But I'd upgrade to 8GB ram and call it a day.
     
    EmptyKim, Aug 22, 2012
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  4. DR34M

    DR34M Notebook Consultant

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    definitely get an mSATA and atleast 8gb ram. I went all out and got 16gb because i use photo editing software but its still a lot more than i need. i'll be doing video editing soon which is why i went that high. looking at task manager im usually hovering around 2.5 to 3.5gb of ram used just browsing and surfing
     
    DR34M, Aug 22, 2012
    #4
  5. jtplayte

    jtplayte Newbie

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    I will likely be doing some work with VMWARE and virtual machines, and there is a good chance of getting into some video editing.

    So, it sounds like I might take advantage of 16GB, so likely best to go the 16GB 1600Mhz route (not that much more then 8GB 1866mhz) ??

    Crucial mSata are hard as heck to find !? (I live in Canada)

    Thanks so far for all replies, it is appreciated as are future ones.

    Take Care
     
    jtplayte, Aug 22, 2012
    #5
  6. jtplayte

    jtplayte Newbie

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    Getting closer

    Tough to beat this price combination

    G.SKILL F3-12800CL9D-8GBSQ 8GB 2X4GB DDR3-1600 204PIN CL9 SODIMM for $40.82 (will sell stock 4GB DDR3 for $25)

    Kingston 128GB SSDNow V200 SATA 3 2.5 (7MM Height) for $74.66 this drive has been fixed with firmware released in June, still not the fastest SATA3 drive, but should be faster than any mSata running at SATA2 speeds. (will sell stock 500GB HD with enclosure for $65)

    As far as extra storage goes if I need it, can always add a mSata down the road, or just use SDHC cards for now .... and of course an external HD if required.

    So for a net cost of about $40, going to 128GB SSD and doubling RAM to 8GB
     
    jtplayte, Aug 22, 2012
    #6
  7. EmptyKim

    EmptyKim Notebook Enthusiast

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    Yeah grab 16GB of ram, whatever is cheapest @ 1600 or 1866 since you are running VM; I assume multiple VMs.

    If you're getting a 2.5" SSD, grab a top quality drive
    - Samsung 830 128GB
     
    EmptyKim, Aug 22, 2012
    #7
  8. MidnightSun

    MidnightSun Emodicon

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    Order the Crucial M4 mSATA 128GB direct from Crucial; it ships quite quickly and is very reasonably priced. That'll allow you to use the hard drive for bulk data storage, which in the long run is more economical than buying a large 2.5" SSD.
     
    MidnightSun, Aug 22, 2012
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  9. EmptyKim

    EmptyKim Notebook Enthusiast

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    EmptyKim, Aug 22, 2012
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  10. miliranga

    miliranga Notebook Consultant

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    miliranga, Aug 22, 2012
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  11. EmptyKim

    EmptyKim Notebook Enthusiast

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    SSD prices seem to drop daily, except for mSATA ones...
     
    EmptyKim, Aug 22, 2012
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  12. hp79

    hp79 Notebook Evangelist

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    Yes.. that's why I feel better having a 128GB Crucial m4 in my mSATA slot. haha.
    I'm going to add a 256GB 7mm height SSD when they come even lower price, somewhere around $100. It could be a long wait, but I don't care because I already have a 128GB mSATA in mine. I recently swapped out the 500GB HDD with a 4 year old intel X25-M 80GB that I had laying around, and the whole system is dead silent on idle. Fan is completely off, no spinning disks at all, it's just amazing.

    I like keeping a backup image of the whole 128GB mSATA SSD, and be able to completely restore it whenever I want. I realized how slow the intel X25-M is when writing to the disk, that's why I want to add another SSD. Restoring the whole mSATA SSD is very quick though.
     
    hp79, Aug 22, 2012
    #12
  13. EmptyKim

    EmptyKim Notebook Enthusiast

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    Nice, I went with the Mushkin 120gb mSATA drive just cause Amazon had it in stock and I could get it in two days. Otherwise I would have gone with the Crucial M4.

    I thought about the 256GB SSD since they've dropped in price, but my 500GB drive already has 200GB on it so I'll have to wait till the 512GB drives drop in price. Shooting for <$200, but I'll probably have a new computer by then.
     
    EmptyKim, Aug 23, 2012
    #13