SOLVED Swapping in new SSD to laptop.

[h4rm0ny]

Basic question time!

I'm going to buy a new laptop, need something decent and its tax-deductible through work so am thinking of getting a Thinkpad E540 or S540. (I'm leaning toward the E540 simply because of the more powerful processor, even though its worse for me in every other way).

I'm set on having an SSD in it but both only have 128GB max as options. Is there any reason why I wouldn't be able to buy the version with the 500GB HD and then cloning the contents onto a separately bought SSD and putting that in in its place?

I was thinking of getting the Corsair Force GT 240GB.

It seems like I should be able to, but I want to know for sure before I click "Buy".

Thanks for any replies!

 

[glussier]

That's exactly what I did. I purchased a Dell laptop et swapped the 1tb hard drive with a Samsung 750GB ssd. I used Acronis to clone the drive to the ssd.

 

[h4rm0ny]

That's exactly what I did. I purchased a Dell laptop et swapped the 1tb hard drive with a Samsung 750GB ssd. I used Acronis to clone the drive to the ssd.

Great. Thanks! I was hoping to do that. I was just worried there'd be some gotcha like Windows recognizing the hardware had changed or something.

Cheers.

H.

 

[Automata]

If this is a work laptop, I'd suggest sticking to a T or W series Thinkpad. They are much better designed as they are the "business" line.

Assuming the laptop has mSATA, you can use my pictures here for reference. There should be a slot under the keyboard for it. However, I'm not sure if their "normal" line has it, but I'd guess it does.

 

[h4rm0ny]

If this is a work laptop, I'd suggest sticking to a T or W series Thinkpad. They are much better designed as they are the "business" line.

Assuming the laptop has mSATA, you can use my pictures here for reference. There should be a slot under the keyboard for it. However, I'm not sure if their "normal" line has it, but I'd guess it does.

I'd love to get one if the T series, but they cost a fortune. I'm looking at upwards of £1600 for one. So I'm going to have to stick to the E series, I think. I'm self-employed and it is for work so it's tax deductible but even so, the T series is a huge amount of money.

I found some pictures of the inside of the latest E series and it loos okay for just replacing the hard drive. Thanks for the help.

 

[Automata]

£1600? I paid ~£812 for mine and I configured it with a lot of high end parts (higher spec processor, very high resolution screen, etc) and a 4yr on site warranty. I have no idea how you'd spend that much without buying the biggest upgrade for everything.

The RAM/disk you can do after and will be much cheaper. I paid £157 for the 32gb of RAM and a little less than that for the SSD.

 

[h4rm0ny]

£1600? I paid ~£812 for mine and I configured it with a lot of high end parts (higher spec processor, very high resolution screen, etc) and a 4yr on site warranty. I have no idea how you'd spend that much without buying the biggest upgrade for everything.

The RAM/disk you can do after and will be much cheaper. I paid £157 for the 32gb of RAM and a little less than that for the SSD.

Well I was going off this:

http://shop.lenovo.com/gb/en/laptops/thinkpad/t-series/

I want a 15" model. The moment I add a decent processor and RAM, the cost goes through the roof. What did you select for yours?

 

[bob4933]

£1600? I paid ~£812 for mine and I configured it with a lot of high end parts (higher spec processor, very high resolution screen, etc) and a 4yr on site warranty. I have no idea how you'd spend that much without buying the biggest upgrade for everything.

The RAM/disk you can do after and will be much cheaper. I paid £157 for the 32gb of RAM and a little less than that for the SSD.

You're also in south dakota. Add 20% vat on everything you paid for...

I know you're looking for a lenovo, and I've had great success with them, but they are getting on the pricey side of things. I've had great success with acers (my work laptop is an acer, had it for a couple years now, slow but doesn't over heat like the many HP's I've had), and I think they come with a lot of "Bang for the buck".

Here is a possible solution->

699 pounds ->
-i5-337U, not the "latest and greatest" but unless you're doing intense operations, it'll definitely get the job done. Fantastic battery life though.
-8gb RAM. Again, unless youre doing intense operations, thats plenty.
- dedicated graphics, 710m which is pretty decent actually

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/comput...6-touchscreen-laptop-silver-21704907-pdt.html



899 pounds->
-i7-4700mq, pretty darn solid CPU for a laptop
-12gb plenty, plenty for anything haha
-740m which is almost as good as a lot of desktop GPU's
-does have a 17" screen, if thats too big, I apologize xD

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/comput...-17-j053ea-17-laptop-silver-21492783-pdt.html



take that and one of these from your remaining budget
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/comput...-drives/324_3086_32055_xx_xx/xx-criteria.html



if you're ok with a refurbished unit ->

has everything you want, but its a 14" screen if thats a deal breaker
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/comput...ed-14-touchscreen-ultrabook-21468371-pdt.html

 

[Automata]

Well I was going off this:

http://shop.lenovo.com/gb/en/laptops/thinkpad/t-series/

I want a 15" model. The moment I add a decent processor and RAM, the cost goes through the roof. What did you select for yours?

What processor are you putting in to make it jump that much? Unless you absolutely need the processing power, stick with the one it comes with.

Do the RAM/disk upgrade yourself. Their prices for upgrades are ridiculous.

 

[woboy]

Laptop:
Samsung 840 EVO SSDs offer the best price performance for most people. Crucial M500 is also a very good choice,
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/240g...ernal-ssd-slim-7mm-500mb-s-read-250mb-s-write

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/480g...88ss9187-500mbb-s-read-400mb-s-write-80k-iops

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/500g...ex-controller-read-540mb-s-write-520mb-s-98k-

 

[h4rm0ny]

What processor are you putting in to make it jump that much? Unless you absolutely need the processing power, stick with the one it comes with.

Do the RAM/disk upgrade yourself. Their prices for upgrades are ridiculous.

I started with the T540p at £869.99 (I'm willing to pay the extra for the better screen - that's fine, and an i3 would not be good enough for me anyway). I swap in the i7-4600M and replace Windows with Windows Pro. I'm now already on £1,337.

I actually started off with the next model up and that seems to jump even worse. So it's £1,337 with the one below it and that's a bit better. But even there I'm still on 4GB RAM and all the worse options for battery, WiFi, etc.

Whereas with the E series, I can get the same size screen with the same processor and OS is costing £670. The screen is not quite as high a resolution is the first thing that leaps out at me. But in processing power it's already equivalent. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[h4rm0ny]

You're also in south dakota. Add 20% vat on everything you paid for...

I know you're looking for a lenovo, and I've had great success with them, but they are getting on the pricey side of things. I've had great success with acers (my work laptop is an acer, had it for a couple years now, slow but doesn't over heat like the many HP's I've had), and I think they come with a lot of "Bang for the buck".

Here is a possible solution->

699 pounds ->
-i5-337U, not the "latest and greatest" but unless you're doing intense operations, it'll definitely get the job done. Fantastic battery life though.
-8gb RAM. Again, unless youre doing intense operations, thats plenty.
- dedicated graphics, 710m which is pretty decent actually

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/comput...6-touchscreen-laptop-silver-21704907-pdt.html



899 pounds->
-i7-4700mq, pretty darn solid CPU for a laptop
-12gb plenty, plenty for anything haha
-740m which is almost as good as a lot of desktop GPU's
-does have a 17" screen, if thats too big, I apologize xD

http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/comput...-17-j053ea-17-laptop-silver-21492783-pdt.html



take that and one of these from your remaining budget
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/comput...-drives/324_3086_32055_xx_xx/xx-criteria.html



if you're ok with a refurbished unit ->

has everything you want, but its a 14" screen if thats a deal breaker
http://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/comput...ed-14-touchscreen-ultrabook-21468371-pdt.html

Thanks for the suggestions. I used to think Acers weren't that good but I've been hearing a lot recently that they've really got their game together. I'm okay with refurbished and I'd consider 14" screen (though I'd prefer 15"). I kind of want a touch screen though. Once you get used to one, you miss it if you haven't had one. (Plus you look silly when you keep poking a non-touch screen trying to scroll a page. )