MyDigitalDiscount mSATA 128Gb User Review

[chicagonyc]

I knew I wanted an mSATA SSD for my new Thinkpad T520 machine. I never had an SSD before, as I require hundreds of gigabytes of storage space for my programs and files, and no affordable SSD could fulfil those needs. But as I read about the mSATA standard, the concept of having two drives, one for the OS and programs, and the other for my files, proved very enticing. I do the same anyway through partitioning -- this seems like an evolution of that idea. Two drives -- in a laptop? Awesome.

Too bad that the most dominant mSATA drive, the 80Gb Intel 310, was in stock pretty much nowhere in the past few weeks: Newegg, Provantage, and a number of smaller shops. So when I heard that MyDigitalDiscount.com had a few of its 128Gb "Bulletproof" SSDs in stock (they still are in stock as of this writing), and armed with a positive review of their 64Gb version from this forum, I jumped and ordered.

Two days later, I had the ridiculously small mSATA in my hand, packed only in bubble wrap and with NO (!) instructions. Luckily there was plenty of instructions found here and on Lenovo's video archive. I found this guide from forum user zerodivide particularly helpful.

I was concerned that this drive, while large in size, would be slower than the 80Gb Intel 310, or the 120Gb Renice also available from the same retailer (reviewed and benchmarked here). But I wasn't going to wait weeks and weeks for either to come back into stock. Luckily I've been pretty happy with the speeds I've been getting, and they look a touch faster than the 64Gb version that was posted here (which I understand is normal when drive sizes increase).

The price was pretty good, at $280 for 128Gb, but I do wish the warranty lasted longer (it's 2 years). The retailer has very good reseller ratings online.

I hope this little review is as helpful as I found other reviews and discussions on this board to be.

Benchmarks

CrystalMark

MyDigitalDiscount.com 128Gb



Seagate Momentus 7200.4 500Gb (original drive in the Thinkpad)




Windows Experience Index


MyDigitalDiscount.com 128Gb (I also upgraded to 8Gb PC-10660 RAM)



Seagate Momentus 7200.4 500Gb (original drive in the Thinkpad)




Boot Racer Speed

MyDigitalDiscount.com 128Gb



Seagate Momentus 7200.4 500Gb (original drive in the Thinkpad)

[wrkgstiff]

So after a good solid month of having your msata, how's it going so far? I've got a W520 that I'm seriously considering getting an msata for.

[chicagonyc]

No problems at all. Works great.

[hoodle]

Did you do all the steps of the guide you mentioned, including the memtest and pc doctor? How did you choose to handle your user folders - redirect the subfolder paths (my documents, etc), or move the whole thing (some hacks, loging on as a temporary user, etc)?