Question about mSATA storage on the new Toshiba Qosmio X70

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Supacat

Supacat

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Jun 19, 2013
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Hi guys,

I know this is a new laptop but I was hoping someone might know Integrated Intel® Turbo Memory, mSATA and SSD tech better than I and can maybe explain it better as I called Toshiba support and even they couldn't explain it lol.

I just purchased the X70 and during configuration, you have the option of actually having 2 hard drives and a 256GB mSATA SSD drive. I only choosed 1 drive figuring I will upgrade later when money is better.
Toshiba says they do not sell the mSATA drive direct and it must be configured during purchase. Does anyone know if you can buy an after market mSATA SSD and intall it after so essentially you will have 2 hard drives and an SSD? I called Toshiba support and they were nice but clueless and there is no manual released yet for this model. I am looking for a model that would work or will any mSATA drive do?

Also on the Toshiba site they list the SSD as Integrated Intel® Turbo Memory. I know what that did a couple years back but dont know if its the same in these new laptops meaning 256GB is a lot to use as a hard drive cache so is this basically just a typical SSD where I would install my OS onto?

Any help would be super appreciated!

From the spec sheet of the new X70
Storage Drive
Note: Customers may select from 1-3 drives. SSD drive will serve
as the default primary drive if selected. Otherwise drive in slot 1 is
primary.
SSD Drive
 None
 256GB mSATA solid state drive(SSD) (optional)
Hard Drive - Slot 1
 None (optional)
 750GB (5400 RPM) Serial ATA hard disk drive
 500GB (7200 RPM) Serial ATA hard disk drive(optional)
 1TB(5400 RPM) Serial ATA hard disk drive(optional)
 1TB (5400 RPM) Hybrid 8G Disk Drive (optional)
Hard Drive – Slot 2
 None
 500GB (7200 RPM) Serial ATA hard disk drive(optional)
 750GB (5400 RPM) Serial ATA hard disk drive(optional)
 1TB(5400 RPM) Serial ATA hard disk drive(optional)
 TOSHIBA Hard Drive Impact Sensor (3D sensor)
 
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A while ago I bought a Dell 13z with an mSATA drive in it (empty), which sounds a lot like your Toshiba. I bought a 128 MB mSATA drive for it, then used Acronis True Image 2013 to backup the 320 GB boot HDD, then restored that backup to the mSATA, then told BIOS to boot from the mSATA. Got a BOOTMGR.EXE missing error, so I booted up with a Windows 7, selected Repair, Tools, brought up a command prompt, typed "bcdboot c:\windows /s c:", which put the bootmgr on the mSATA, and on the next reboot all was good.

If you put a 256 GB mSATA drive in it, make it your boot drive. Use disk-cloning software to copy your boot drive to it, or do what I did and back up the boot drive, then restore it to the mSATA. Life will be much better!
 
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mSATA is a proprietary standard but so long as it adheres to mSATA standards, than any mSATA device will work.
You can use the mSATA as ur primary drive for OS storage, or you can use it as the location of the windows swap file.
Basicly, just think of it as a normal hard drive, only smaller.
 
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Not necessarily. mSATA drives can feature speeds reminiscent of early 2000's IDE drives.
It's a good thing we have tomshardware :)
 
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Well, all I know is that the mSATA I installed in the Dell 13z took it from 70-80 MB/s for the HDD, to between 350 and 398 MB/s with mSATA drive. I'm sure there are slower mSATAs around, but in my case the speeds were fantastic. I bought a Crucial M4 CT064M4SSD3 mSATA 64GB SATA III MLC.
 
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Thanks so much for the useful information guys! You guys rock! I think I got it🙂 So now the hunt begins for the fastest mSATA drive (at a reasonable price of course) begins. I figure I would look for a 256GB mSATA and eventually buy another HD giving me 3 drives. Wow, laptops have come a long way baby!

On a side note, I wonder why Toshiba says "they will only configure it with the mSATA and if you dont buy it on build they will not sell it after and act like its not serviceable". I hope its just their marketing bs to get you to pay the $300 upgrade.

 
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Thanks again! I looked at that chart and noticed it has regular SATA and mSATA. I wonder if there is a current 1 for just mSATA's current fastest as correct me if I am wrong but they are not as fast due to the size?
 
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Just an update,

Thanks so much for all your help. I have successfully installed a Plextor m5 mSATA drive and 2 additional hard drives. It was a PIA to get the mSATA in as I had to practically take out the MB but it was worth it🙂

Thanks for all your help!
 
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I'll be installing an m5 in my x70 next weekend - any tips you have on getting into into the case as well as software or bios tips would be very appreciated!

quotemsg=11100853,0,1344041]Just an update,

Thanks so much for all your help. I have successfully installed a Plextor m5 mSATA drive and 2 additional hard drives. It was a PIA to get the mSATA in as I had to practically take out the MB but it was worth it🙂

Thanks for all your help![/quotemsg]

 
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