Thinkpad X220 upgrading

Thinkpad X220 is somewhat ancient, purchased in 2012. I am gonna improve memory and disk. There is a variety of different memory and disk alternatives. Before payment, think twice!

Specs

Model: 4290NL7 ISA bridge: QM67

Memory

1. 4GB (1*4GB), 8GB max
2. PC3-10600 1333MHz DDR3 SDRAM
3. Base sizes: 1GB, 2GB, 4GB
4. Non-parity
5. Dual-channel capable
6. Two 204-pin SO-DIMM sockets

Disk

1. Primary Drive Bay: 2.5" wide, 7mm high, SATA3 or SSD.

   Shipped with SATA2 320GB/7200rpm disk.

2. mSATA Slot: SATA2, compatible with all newer mSATA SSDs.
3. SATA2: 3Gbps; SATA3: 6Gbps.
4. The 2.5-inch bay can take slim 7mm hard drives and SSDs while the mSATA slot, located under the keyboard, can only take specialized mSATA SSDs.

5. Wireless PCI Express Mini Card for WWAN shares the same motherboard slot on board. They cannot be used simultaneously - sSATA or WWAN.

   mSATA derived from mPCIe (mini PCI express) is an obsolete standard. System made after 2012 does not use neither of them any more. M.2 is the newer replacement.

Static electricity prevention

Static electricity, although harmless to you, can seriously damage computer components and options. Improper handling of static-sensitive parts can cause damage to the part.

Touch a metal table or a grounded metal object (i.e. faucet). This action reduces any static electricity from your body. The static electricity could damage the card.

Upgrading

1. Memory

   A new 4GB strip.

2. Disk

   1. Though SATA2 is almost half the speed of SATA3, it does NOT make much difference to daily operation without intensive I/O.
   2. New cheap mSATA SSD now that expensive one cannot be fully exploited due to SATA2 limitation. What's more, SSD is not for data storage.

SSD

1. 4k alignment;
2. 4k random read/write performance (IOPS) is critical performance reference;
3. Check SMART data by official tool or CrystalDiskInfo;
4. Turn on AHCI in BIOS;