Elitebook 850 G1 i5 : Which Intel SSDs?

[wny2016]

Just bought a new Elitebook 850 G1 from a private party. I want to upgrade the hard drive with an Intel SSD, which I gather is the original equipment when the notebook is ordered from HP with an SSD as original equipment.

Which Intel series is appropriate for use with this laptop? Upgrade seems pretty typical/simple, just need to reload original software and go.

TIA!

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

One of the Intel 535's should work just fine.  One of the 2.5" - 7.0 mm form factors

I have 120 GB's in my nc6400, and 6910p business notebooks, and a 240 GB one in my HP 350 G1 business notebook.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_nr_p_n_feature_keywords_0?fst=as%3Aoff&rh=n%3A1292116011%2Ck...

Or you can go with the newer 540s series...

https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Hard-180GB-2-5in-SSDSC2KW180H6X1/dp/B01C786KLK/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&...

Here is a side by side comparison from Intel on the 240 GB drives from both series...

http://ark.intel.com/compare/86734,94203

[wny2016]

Thanks, Paul! Just what I needed to know.

[wny2016]

Hmm. One other thing: Are the M.2 drives a better idea/value than the standard 2.5" SSDs? They seem to be a bit cheaper.

I guess there's the question of whether the Intel M.2 SSDs fit in the EliteBooks, as I gather that all M.2 slots are not the same in terms of how long the inserted drive can be?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

I don't know anything about them.

On my 350 G1, I heard the M.2 slot is just for storage, and the PC won't boot from a M.2 drive.

I don't know how the 850 G1 is configured.

[wny2016]

The M.2 slot is just labelled, "SSD".

I'll take the issue up with HP Support, as this notebook is still under warranty.  I'll admit that it never would have occurred to me that the M.2 slot was not for a bootable drive!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Some are, and some aren't.

I am pretty sure it won't boot from the M.2 drive if there is a 2.5" notebook hard drive installed, if at all.

I read forum posts regarding my model where folks installed a M.2 drive and it would not boot from it.

What I don't recall is if they had the 2.5" HDD installed, or if they removed it.

[wny2016]

Well, I just need to buy a new drive for this machine anyhow. It seems that the safest bet is just to get a standard 2.5" factor SSD. I like Intel SSDs - not the cheapest, but very reliable, IMHO. I read hereabouts that HP sometimes supplies Adata SSDs in laptops.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

I agree with you.

However, I recently got a good deal on a couple of 240 GB Sandisk SSD Plus' for $65 a piece, and put them in some old business desktops I had lying around (dc7800, 8000 Elite CMT).

While they are not as fast as the Intel 535's I have, they are still pretty darn good for the money--and the slower speed may be due to the fact that both PC's only have SATA II controllers.

I think they have 2 year warranties.

[wny2016]

I've been seeing a lot of deals on Samsung SSDs lately, but have not had time to investigate the reliability. I'm inclined to go with the Intels, as they're frequently discounted in sizes 256GB and smaller - plenty big enough for my particular purpose.