Latitude XT + 128GB SSD + Windows 7

Speaking of ZIF SSDs:

That is, a 5.8 for a 128 GB KingSpec SSD under 64-bit Windows 7 Release Candidate. Apart from the “Disk data transfer rate”, some of the scores for other components are lower than under Windows Vista, possibly because the scale has changed, at the top end, from 5.9 to 7.9.

To use, the SSD-equipped XT is snappy and responsive, though only slightly more so than when fitted with a 5400 RPM HDD (and the cache had been warmed up). The more substantial difference is that the machine is available for use almost immediately after log in; no need to wait for SuperFetch to fill its cache(s), which seemed to take as long as ten minutes.

Beyond the SSD, Windows 7 seems a good fit for the XT: drivers are provided, out-of-the-box, for every component bar the touch screen, drivers for which are otherwise available here. Once installed, the touch experience is much smoother than under Vista, up to and including inertial scrolling, which exhibits a pleasant bounce effect at the top or bottom of a page in Internet Explorer.

UPDATE: The KingSpec SSD featured in this post died after 10 months.

UPDATE 2: A second KingSpec SSD lasted just a further four weeks before it, too, expired.

5 Responses to “Latitude XT + 128GB SSD + Windows 7”

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1 anon February 3, 2013 at 8:01 pm

Since the kingspec ssd keeps dying, what drive do you recommend?

- 2 SjH February 4, 2013 at 3:22 am
  
  I haven’t used, much less tested, enough drives to be able to make a recommendation, but the RunCore IV with which I replaced the KingSpecs has survived to this day (albeit with light use), if that’s of any use.