Is the motherboard in Samsung NP530U4B-S02IN laptop SATA2 or SATA3?

[amkeew]

My laptop is Samsung NP530U4B-S02IN, whose specs are here:

NP530U4B-S02IN - TECH SPECS | SAMSUNG India

I am planning to swap the 1 TB HDD (SATA2) with 512 GB SSD (SATA3).

But I am not sure whether the motherboard in my laptop is SATA2 or SATA3.

Does anyone know how to find it ?

Thanks in advance for your tips.

 

[Layback Bear]

You already found it. Read.
HDD 1TB S-ATA II Hard Drive (5400RPM) with ExpressCache

 

[amkeew]

No, I wanted know about the motherboard.

 

[Sir George]

My laptop is Samsung NP530U4B-S02IN, whose specs are here:

NP530U4B-S02IN - TECH SPECS | SAMSUNG India

I am planning to swap the 1 TB HDD (SATA2) with 512 GB SSD (SATA3).

But I am not sure whether the motherboard in my laptop is SATA2 or SATA3.

Does anyone know how to find it ?

Thanks in advance for your tips.

I think you want to know if the SATA 3 will run on your motherboard, is that correct? If so, the SATA 3 drive will attach to a SATA 2 connector and run without issue, but at SATA 2 speeds which are not noticably different unless you are doing a benchmark test.

To more directly answer your question as you stated it; the installed harddrive is a 1TB SATA 2, 5400 RPM which is a good indication that the board only supports SATA 2.

HTH

 

[DavidE]

The Samsung specs don't show what motherboard is in the laptop.
Use Speccy , SIW , or System Info and see if you can find out what motherboard is in the laptop.

The Intel HM65 does support SATA2 and SATA3, but that doesn't mean Samsung has implemented SATA3 on your motherboard for the internal HD bay.

 

[amkeew]

Thanks David. I ran speccy and came up with this. I have no idea what it all means.

Motherboard
Manufacturer SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
Model 530U3BI/530U4BI/530U4BH (CPU)
Version 0.1
Chipset Vendor Intel
Chipset Model Sandy Bridge
Chipset Revision 09
Southbridge Vendor Intel
Southbridge Model HM65
Southbridge Revision B2
System Temperature 54 °C
BIOS
Brand Phoenix Technologies Ltd.
Version 11XK
Date 11/06/2012
PCI Data
Slot UNKNOWN
Slot Type UNKNOWN
Slot Usage In Use
Bus Width Unknown
Slot Designation PEG Gen1/Gen2 X16
Slot Number 0
Slot PCI
Slot Type PCI
Slot Usage In Use
Bus Width Unknown
Slot Designation PCI-Express 1 X1
Slot Number 1
Slot PCI
Slot Type PCI
Slot Usage Available
Bus Width Unknown
Slot Designation PCI-Express 2 X1
Slot Number 2
Slot PCI
Slot Type PCI
Slot Usage Available
Bus Width Unknown
Slot Designation PCI-Express 3 X1
Slot Number 3
Slot PCI
Slot Type PCI
Slot Usage In Use
Bus Width Unknown
Slot Designation PCI-Express 4 X1
Slot Number 4
Slot PCI
Slot Type PCI
Slot Usage In Use
Bus Width Unknown
Slot Designation PCI-Express 5 X1
Slot Number 5

As Sir George says, I need to decide to go for sata2 or sata3 ssd.

 

[DavidE]

Unfortunately that doesn't list what motherboard is in the laptop.
Unless you can get a SATA2 SSD a lot cheaper, I'd just get a SATA3.

If you do get a SATA3, you should be able to figure out if it is using SATA3 with benchmark programs.
No guarantee it will run at SATA3 speed, but it might.

 

[DeaconFrost]

I can understand wanting a clear answer, but at the same time, even on SATA2, going from a 5400 rpm drive to an SSD will be a huge improvement.

 

[amkeew]

Thanks David and Deacon.

My dilemma is that while sata2 ssd's are quite cheap, sata3 seems to be the future trend (for now at least). I am willing to spend more bucks for sata3 ssd if my laptop motherboard could handle it. I took the laptop to the local samsung service center and the guyz (kids literally) knew jacksquat.

Amazing that samsung doesn't put out such a vital information in its website.

 

[DeaconFrost]

I'm surprised you can't find an answer, but I also think you are putting too much importance into it. If it was me, I'd get the SATA3 SSD anyway. Prices aren't much different, and it will still be much faster than what you have no regardless of your laptop's controller. Then, you'll always have the drive to be able to reuse in another computer later on, if needed. SSDs bring several benefits to the table, so I'd just get the best one that fit my budget.

 

[amkeew]

Deacon - Gotcha. sata 3 ssd it is then.

 

[DeaconFrost]

You won't be disappointed.

 

[amkeew]

Deacon - Any 512 GB SATA 3 SSD you would recommend for under 500 bucks ?

 

[DeaconFrost]

I'm not sure what stores are available to you, but there's a big price jump between 256 GB drives and the 512 GB ones. The 256 GB ones are sitting at a good price point right now, but at the same time, maybe they aren't large enough for your needs. I generally recommend Crucial, Samsung, or Intel drives. You might be able to get a good price on a Crucial drive.

I have the 256 GB version of this drive:

Newegg.com - Crucial M4 CT512M4SSD2BAA 2.5" 512GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

 

[bobkn]

A bit late to the party again, but the specs on the HM65 chipset are here:

Mobile Intel® HM65 Express Chipset

It includes support for two 6Gb SATA (SATA 3) ports.

I suppose that there might be some reason they aren't physically present in that laptop, but that would be a shame.

 

[amkeew]

Thanks Deacon . I have many friends in US, who can buy it for me. I am also looking at samsung 840

Newegg.com - SAMSUNG 840 Series MZ-7TD500BW 2.5" 500GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Thanks Bob. That is a very useful info. In all likelihood, samsung has provided those sata 3 ports since the model sold here as a premium end laptop. It cost me 1000 dollars nine months back.

Another question. What is the life of these ssd's ? Some of the reviews mention they last only 10,000 writes. What does that mean ?