Detailed Plans: CF as SSD for quiet, fast multiboot T60

[eyestrain]

Just got new T60.

I've other work to do on fan noise, but here am posting about project to use Compact Flash for hard drives.

Any problems you foresee, comments, or suggestions, on plans below?


Four different boots, with four different physical boot drives:

(A) Day to day use with Windows 2000, mostly web browsing. Must run quiet. Fast is nice.
(B) Games and iffy/untrusted software. XP Home. Noise is ok. Should be fast. No need for internet/LAN or antivirus. Rebuild yearly.
(C) Use with Quicken and bank accounts only, monthly. Windows 2000. Noise and speed don't matter.
(D) Only for use with Acronis True Image, or Ghost, for backup/restore or moving from one drive to another. Windows 2000.


Components:
+Thinkpad T60 T7200, soon to be 3GB Ram, ATI X1400, fingerprint reader, Intel 82801G (ICH7) ATA, Intel 82801GBM SATA. Already have this.
+Gigabit NAS (Network Attached Storage) Already have this. Can't hear from where use Thinkpad. Relatively fast. (A)(D)
+Ultrabay SATA Adapter 40Y8725. Already have this. (B)
+Ultrabay PATA Adapter 41U3148. (A)(C)(D)
+SATA-CF adapter, good brand. Probably Addonics ADSAHDCF $32+ship. http://www.addonics.com/products/flash_ ... sahdcf.asp (A)(B)
+Dual ATA-CF adapter, cheapie. Already ordered one like Ebay item 140192196829 $8. (A)(C)(D)
+Single ATA-CF adapter, cheapie, in case dual adapter above doesn't work. Already ordered Ebay item 330198579842 $4.
+A-DATA TURBO CF 266X 8GB. 48MB-R,29MB-W,UDMA-4,"Fixed + CF-Removable" (A)
+A-DATA TURBO CF 266X 4GB. 48MB-R,29MB-W,UDMA-4,"Fixed + CF-Removable" (A)(B)
+A-DATA TURBO CF 266X 2GB. 48MB-R,29MB-W,UDMA-4,"Fixed + CF-Removable" (A)
+Transcend CF 133X TS2GCF133 2GB. 34MB-R,15MB-W,UDMA-4,"Fixed + CF-Removable" (C)
+Transcend CF 133X TS2GCF133 2GB. 34MB-R,15MB-W,UDMA-4,"Fixed + CF-Removable" (D)
+Big SATA notebook drive. Already have this. (B)

And these items, which are intended for my old Thinkpad 770E, but could be used in the T60 if above don't work well:
+Dual ATA-CF adapter, cheapie. Different style Ebay item 290192211985 but also $8
+A-DATA TURBO CF 266X 2GB. 48MB-R,29MB-W,UDMA-4,"Fixed + CF-Removable"


In main SATA drive bay:
CF, 4GB266x. Used for page swap files for (A) and (B).
(1) Name swap files differently if possible, or (2) clear page file on shutdown if not too slow, or (3) use partitions.
Might use sorbothane to keep card in tight, and avoid vibration from fans.
(A) (1) Dynamic 3.0GB max, (2) static 4GB, or (3) static 1GB.
(B) (1) Dynamic 3.9GB max, (2) static 4GB, or (3) static 3GB.
(C) Nothing used, but is connected. Ideally, would be invisible to system in case of wierd virus.
(D) Same as (C)


On NAS:
(A) Almost all data. Large, infrequently used programs, if any.
(B) (no access, never connected to router after first setup)
(C) Nothing, NAS drives not added in Windows.
(D) Drive images


In Ultrabay:
(A) PATA Master: CF 8GB266x. Win2000 boot, 3GB hibernate file. No programs or data, except Kaspersky AV (50M), maybe Comodo/Online Armor (15-50M)
PATA Slave: CF 2GB266x. Programs. Data for Firefox, including cache.
Might use sorbothane or a lighter spongy material to keep cards in tight, and avoid vibration from fans.
I'd prefer to use a 4GB drive for master, but with only 3.85GB usable, after hibernate may be too tight.
(B) SATA 2.5" hard drive. Windows XP, games, game data. Ugly stuff like firmware loader for camera, or other software don't really want to install on main system. No antivirus, firewall, or internet. Can scan software with main boot before installing here. Will use Drive Image with known good system to rebuild and install updates yearly or if a new game doesn't work.
After prices drop a lot, can set this up like (A) with big cards.
(C) PATA Master: CF 2GB133x. Windows 2000, tiny page swap, Quicken program and data, Firefox, antivirus and firewall.
PATA Slave: slot empty.
(D) PATA Master: CF 2GB133x. Windows 2000, page swap, Acronis True Image/Ghost.
PATA Slave: Drive copying image from or to. Except for (B)'s, then use a USB enclosure or someday maybe Advanced Dock.


In testing this all out, I may first install Puppy Linux or some other small system, just to prove can boot, and see all drives at UDMA speeds. Also have a slow 1GB CF to help in testing.

[Volker]

Running the system on CF cards will give you slow reads and painfully slow writes, I think.

A good NAS on gigabit network would be fast, but many cheap parts don't come even close to theoretical performance. Just boot over ethernet if you want to run without moving parts (except for cpu/gpu fan).

Or, the simplest solution: switch on the acoustic management on your notebook hdd, then you won't hear it over the fan.

[eyestrain]

Benchmarked my hard drive with HD Tach, got under 40MB/sec average. (Could buy a faster one though.)
The A-Data in my post above should be capable of 48MB/sec reads, and 29MB/sec writes. More importantly, should have access times about 1ms, compared to 17 for my magnetic hard drive.

Booting off the network sounds like an interesting idea. For Windows though, not sure how practical, or possible without major hacks.

To be honest, the WD BEVS drive that came with the T60 is very quiet, can barely hear when fan isn't running. Can feel vibrations, but not too bad. However, I've had bad experience with a drive which starts out quiet, but after a couple weeks, starts to make weird sounds. People say it's doing things to prolong the life of the drive. The WD Scorpios seem to be notorious among the noise-sensitive for making clicking noises, a while after they have been installed.

Also with the PATA Ultrabay, I can swap CF cards to switch boots, instead of having to buy another Ultrabay adapter, so my CF solution may be cheaper, even if I dropped boot (D). And I really do expect it to be faster.

Perhaps most importantly, I expect CF to handle heat better than a magnetic hard drive. The fan drives me crazy (I'm very disappointed after so many posts and reviews said how quiet T60 is) so I'm probably going to set the fan up to turn on when CPU is about 77 degrees, and off at 70. The drive bays seem well positioned to avoid CPU heat, but I'd rather not worry about it.

After I get my undervolting and fan control set up nicely, and see how well it works when surfing, I'll post separately about that. Probably in the NHC thread, unless I end up using RMClock, which is looking unlikely.

Have now ordered most components other than the CF-SATA card (which plan to order Mon morning unless get advice on better alternative) and the larger CFs, which will buy after test with 2GBs.

-Another project I may try with the $4 CF-IDE adapter: see if can make a very fast and cheap Firewire 400 CF reader, with a spare firewire hard drive enclosure. It's often cheaper to get a hard drive in an enclosure than bare (such as Fry's 750GB USB/FW400 which may still be $150) so can be easy to wind up with extra enclosures.