x41 with ssd + msata->ide adapter *140KB PIC*

[kaitanium]

just thought i post some pics of this setup i got going today.

-picked up a crucial msata 64gb. it will never live up to its true potential in my x41 but thats ok. im satisfied with the numbers though. laptop is peppy. havent install adobe stuff which is what i want this laptop to do so ill see how that fares in speed.
-got one of those ebay 3.3V ide to msata adapters. need to mount it upside down in the laptop.
-installed xp without aligning the ssd
-flashed bios so no 2010 error/beep
-will install windows 8 for fun in a bit

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/ ... 613061.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/ ... 1888d2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/ ... 43045f.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v626/ ... af315a.jpg



Admin edit: Removed all but one inline image as they were too big. Please keep images <50KB AND post warning in subject line. Allowing last pic as it's the most useful.

[kaitanium]

windows 8 was too sluggish. not even going to try windows 7. going back to xp

[Tasurinchi]

I can't comment much on Win8, I installed the first preview release and since I couldn't install the graphic drivers (apart from the standard VESA ones) everything was slow.

But I'm using Win7 Ultimate in my X41T with a MachXtreme SSD, it works very well and very responsive for normal Internet usage. I can't comment over advantages or disadvantages against XP, since I was using Linux Distros on it before. But it's certainly worth trying. (I also don't think that the combination XP/SSD is a good one).

Just my 2 cents...

[kaitanium]

well windows 7 lags also (not as much as win8 did). win7 boot is fast but just the daily activities get sluggish in some areas such as in simple tasks like going to control panel. that tablet will perform faster i think since it has capabilities for more ram.

xp will be fine, ill just have to trim my own disk from time to time to keep it from slowing down. no lag whatsoever on xp.

[Fixed_Rider]

I'm going to ask a noob question(s).
WT?
Is the mSATA a replacement for the IDE HD? Instead of doing a SATA mod or something like it?

Thanks

[kkion]

I google and find this company offer this card, is it the same as yours? I need buy one.

http://www.soarland.com/mSATA(MINI-SATA ... t-371.html

[Thrakath]

Can you trim the drive with a crucial tool? or does it have integrated GC?

Thx for the pics and the new option!

[AGoodSolution]

Those are nice stats !

An Addonics single or dual CF/IDE with a 600x Transcend still only generates 50MBs read and write times for my x41's.

Admin edit: Deleted quote of OP's post

[Thrakath]

more important you have very fast writes in 4k, which is a big difference to (my) kingspec ssd that runs around 1MB/s after some time. Not a big surprise with 4k! cache instead of MBs.
Do you encounter any lagging due to disc accesses while working? What about GC/Trim?

[Raceboy]

I ordered a 32GB mSATA SSD and will make a SATA mod to my just aquired X41, no adapters whatsoever, only miniPCIe slot,somesoldered wires onto it and that's all.

[kaitanium]

Fixed_Rider - yes i did not want to mod my x41...nor did i know how to solder things that small. and what if the drive fails? unsolder everything? bah too much work!!

kkion - i got mine on ebay. youll need the lower 3.3V version. took me a couple of tries to install winxp. sometimes the drive would be recognized.

Thrakath - havent tried anything related to trim yet. i think this drive has GC but unsure if it supports trim. i didnt see it as a feature when i glossed over its specs when buying. but then again...i glossed over the specs lol. there is load time though for programs. its not instant like on my sataIII ssd desktop (well since its 500mb/sec lol).

AGoodSolution - well CFs werent designed to be used as computer drives. not sure why people use them that way.

[edit from original post]: aligned ssd before winxp install with a win7 pre-install. my x41 is now regulated to desktop/stationary duties. couldnt run adobe as well as it wanted to on the go. sad day. adobe lightroom4 also doesnt support winxp which was the main dealbreaker

[Thrakath]

@kait: Thanks to you I am running now the same hardware config as you do on Win7. Do you also have a hang of the system if you make benches in XP and the LED is fully bright? With Win7 this occurs with the Intel ATA and Standard ATA Drivers. If i switch of write caching its better, but still occurs under heavy load. Can you confirm that this does not happen with XP? You did not have it with Win7? Maybe i also face a wrong setting.Clean Install of Win7 did not help...During installation system hanging does not occur, so it must be driver related i think.

Not to be misunderstood: The system still feels 10x faster than the Kingspec before.

Ah additionally it´s possible to upgrade the firmware with the crucial boot cd with the adapter...but no help for my problem!

[Thrakath]

Ok solved it myself...in Win7 you have to disable Trim commands because they cannot pass the adapter. XP runs fine from the scratch not having trim...

[garnet]

kkion - i got mine on ebay. youll need the lower 3.3V version. took me a couple of tries to install winxp. sometimes the drive would be recognized.

Hi
could you please point me to the ebay listing if you still have it?
I have a samsung 3.3. msata ssd. Do you mean the adapter must be 3.3v on the msata end? I have seen a 3.3v msata to 5v ide adapter.
Is this OK? I would have thought the IDE interface runs on 5v.
Thanks.

[derick]

In X41 voltage to HDD is reduced to 3,3v for small 1,8 pata HDD.So,many adapters have stabilisator for 3,3v.In this case it must by bypassed.Or cut power trace from HDD slot and get 5v from USB socket.
I bought a cheap IDE/msata adapter from ebay.Also 32gb Sandisk msata ssd.System works
fine,but speed is from 57mb R/W Seq and 1,7mb R/W for 4kb.Not so bad for this cheap solution.

[Thrakath]

With this adapter everything is free of soldering: http://www.soarland.com/mSATA%28MINI-SA ... t-371.html

[Raceboy]

Yeah, it is still half-assed solution for X41 as it is possible to adapt SATA SSD without any adapters that hamper performance and consume power+generate heat.

For X40 that adapter is a very good solution and I probably will try it out on my friends X40.

EDIT: Just bought it here, ~$15 shipped: http://www.ebay.com/itm/281031474403?ss ... 1423.l2649

[kcckhk]

I just purchased a

PCI-E MSATA SSD 50MM 3.3V to 2.5" IDE 5V 44PIN on ebay
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/281031474403?ssP ... 328wt_1144
and i purchased a
ADATA XPG SX300 128GB mSATA 6Gb/s SSD.
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_ ... _id=050650

After I replaced these with my old PATA drive from a X41. My computer doesn't seem to recognize it.

Am I doing something wrong? Do I have to flash the BIOS first? Or is there a setting somewhere in the BIOS I need to change?

Appreciated all your help and Looking forward to a answer. THANKS