Katastrophos.net Blog » SSD http://katastrophos.net/andre/blog Chaotic solutions and random thoughts from the restless mind of a notorious problem solver (TM), by Andre Beckedorf Fri, 30 Dec 2011 19:32:57 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Upgrading the Fujitsu U2010 with a new 120GB SSD http://katastrophos.net/andre/blog/2011/04/25/upgrading-the-fujitsu-u2010-with-a-new-120gb-ssd/ http://katastrophos.net/andre/blog/2011/04/25/upgrading-the-fujitsu-u2010-with-a-new-120gb-ssd/#comments Mon, 25 Apr 2011 22:53:45 +0000 Andre Beckedorf http://katastrophos.net/andre/blog/?p=436 Lately my Fujitsu U2010 was running low on disk space. Having already maxed out the SD card slot with a 32 GB SD card, the only way to go was to replace the internal ZIF-PATA drive. The first generation 64 GB Samsung SSD that I moved from my previous U810 to the new U2010 (see here) is no speed demon but a very reliable and robust performer featuring SLC flash memory. Naturally, I was looking for a faster, bigger and cheaper replacement drive. There are some more 1.8″ 128 GB ZIF drives available, most of them are MLC-based drives well over the 300 Euro price range. I came across a pretty cheap drive produced by a company called Mach Xtreme Technology, a newcomer in the storage segment. The MX-NANO ZIF 120 GB model (MXSSD1MNANOZ-120G) is available here in Germany at several online retailers priced at around 200 Euros. Not cheap compared to a speedy SATA SSD drive, but inexpensive in terms of how uncommon and rare this form factor is. And of course the drive is way cheaper than what I paid for the first-gen Samsung SSD back in 2008. :)
The Eastwho EWS720A controller used in the drive seems to be a solid performer with very good performance figures for what is possible in terms of the old PATA interface. The drive uses 25nm Intel/Micron MLC flash memory (29F64G08CBAAA).
The big problem with this drive is the very unfortunate alignment of the ZIF socket. Unlike any other 1.8″-drive I came across, this drive has to be installed upside-down due to the idiosyncratically flipped ZIF socket. I can only assume this drive was mainly designed as replacement disk for the last-gen iPods or first-gen MacBook Airs. The drive per se will not fit into the Fujitsu U2010 without modification. This is probably true for a lot of other UMPC and netbook devices, too.
The only way to get the drive installed is to remove the metal enclosure. The flat-ribbon ZIF cable can not be twisted due to its length. Removing the enclosure will ultimately void the warranty as you will have to break the seal on it. That is a risk I am willing to take. Either way, I have been running the drive for more than a month now and had no problems whatsoever. Great performance compared to the old Samsung drive.
Below are some obligatory benchmark screenshots, though I have to mention that Eastwho states that their controllers are not benchmark-friendly due to the techniques they employ to ensure low access times.

Mach Xtreme Technology MX-NANO ZIF 120 GB in original enclosure will not fit because the ZIF socket is inverted (iPod-style) Mach Xtreme Technology MX-NANO ZIF 120 GB with enclosure removed. Please note that warranty is void when doing this. Mach Xtreme Technology MX-NANO ZIF 120 GB installed upside down with enclosure removed Mach Xtreme 120 GB - CrystalMark 3.0.1 ]]> http://katastrophos.net/andre/blog/2011/04/25/upgrading-the-fujitsu-u2010-with-a-new-120gb-ssd/feed/ 0 Upgrading the Fujitsu U810 with 64GB SSD http://katastrophos.net/andre/blog/2009/01/10/upgrading-the-fujitsu-u810-with-64gb-ssd/ http://katastrophos.net/andre/blog/2009/01/10/upgrading-the-fujitsu-u810-with-64gb-ssd/#comments Sat, 10 Jan 2009 21:32:19 +0000 Andre Beckedorf http://katastrophos.net/andre/blog/?p=136 I recently decided to upgrade my Fujitsu U810 with a solid state drive.
Unfortunately, since the U810 only offers a PATA interface the options are quite limited to just a few high-priced (compared to SATA) 1.8″ SSD models by either Samsung, Sandisk (SanDisk SSD UATA 5000, discontinued) or MTRON (MSD-PATA3018-032-ZIF2 et al.).
I went for a 64 GB SLC drive manufactured by Samsung. The exact model name is MCCOE64GEMPP. The same 1.8″ PATA-drive is available as bulk version without the metal enclosure that is protecting the PCB: MCCOE64GQMPQ

Here are some photos of the drive itself and how to install it in the U810. Note, the drive is 5 mm high and will fit into the U810 without any modifications.
Also keep in mind that the U1010 has a different connector (50-pin IDE instead of ZIF), so these ZIF-drives will not work here. However, there are reports on UMPC Portal that suggest that it is possible to get a replacement connector flat band cable for the U810 that is the 50pin IDE cable, so I guess it is also possible the other way around for the U1010.


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Here are the obligatory benchmarks comparing the new SSD against the old Toshiba MK1011GAH 100 GB hard drive that was previously installed in the U810:


Toshiba MK1011GAH:

hdtune_info_toshiba_mk1011gahhdtune_benchmark_toshiba_mk1011gah
crystal50crystal100crystal500


Samsung MCCOE64GEMPP:

hdtune_info_samsung_pza064_ssdhdtune_benchmark_samsung_pza064_ssd
crystal50_samsung_pza064_ssdcrystal100_samsung_pza064_ssdcrystal500_samsung_pza064_ssd

Needless to say that applications cold-launch a lot faster with the SSD. (Firefox with 12 add-ons: ~10 s before -> ~6 s after, Chrome: ~3 s before, ~1 s after, Thunderbird: ~8 s before -> ~3 s after).

Startup time was reduced quite a bit but not dramatically. However, returning from sleep and hibernate saw a huge improvement. Unfortunately I can not provide values of the old drive, so no comparison.
I did not notice longer battery run times. However, the whole system runs a lot cooler because the SSD naturally does not produce heat as extensive as the HDD did.

I am satisfied with this upgrade – especially since it has boosted compile-times when working with CodeGear RAD Studio and Delphi – due to the great performance when accessing, reading and writing small files. Your mileage may vary.

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