Info on connecting ssd drives to motherboards

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SantaClaus

I'd like to get a new pc, to run win xp, and install an ssd drive to
boot the os + an ordinary hard disk for data.

Forgive my ignorance, but are ssd drives connected to motherboards via
an ordinary sata connection or how?
Are there compatibility issues, or are most ssd drives compatible with
most motherboards?

Thanks!
 
SantaClaus said:
I'd like to get a new pc, to run win xp, and install an ssd drive to
boot the os + an ordinary hard disk for data.

Forgive my ignorance, but are ssd drives connected to motherboards via
an ordinary sata connection or how?
Are there compatibility issues, or are most ssd drives compatible with
most motherboards?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

At the 2.5" or 3.5" size, there is room for a standard connector.
Here, you can see the Intel X25-E internal PCB, and there is a
standard SATA on that.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/15931

At 1.8", there is some kind of smaller connector, and that requires
an adapter. For example, here, I see a power connector with fewer
pins. The data connector may be the same. But you won't be buying
one of these anyway. There are plenty of 2.5" ones to do the job,
and with room for more flash chips on them.

http://img11.imageshack.us/img11/9808/soldersamsungssd.jpg

http://nexus404.com/Blog/wp-content...series-64gb-micro-sata-solid-state-drives.jpg

There are also SSD drives that run at 3.3V. Not that many, but some.
If you are using a Molex 1x4 to SATA 15 pin power adapter cable,
such a cable doesn't have 3.3V on it. But the chances of that
being a problem are pretty slim. A power supply purchased today,
will have SATA 15 pin power connectors on some of the peripheral
cables, and such a cable coming straight from the supply, will have
3.3V on it.

So purchase checks include checking for a micro SATA connector (likely
on a tiny SSD drive). And looking to see whether it runs from 5V
or 3.3V, and verifying that the power cable feeding it, will have
that voltage rail.

There is a bunch of tuning information, for mixing OSes with SSDs,
and OCZtechnology had a page with some of that info. There are
some tricks to reduce nuisance writes to the new drive. For example,
WinXP bumps up a reference count, each time a file is referenced,
and that can be turned off without affecting normal computer
usage. So you should probably find a few web articles like that,
and review them. Some of the changes are easier to arrange than
others (like aligning a partition to 64 or 128 sector boundaries).
Since it is new technology, expect people to be trying lots
of experiments to optimize them. Some of the changes will be
more worthwhile than others.

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43460

You can also get various adapter kits, to fit a 2.5" drive
into a larger bay in the computer case. For example, this one
allows mounting two 2.5" drives (on top of one another), in
a 3.5" bay.

http://www.startech.com/item/SATA35252X-35-Bay-to-Dual-25-SATA-HDD-Adapter.aspx

The white nylon blocks, are located at standard locations for 3.5"
drives.

http://www.startech.com/Share/Gallery/Large/SATA35252X.Clarge.jpg

If need be, you could bolt a 3.5" to 5.25" kit to that kit, so
the 2.5" drive could slide into a 5.25" bay. In the picture
here, the necessary bits would be the two U-shaped metal brackets.
(I couldn't find the item that is just the two metal brackets.)
Those are space fillers, to fill the space between a 3.5" drive and
a 5.25" bay. The computer case will come with sliders for the
5.25" bay, so the sliders are bolted to one side of the U-shaped
metal, and the drive (or drive kit) bolts to the other side.

http://www.startech.com/item/FANDRI...et-Kit-for-525in-Front-Bay-with-Dual-Fan.aspx

You could always duct tape your new SSD to a post inside the
computer case, but a proper mount would look a bit nicer :-)

Paul
 
SantaClaus said:
I'd like to get a new pc, to run win xp, and install an ssd
drive to boot the os + an ordinary hard disk for data.
Click to expand...

I have a small SSD drive as primary and a Raptor as a secondary
drive.
Forgive my ignorance, but are ssd drives connected to
motherboards via an ordinary sata connection or how?
Click to expand...

Yes, with exceptions, depending on the make and model. Read a lot
of reviews and feel free to ask here. They are small and light
with zero moving parts. They do not readily fit into an ordinary
hard drive slot, but mounting is no problem unless for some
strange reason your case gets thrown about (or maybe if you are
installing it for someone else). It really does not need to be
mounted to anything IMO.
Are there compatibility issues,
Click to expand...

Maybe, at least for an advanced use. My SSD drive appears to have
confused my disk managers. Acronis Disk Director no longer sees my
hard drives from the recovery CD. And there is an occasional
problem when copying/restoring the primary partition. Also
consider the possible need to upgrade the firmware (you can find
that information in reviews).
 
SantaClaus said:
I'd like to get a new pc, to run win xp, and install an ssd drive to
boot the os + an ordinary hard disk for data.

Forgive my ignorance, but are ssd drives connected to motherboards via
an ordinary sata connection or how?
Are there compatibility issues, or are most ssd drives compatible with
most motherboards?
Click to expand...

SSDs have normal SATA2 interfaces. However, many of them are 2.5"
format vs the normal 3.5" for internal HDs, so you may need a
tray/adapter for it.

I just installed one. No problems; very fast.
 
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