Cache speeds up launch systems and programs to a level comparable to a conventional SSD, since data is read from the solid state drive. But work The cache does not speed up the OS and programs, as well as copying large files. However, for many programs after launch, the speed of the disk does not really matter.
Such a system allows partly to achieve a compromise between the speed of the SSD and the capacity of the HDD. Depending on the laptop model, the caching SSD is built into the hard drive (resulting in a hybrid drive, SSHD) or connected via the mSATA interface.
Does it make sense to install the system on this SSD
I consider this a bad idea. Of course, you can break software RAID and shove Windows onto a small SSD, but there are a few things to keep in mind.
1. Poor storage performance
Yes, it will be higher than that of a hard drive, but it will not reach the "normal" SSD. For example, the Intel SSD 313 is equipped with durable SLC memory (you won't find it in traditional drives anymore), but is limited in speed by the SATA II interface. And even if the drive supports SATA III, it is unlikely that the controller and firmware are optimized for the drive to work as a system drive.
In addition, you should not expect performance miracles from it for the following reason.
2. Critical lack of disk space
For starters, you immediately make all 6 mistakes of people with a small system partition, and that says a lot. It was for this reason that Pavel quickly came to the conclusion that a 32GB system partition would not be enough for long-term work.
But, let's say you perverted and disabled / moved everything you can to your hard drive. It is not clear that you won at the same time, but meanwhile your SSD is still very full, i.e. you cannot leave the recommended 10-20% space unoccupied.
On eBay and in Chinese stores, it costs mere pennies - search for queries HDD Drive Caddy, SATA HDD Caddy etc.
When choosing an adapter, consider its height (9.5 or 12.7 mm), since the dimensions of the optical drive differ depending on the thickness of the laptop.
In addition, the adapter may not quite fit in depth. So, I have it a little shorter and, as a result, is recessed into the case. But I'm not worried, because my laptop does not participate in beauty contests :)
3. Buy a good mSATA SSD
Until recently, commercially available mSATA SSDs differed from large counterparts in performance for the worse, but now the situation has changed.
Major players have entered the market, and their mSATA drives are equipped with the same NAND, controller and firmware as the flagship models.
This is true, for example, for pairs of Intel 520 and 525 (on SandForce controllers), Plextor M5P and M5M (on Marvell). The cost of 1GB of disk space in mSATA drives is somewhat more expensive, but the presence of a hard drive in a laptop makes it possible to get by with medium-capacity SSD models.
mSATA drives are much smaller in size than their older brothers, and the picture does not reflect the actual dimensions of 3x5 cm and weight of 9 g.
If you use such a drive for cache or have a free mSATA port, you will get a fast and sufficiently capacious SSD, as well as increase the total amount of disk space in the system. Pre make sure what's in your laptop:
- mSATA connector connected to motherboard SATA III interface. We once discussed this issue with Artem Pronichkin in relation to his laptop Lenovo W530. The chipset only supports two SATA III connections (the main drive and the optical drive use them), so the mSATA SSD has to be connected to SATA II.
Of course, even in this case, you can use mSATA SSD, and its speed will be higher than that of a hard drive. However, it still rests on the throughput of SATA II.
- Supports booting the system from a disk connected via mSATA. Otherwise, you will need to put the boot manager on the HDD.
Information about the availability of mSATA ports and the chipset can be found in the laptop user manual (including the service manual), on the manufacturer's website or in Google Yandex. It is also useful to search the laptop manufacturer's forums for possible obstacles or problems.
Still, is it possible to install Windows on this small SSD?
Want to personally step on a rake? The general requirements before installing the OS are as follows:
- In UEFI/BIOS:
- AHCI mode enabled
- The SSD is higher than the HDD in the list of devices from which the boot is performed (Boot Order)
Specific instructions vary by laptop model and caching technologies used.
Discussion and Poll
- Your laptop model
- Did you consider drive configuration before purchasing?
- What physical drives were installed in the laptop
- Are you satisfied with the performance of the disk subsystem
- What did you do to improve the performance of the disk configuration, and what results did this lead to
Any other opinions on this topic are welcome!
You can mark fragments of text that are interesting to you, which will be available via a unique link in the browser's address bar.
about the author
Bought and replaced HDD with SSD. Prior to the complete cleaning before installing Windows 8.1, the small SSD was not used in any way, as it was not visible to the system. After cleaning, it works as a small drive for all sorts of nonsense.
Alexey Matashkin
Until recently, the main home PC was a desktop, but switched to a laptop. The choice fell on the Dell Inspiron 7720.
One of the important selection criteria was the configuration of the hard drives. The laptop has two baskets for HDDs and a place for mSATA, though with nuances: mSATA is parallel with the second HDD, so it's either one or the other.
It is for this reason that I took the configuration only from 1Tb HDD and immediately bought a 256Gb SSD for it.
The system is installed on an SSD, the second drive is used to store large amounts of photos, videos and the like.
In this configuration, I did not do any additional actions, the performance is already more than enough for me.
Sergey
By the way, such an adapter with a SATA and IDE interface is on sale in Yulmart. That's just the thickness must be specified separately.
Michael
1. Samsung NP300E7Z-S01.
2. No, I only looked at the volume of the HDD.
3. 1 HDD 500GB, 5400RPM.
4. Absolutely NO, especially after I saw the speed of a PC with an SSD.
5. I bought an SSD, put it in place of the HDD, and installed the HDD with the help of an adapter into the ODD bay, and the plug from the drive fit perfectly to the adapter.
The cache speeds up system and program startup to a level comparable to a conventional SSD, since data is read from the solid state drive.
After the "level" a comma is asked.
Igor
I have everything easier and stupid
in the working beech there is otsz 3 on the sandforce, you can’t stick anything else there. but there is a docking station for the laptop where the option is just turned with the replacement of the ODD through an adapter for a hard drive and 640 GB sticks out from the Vd. For a cold backup and not very important, there is 1 TB of hitachi (more precisely xgst group) and a portable working box Zalman ve-300 with 500 GB of hard drive. It's on mobile.
there is a server on the atom, where I want to msata ssd for 60 GB and replace 1 tb laptop with 1.5. but there is not Windows at all, so it does not fall into these statistics.
By the way, it's also done on Intel's atoms on the board - 1 satashnik either through a standard port or msata. the second is just satashnik. I understand now a lot of people began to do so.
Igor
Sergey,
we are 4 times more expensive than the Chinese (((
Basil
1. HP Pavilion Sleekbook 15 laptop. .
2. Yes. I was looking for a hybrid laptop.
3. HDD 320GB+SSD 32GB
4. Quite. Loading is the fastest 21.4 sec. Better than a laptop with a 120 GB SSD (it took 23.3 seconds to download to my grandson).
5. Tried to install Windows 7 on SSD. It didn't work out. Restored Windows 8, and soon upgraded to Windows 8.1. Did the download directly to the desktop. And I turn to the tile only when I need to download the application.
Arkady
Voted. Instead of a DVD drive, I have an HDD Caddy with a WD Black 500 Gb 7200 SATA2 hard drive. And on the main one there is a 128 Gb SATA3 Corsair SSD. The trick is that I have a 60-month warranty on both discs. Now I don’t know what brakes and lags are, and even the places of the car.
Before that, there was a HDD 5400, a living hell. In general, I don’t like 5400 drives, they are terribly slow.
The external panel from the drive came up to the HDD Caddy and it is not at all noticeable from the outside that there is no drive inside.
Alexander
And I also used a tambourine and ruined a lot of time to boot a laptop from mSATA SSD, when the device (BIOS) does not support mSATA as bootable. But, in the end, the difference, even with a 90% full SSD, is significant.
Ivan
What do you think about hybrid hard drives (eg Seagate ST500LM000) with 500 gigabytes of drive itself and 8 gigabytes of NAND for acceleration?
Alexei
1. Notebook SAMSUNG ATIV Book 4 NP450R5E
2. No, I did not attach any importance to this
3. Hard disk 500GB 5400 rpm
4. not very
5. replaced a 500gb 5400rpm hard drive with 7200rpm, now it's windiows 8.1, I didn't measure the download speed, but it loads and works quickly, I'm quite satisfied
Alexander
Vadim Sterkin: Alexander, how did you end up booting from an unsupported mSATA?
Vadim Sterkin, cloned the OS from the HDD, leaving the MBR on it. There is a wonderful utility EasyBCD for managing the boot sector, OS boot order, etc.
Vladimir
Dear Vadim, I want to object to your statement
“It is not clear that you won at the same time, but meanwhile your SSD is still very full, i.e. you can't leave the recommended 10-20% space unoccupied."
Here's what you can win: I have only the system installed on a 32 GB SSD, the occupied volume is 13.4 GB, which leaves more than 50% free. All programs are installed on a different partition. Also, folders in which the system writes a lot have been moved to another partition. The OS was installed 2.5 years ago (is it like long-term work?) And all this time the SSD filling is about the same.
As a result, the download speed gain is very noticeable, the durability of the SSD should not suffer.
1) HP Pavilion DV7-7171er.
2) Yes, by default there were two HDDs (5400 rpm).
3) Toshiba, but I don't remember the model.
4) No. And at the moment I thought about the advisability of 2 TB in a laptop, with a home NAS.
5) Replaced the system HDD with a Samsung 840 Pro.
Didn't do anything in particular.
- In addition to the standard reserve area, I did not mark out another 20-25 percent for longevity.
- I didn’t “tuning” the SSD with third-party utilities, as well as proprietary Magican.
- Removed SSD defragmentation - according to articles from your blog (by the way, is this relevant for 8.1?)
The speed is quite good - I'm happy. Although there was no doubt about it.
Alexander
I agree that installing Windows 7 - 8.1 on a 25-35 GB SSD is not worth it. I have a 60 GB SSD. After transferring the working user profiles to the HDD (but not the entire USERS folder), the paging file, and the Installer, MSOCache and Search folders, Windows 7 x64 takes about 34 GB. A freshly installed system will take less, but still not an option - it may not be for long.
In my opinion, hibernation for a system installed on an SSD is completely unnecessary. What is the point of writing large amounts of data to the SSD once again if a clean start takes a few seconds? Again, sleep mode has not been canceled.
Igor
Hello Vadim.
I already consulted with you about SSD (See Gmail email dated July 19, 2013) So for the time being this business is being postponed for financial reasons, but in general I am inclined to buy 2 devices to replace the regular DVD-RAM drive.
At the same time, I have an interesting point regarding mSATA or a connector similar to it. I have a netbook ACER ASPIRE ONE D250 (without 3G module). The question is, can you put a solid state drive on that connector? At one time I saw such SSDs for sale, but I didn’t buy it because of fear of incompatibility with the connector, although they are visually similar. What do you say on this topic?
As an example, you can see here (the connector for the 3G module is right above the fan):
Vladimir
Vadim Sterkin: Vladimir, nothing prevents you from using sleep, while the download speed does not matter. What else have you won?
Vadim, in fact, I did not write anything about sleep or hibernation, so your answer is not to the point.
In addition to the above, the advantage is that the system disk image made by Acronis True Image has a volume of about 4 GB and is created and restored in 8 ... 10 minutes.
For me, these arguments are more than enough to use such an organization of work.
I don’t use hibernation on the desktop, I use it on a laptop, but infrequently, because now I mostly work on it from the network.
Vladimir
Vadim Sterkin: 1. The answer is about sleep in essence, because. if you use it, then you can reboot once a month when installing updates. This is known to everyone who does not like to start working in Windows all the time from scratch :)
Vladimir: I don’t use hibernation on the desktop, I use it on a laptop, but infrequently, because now I mostly work on it from the network.
Vadim Sterkin: 2. Acronis does not include paging and hibernation files in the backup image, instead of them there are stubs, so they do not affect the size of the backup and the speed of its creation.
I didn't claim anything of the sort. In my first post, I wrote that the system partition can be made small, which just determines the gain in creating an image and restoring it.
In addition, moving folders to other partitions allows NOTHING to be lost when restoring the OS from an image or even when reinstalling the system.
Maksim
1. Asus U500VZ
2. Yes
3. SSD RAID 0 array of two 256 GB Adata drives
4. Yes
5. nothing
Vladimir
Vadim,
At the very beginning you wrote:
Pavel Nagaev (MVP Exchange) bought a laptop with a large HDD and a small SSD, on which he immediately installed Windows. However, he very quickly abandoned this idea.
And further:
... Pavel quickly came to the conclusion that a 32GB system partition would not be enough for long-term work.
Based on this, I wrote that it was quite possible for him to work for a long time: after optimizing the OS, 13.4 GB is occupied on my 32 GB system SSD. This is quite enough to work for 2.5 years, and for the hiberfil.sys file. In addition, moving folders to another partition makes it possible not to lose ANYTHING in the event of a system crash and even with the complete physical destruction of the system SSD (stolen, burned with a blue flame ...): to restore, you only need to install a new SSD and deploy the OS from the image to it, for which it will take twenty minutes. Not more.
As a result of optimization, the gain in boot speed and system operation is very noticeable, the durability of the SSD should not suffer, the system disk image is small - about 4 GB, which is also good: the time to create and restore it is 8 ... 10 minutes.
Vadim Sterkin: Vladimir, ok, I understand, your goal is to reduce the size of the system image so that it is created faster, and personal files are not lost during restoration / reinstallation.
My goal is not to reduce the size of the system image, but to ensure reliable operation of the computer: data safety (and this is facilitated, in particular, by placing data and the system on different partitions and even on different devices) and reliable system operation, in particular, its easy and quick recovery, and the small image size is just a nice bonus.
Vadim Sterkin: And what about the SSD? What did you win by breaking the RAID and installing the OS there? Just in case, in the download speed - nothing.
I did not write anything about RAID - maybe this is a question for Pavel Nagaev? I compared the boot speed and system operation on the SSD and on the HDD.
In addition, the SSD allows you to, so to speak, autonomize the system on a physically separate device with a nice bonus in the form of greater speed.
Sergey
“A typical scenario for using a mobile PC is to go to sleep instead of completely shutting down (including standby with connection on mobile PCs with Windows 8 and higher) and hibernate when the battery is low.” - Yes. But in practice, full power on from the SSD is faster or at least not slower than waking up from hibernation from the HDD.
Dmitriy
Vadim, good afternoon!
I just raised this topic in one of the comments from a month ago and you promised to write a post about it. Was looking forward to it.
I currently have windows on ssd on two laptops.
Let me share with you my thoughts on this.
With a home laptop, everything is simple, but with a worker it turned out very interesting.
Home laptop:
Lenovo Y580
8Gb ram
was originally installed caching msata Samsung on 64Gb
Now it acts as a system disk with windows 8.
Windows was set to the most common, so it takes up a lot of space, everything you need is installed, including working software.
Of the tweaks, only hibernation is disabled. the launch is still very frisky and this is too obvious a way to save 8GB on the disk. The swap file is made with a floating size of up to 4GB, but it seems to be 400MB full.
Free 22 out of 60 gigabytes.
Free space is stable and does not decrease much. If you remember that the disk is not rubber and do not use photoshops and cores, then the problems you describe will not arise at all.
With a working laptop, about which I asked you a question last time, I had to tinker and get rid of the problems that you described.
So.
Toshiba U840
8gb ram
caching ssd sandisk 32Gb
Despite the core i5 and a large amount of RAM, all performance rested on the 5400prm hard drive.
SRT technology worked, but if you already have a computer with a system ssd in your life, then it seems to be just a marketing ploy and is not felt at all :)
The problem could have been solved by buying a bigger msata, but that was unsportsmanlike.
The problem was exactly the size of windows after installation.
I needed 10 GB for working software and roaming data. Adding to this 20 gigs of windows 7 head after reinstallation. I received a clogged to the eyeballs disk. And this is just the biggest minus. And also infuriated the lack of space "provision".
The problem was solved by installing a stripped-down windows distribution from one of the torrents.
The possible curvature of the assembly, the presence of specially left holes, and so on, scared me.
Nevertheless, after installation, it turned out to be completely normal to register a license with microsoft, install all (!) Updates from the moment of assembly. All the cut out components turned out to be really unnecessary.
As a result, I got 9GB for the windows folder (5 right after installation), 8GB for everything else, disabled hibernation and installed a floating swap file.
Free space 14 GB and not particularly planned to increase.
For 2 weeks of testing glitches in the system did not reveal.
I understand that in both cases, the phrase "22GB and 14GB of free space" can seem intimidating. But I prefer to keep the system partition clean and fast. If you're tempted to put something big, you can always put it on a second drive and still have a super-fast system.
From here I would like to receive your comment about my way out of the problem with installing a stripped-down windows.
In my opinion, the game was worth the candle :)
Prada is of course a fly in the ointment. Ssd from sandisk is not the best quality, of course. And in HD Tune pro, although the speed is kept at 300 MB / s, at the beginning of the graph it drops significantly to 150. Nevertheless, this is just a test, this is not noticeable in operation and is still faster than hdd.
Dmitriy
The mSATA connector is connected to the SATA III interface of the motherboard. We once discussed this issue with Artem Pronichkin in relation to his laptop Lenovo W530. The chipset only supports two SATA III connections (the main drive and the optical drive use them), so the mSATA SSD has to be connected to SATA II.
On my Lenovo y580 I tried to solve this issue for a very long time, and I don’t remember how and where I got an answer to it :) Therefore, I ask you to help me figure it out again.
Specification Drive Sata 3 (6 Gbps) (up to 500 Mbps)
HD Tune gives a read speed of 216 MB during testing, an average of 323, and a maximum of 396.
Does this mean that I still have sata 3 enabled on this drive?
I understand that it's a stupid question, considering that sata2 works up to 300. :) But I want to make sure :)
Vladimir
Vadim Sterkin: if the laptop had an SSD for cache, the SATA controller worked in RAID mode (at least in the case of SRT).
Vadim Sterkin: What did you win by breaking the RAID and installing the OS there?
Ufff ... So it's not me, but Pavel broke something there? And I was already afraid that you climbed into my computer and found out a terrible secret that was never there ...
Generally speaking, I did not discuss the feasibility and correctness of installing an OS on an SSD that was originally designed for cache, I just comment on what was DONE:
Vladimir: Pavel Nagaev (MVP Exchange) bought a laptop with a large HDD and a small SSD, on which he immediately installed Windows. However, he very quickly abandoned this idea.
and tried to show that you can work with a 32 GB system drive.
Vadim Sterkin: But it is somehow strange that for 2.5 years the OS took only 13.5GB.
I don’t remember how much the OS occupied 2.5 years ago, but the image of the optimized OS after installing all the programs was then 3.2 GB, now it is 4.1 GB. That is, the size, of course, has grown.
Vadim Sterkin: And, probably, you have transferred not only files, but also% AppData%, or very few programs that store data there (even the software is installed on the HDD).
% AppData%, I did not transfer. Folders have been moved:
1. My Documents(more precisely, this folder has been in its place since the days of Windows XP);
2. Temp(if they tell me that in this case the time for installing programs increases, then I will answer that when installing some little thing every two weeks, like mine, this is not essential;
3. Temporary Internet Files. It is said that this slows down the browser, but with my Internet speed of about 25 Mbps, I will never notice this.
4. Mail. Windows Mail Program Bases.
5. Program Files. NOT TRANSFERRED, BUT CREATED! I install ALL programs in this folder. I have a lot of programs. There are few of those that write a lot on the system partition even when they are installed on another: Microsoft Office (incomplete), Adobe: Acrobat and Photoshop. Acronis True Image. There are several more programs that write a real trifle to the system partition. Other programs - Portable.
6. Folders Favorites And Desktop. This is so as not to lose something when restoring.
Now for your questions.
Vadim Sterkin A: 1. The safety of the data lying on the HDD would be exactly the same, even if you did not put the OS on the SSD.
Yes it is. When I decided to install the OS on a separate medium, at first I was going to take a 30 .. 40 GB HDD. But while I was looking for such a new one, I stumbled upon an SSD and just “pecked” at a novelty that also promises some advantages.
Vadim Sterkin: 2. The type of carrier hardly affects the reliability of the system, but of course it does affect the speed.
I did not say that the reliability of the system depends on the type of media. I don't think it has an effect. Although I am personally familiar with two ten-year-old HDDs, and I have not even heard of five-year-old SSDs, apparently not much time has passed.
Vadim Sterkin: 3. Yes, the small size of the system backup image is a plus, I wrote about it. But how many times have you resorted to restoring from an image in 2.5 years
I did not count how many times I restored the system, but I think that it turns out every two or three months. It happens that I pick up some nastiness (no protection system gives a 100% guarantee), I put a “crooked” program, the computer starts to slow down for no apparent reason ... In such cases, if I can’t fix it right away, I think it won’t take long - I restore the system from one of the latest images: the work is only about ten minutes.
Maksim
The articles are very cool, thank you very much Vadim!
After reading several articles about ssd, I have a question.
There is an Acer Aspire 5750g laptop, unfortunately it only has sata 2 and a 5400 rpm system hard drive in addition.
I want to install a second disc instead of my unused DVD drive. So the question is which disk to use? Put a small ssd there (120GB) and transfer the paging file, a folder of temporary files and several applications to it, or purchase a hybrid disk, clone the system disk on it, put the hybrid in place of the system disk, and that, respectively, in place of the optical drive.
I can't come to the right decision on my own, I would like to know your opinion on this matter. Thanks again for the great articles!
Maksim
Vadim Sterkin,
Yes, looking at the chipset, this is how it should be, but, unfortunately, in fact there is only sata 2.
When choosing an ssd as a system one, another problem arises, the current size of the system partition is 680GB, but that's another story.
Maksim
Vadim Sterkin, I don’t even know how Acer’s “engineers” managed to cram sata 2, but even the support service answers that this model only has sata 2, which is actually confirmed by third-party software, I was also very surprised. I have one question, off topic, is it possible to perform a "clean" installation of win7 using a pre-installed system key? (this is about moving to ssd as the main drive)
Maxim
Thanks for the article, Vadim!
I am answering the questions:
1.Lenovo IdeaPad U310. One of the main parameters for choosing a laptop (besides the price) was the weight and size of this device, since it was designed to be carried with you all the time.
2. The disk configuration mattered to me, but the size of the mSATA SSD was not decisive. At the beginning, I did not even know that this was a separate disk on a separate interface.
3. SSD, in my opinion, SanDisk 24 GB, HDD WD 500 GB
4. The performance was as expected: as when working with a conventional HDD, at some points faster due to data caching on the SSD. So I worked with what I bought. The main drawback of my laptop is that it has 4 GB of memory, which was not enough for my work: even for normal work, it was not enough, not to mention the launch of virtual machines. When I got tired of enduring the inconvenience of working with small memory, I bought 8 GB and installed them myself. “Life has become easier, life has become more fun.”
5. Then, since I had already begun to change the configuration, and the costs were distributed over time, I bought a Kingston 120 GB SSD and transferred the system disk to it. Improvements were noticeable immediately. Now the performance of my laptop is completely satisfied with me. I am comfortable working in the main system and in a running virtual machine. The virtual machine lives on the HDD, so it runs noticeably slower than the main OS, but that can be tolerated.
Maybe there are differences between SSDs on SATA and on mSATA, but I didn’t notice them “by eye”. I have a stationary PC with Win 7 on an SSD, I don’t see much difference in speed with a laptop.
There are 2 things left in my laptop that I would like to fix: screen resolution and WiFi connection quality. I will not change the screen matrix, but I think I will replace the WiFi module. It will be necessary to look for which module is considered good.
Ruslan
1. ASUS K95VJ
2. I bought it precisely because of the possibility of manipulating hard drives, since there is a standard 3.5 ″ (7200) HDD plus a free 2.5 ″ slot where it was decided to purchase an SSD. The choice was made on the SSD drive Kingston HyperX 3K SSD 120GB 2.5″ SATAIII. It was a bit cumbersome to transfer the pre-installed Windows 8 without losing activation, but I managed with the help of Macrium Reflect (by the way, a free program). At first I tried to optimize the SSD, but after reading your article on myths, I refused to optimize it. The difference in the operation of Windows and programs on the SSD is really very noticeable, so I was satisfied with this upgrade.
Thanks for the articles on SSD.
Sergey
Sergey,
After installing the ExpressCache utility which is included. The system has been running since 24. like a cache .. You can see it in disk management.
Cl3r1k
Thanks for the article, Vadim!
There is no SSD available, so I can’t check my theory myself. On the first screen with IRST, there is an item Select the size allocated for the cache memory and two items 18.6 GB and Full disk capacity. Those. you can set the partition to cache on the SSD or the entire disk. And if, for example, you want to always keep a certain program with its data on the SSD?
As I understand it, for this you will need to create a partition for the program with data (let's say 4 GB), and give the rest of the space to another partition, which in turn should be specified as a cache in IRST. Will the first partition be visible to the system? Did you understand correctly? Or is there another way to solve?
And another question is not entirely in the subject, on hard drives there is such a thing as bad blocks (bad blocks) that arise for various reasons, but how are things with SSDs, do they have similar problems? And what happens to faulty memory cells, turn into broken ones and are also marked as non-working? In the case of an HDD, is it possible to remap a broken sector, but in the case of an SSD? Or does the SSD not suffer from such problems?
Alexander
Bought a laptop with SSD Cache
Lenovo THINKPAD Edge E540
Now I don’t understand how to use it, or is everything already set up for work?
No programs from Lenovo are installed, I found some kind of express cache called. But haven't watched it yet.
What do you recommend to do? this is to use this cache more fruitfully.
Thank you
Artem
lenovo y470
Yes. I knew that there is a slot for mSata
There was one 5400 HDD 500Mb
Satisfied until a friend showed boot from SSD
Bought 128 SSD Plextor and HDD Toshba 7200 1Tb. The system on the SSD, the rest of the program. Satisfied.
Nicholas
Two laptops Old/New:
I installed the system on the SSD and stored the databases with which I worked.
The operating system on the old Windows 7 on the new Windows 8 license from the manufacturer, it was transferred to the SSD
At the moment, I can’t understand why the tests on the new laptop show a lower result than on the new one, on the old one it’s about 250, and on the new one it’s almost 160 (The maximum result, regardless of the testing methods)
Model mSata Kingston SMS200S3/120G - http://www.kingston.com/us/ssd/s#sms200s3
bios updated,
Denis
Nicholas: Two laptops Old/New:
1. Dell Studio 1558 / Acer Aspire V5-573G
2. Attached / attached but the Processor and the matrix took their toll
3. HDD 7200 at that time SSDs were still expensive / Simple HDD
4. Both laptops have the biggest performance bottleneck
5. On the old Dell, I installed a 120G SSD instead of HDD, and installed a pocket with NDD instead of an optical drive, performance improved significantly.
5. On a new one, I bought a 120G SSD in mSATA (SMS200S3 / 120G),
I installed the system on the SSD and stored the databases with which I worked. The operating system on the old Windows 7 on the new Windows 8 license from the manufacturer, it was transferred to the SSD At the moment I can’t understand why the tests on the new laptop for recording show a lower result than on the new, on the old about 250, and on the new one almost 160 (Maximum result regardless of testing methods)
Model mSata KingstonSMS200S3/120G - http://www.kingston.com/us/ssd/s#sms200s3
If there are assumptions or advice where to dig, tell me.
bios updated,
Nikolai, perhaps the write speed of your SSD disk on mSATA is this .. it just physically cannot ... ..
Http://old.computerra.ru/sgolub/710560/), I agree with the author ... And so a few more options appeared ...
1. SSD for the system, programs and work files + HDD for dumps and archives.
Here you will need a larger capacity SSD, at least 500 GB, and in this design, I think that the disk resource will end faster. You can, of course, buy an SSD for a server, their resource is 1.5-2 times higher, but the price is correspondingly. Moreover, the idea is to make an automatic daily backup of working files from SSD to HDD, though I don’t know how yet (I will have to study this topic as well). Of the pluses - high speed, less noise, heating and energy consumption (on a laptop), of the minuses, if the disk "covers" then the whole system and work for the last day will fly ...
2. SSD for the system and programs + SSD for temporary, working files and cache + HDD for dumps and archives
In this option, I think the disk resource will last longer and the main load will be taken by the second SSD with temporary files, if it “closes”, then the restoration of work will not be as long as in the second option ...
What can you say about such options?
Ruslan
1. Sony VAIO SVN1311X1RS
2. No, I didn’t, I still transfer everything to SSD (32gb is not enough, but 120 will already be enough)
3. SSD 32Gb on mSATA+HDD 320 gb
4. No
5. , so I moved the OS to SSD, but there are still not enough of them.
2 days with a tambourine and found a simple option to put the OS on mSATA (the boot order did not change in the BIOS). He pulled out the HDD installed the OS and after that he put the HDD back - everything ingenious is simple! Include it in the article, I'm sure it will come in handy for someone, because I will change the SSD to mSATA, after all, the extra space of a regular screw will not hurt.
Greetings to all who looked at the light. The review will focus, as you probably already guessed, on an inexpensive high-speed SSD drive KingSpec MT-256, with a capacity of 256GB, made in the mSATA form factor. This drive is designed for installation in portable devices with an appropriate mSATA connector - minicomputers, laptops, adapters / external flash drives. Who cares how the disk showed itself in work, you are welcome under the cat.
General view of the SSD drive KingSpec MT-256:
With coupon " MSATA256» The cost of the KingSpec MT-256 SSD is $84.99 (about 4900r). Coupon is valid until October 31, 2017. Comparable in cost to mSATA SSD drives offline is almost impossible to find, analogues start from 6500r: 
In all Citylinks, discs of this format are almost never found.
Brief performance characteristics:
- Manufacturer - KingSpec
- Series - T-series
- Model name - MT-256
- Storage capacity - 256 GB
- Drive type - SSD (Solid State Drive)
- Drive form factor - mSATA
- Interface - SATA 3.0 (6 Gb / s), backwards compatible with SATA 2.0 (3 Gb / s)
- Sequential read speed - 500 MB / s
- Sequential write speed - 400 MB / s (180 MB / s after the SLC buffer is full)
- Memory type - MLC Micron
- Controller - Maxiotek MK8115
- TRIM support - yes
- Working temperature - 0 ~ 70°C
- Dimensions - 50mm * 30mm * 3.5mm
- Weight - 20 gr.
More detailed characteristics of the entire T-series:
Package:
The KingSpec MT-256 SSD comes in a colorful blister pack: 
In addition to the drive itself, the kit comes with two mounting screws. Unfortunately, the speed characteristics on the packaging could not be found: 
Dimensions:
This SSD has standard dimensions of 50mm*30mm*3.5mm for installation in a compact mSATA slot. The dimensions of the drive are similar to those of a box of matches, only the first one is several times thinner: 
Here is a comparison with a regular 2.5” Toshiba 750GB hard drive: 
Appearance:
The SSD drive KingSpec MT-256 is made in a standard frameless version on a double-sided board designed for the mSATA standard. On one side of the board there is a sticker with the model name, drive capacity and serial number: 
On the other hand, you can see a memory chip and some elements (power stabilizers): 
Judging by the marking of the board - MK8115-MSATA-4BT REV 1.0, a fairly "fresh" Maxiotek MK8115 controller, announced in the fall of 2016, is installed: 
By removing the sticker, you can make sure that the Maxiotek MK8115 controller is indeed installed in the KingSpec MT-256 SSD, which is a bufferless version of the Maxiotek MK8113 controller: 
Here are the main specs from the site: 
Declared support for most types of memory, hardware encryption, power saving, SLC caching and other goodies. The only drawback is that there are only four transmission channels and the lack of a buffer (unlike the MK8113), which reduces performance somewhat. In addition, there is a limit on the maximum memory size (up to 1TB), although this is not critical. On the other hand, there are three unsoldered places for memory chips in the monitored disk, so you can just try to “understaff” the SSD drive up to a maximum of 1TB.
By default, a sticker with a security code is glued on the memory chip, breaking through which on the manufacturer's website you can verify the authenticity of the product: 
The sticker comes off rather badly, but another one is hidden under it: 
Judging by the information from the Internet, we have a very reliable Micron memory. The whole annoyance is that the bottom sticker is very difficult to peel off even when it is heated. I had to spend another half an hour to tear it off and make sure that Micron memory was indeed installed: 
Unfortunately, the characters are not very clear, but judging by the logo (in the center) and the marking "L06B" (on the left), we have a three-dimensional MLC 3D V-NAND memory manufactured by Micron. It compares favorably with the cheaper TLC both in terms of the number of write cycles and speed: 
Installation in the system:
The KingSpec MT-256 SSD was installed in the mSATA slot of the Hystou FMP06 minicomputer, which I reviewed earlier. Unfortunately, I do not have an mSATA -> SATA adapter, so I performed all further tests from a running Windows 7 installed just on this drive. In this regard, there are some limitations, but the average performance can be traced. In the system, the drive is defined as MT-256 ATA Device, capacity 256GB: 
A little information about the drive from the HD Tune 5.70 utility: 
To increase the speed of work and activate some additional functions, it is recommended to switch the SATA controller mode from IDE to AHCI. This is switched in BIOS / UEFI (when you turn on the PC, press the "Del" button). You can read about the integration of SATA drivers into an already installed Windows XP operating system.
Differences between the standard IDE mode and AHCI:
- Support for "hot swap drives" ("Hot Plug") - is used to disconnect the disk "on the fly" without turning off the computer (relevant for docking stations and RAID arrays)
- Built-in command queuing (NCQ) - technology to improve performance. NCQ-enabled devices are able to accept multiple requests at the same time and rearrange the order in which they are executed to achieve maximum efficiency (performance)
- Support for TRIM function (no support in XPush) - designed specifically for SSD drives to maintain high performance
Let me also remind you that the SATA transfer interface has three revisions and, therefore, has speed limits:
- SATA Revision 1.0 aka SATA I (up to 1.5 Gb/s) - interface bandwidth up to 150 MB/s
- SATA Revision 2.0 aka SATA II (up to 3 Gb/s) - interface bandwidth up to 300 MB/s
- SATA Revision 3.0 aka SATA III (up to 6 Gb/s) - interface bandwidth up to 600 MB/s
Some recommendations that extend the life of SSD drives, which I wrote about earlier:
- disable file indexing on the disk (see the first right screen)
- disable SuperFetch (through the registry, google to the rescue)
- with more than 8GB of RAM, you can create a RAM disk (virtual disk in RAM) and transfer temporary folders (TEMP, TMP, browser cache, swap) there. In a situation with an SSD, all this trifle will not be written to a solid state drive, thereby saving its resource.
Testing:
To begin with, let's see what popular benchmarks will show us (pure synthetics, but they can give a general idea):
CrystalDiskMark, briefly about the indications:
- 512K - run a test for random reading / writing blocks of 512 KB
- 4K - run a test for random reading / writing blocks of 4 KB (queue depth - 1)
- 4K (QD32) - launching a test for random reading / writing 4 KB blocks (queue depth - 32)
On the screenshots from left to right, the speed is measured in different versions of the program (3.0.1 and 5.2.1), the size of the test file is 1GB and 32GB: 
The speeds are good, there is a slight drop in speed in the 32GB test, but not at all critical.
Further test in AS SSD Benchmark 1.8.5636:
- Seq - run sequential read/write test
- 4K - run test for random read/write blocks 4
- 4K (QD32) - launching a test for random reading / writing 4 KB blocks (queue depth - 64)
- Acc.time - access time 
From the screen you can see that the partitions are aligned and the disk is operating in AHCI mode (green OK labels), although this is more relevant for Windows XP. Windows 7 and later correctly align disks by default.
USB Flash Benchmark test for reading / writing various blocks: 
And finally, the SSD-Z utility, showing some disk information and average performance: 
As you can see, the TRIM command, which allows the operating system to tell the solid state drive (SSD) which data blocks are no longer in use and can be cleared by the drive itself, is active.
Now it is the turn of "serious" test programs. The first one is AIDA64. Unfortunately, the lack of an mSATA -> SATA adapter did not allow me to connect the monitored drive as a “slave” to the main system drive, so it was installed instead of the system drive. In this regard, I cannot conduct a write test, because. to do this, you must delete all partitions. I already mentioned that the reviewed KingSpec MT-256 SSD drive has Windows 7 installed, so only a test for reading to the full disk capacity, block size is 8MB: 
The read speed of 500MB/s is an excellent result. The only thing I didn't like was that the speed graph at the beginning of the test was a bit “broken”, perhaps this is somehow due to the fact that the drive is not empty and has an active partition (with an operating system).
The next reading test is in another great utility, HD Tune 5.70. Full volume test (block size 8MB): 
Again, at the beginning of the test, the graph is broken, but otherwise everything is fine.
Now a test for writing and calculating the size of the SLC cache. To do this, run the “File Test” in the HD Tune utility, set the size of the recorded file to 20GB: 
As you can see, the disk has a built-in "fast" cache, with a capacity of about 14GB, and after it is full, the speed drops from 390MB / s to 180MB / s. On disks with budget TLC memory, the speed after the buffer is full (3-5GB) drops to 80-100MB/s, but here the result is quite good at 180MB/s. Yes, and rarely when it is required to transfer files of such a volume at a time. When recording files up to 14GB, there will be no speed reduction.
To whom these graphs do not say anything, here is an example of the real behavior of an SSD disk - copying a 17GB file to a KingSpec MT-256 SSD disk, in this case a BDRip movie: 
Below are screenshots of copying this movie from one SSD (Netac N530S 240GB) to KingSpec MT-256 256GB SSD. Before filling the SLC buffer (14GB, see above), the disk writes at a huge speed (390-430MB / s), after filling - at the standard 180MB / s, which we saw above:
I can’t check the reading speed of the KingSpec MT-256 SSD drive with real examples, because there is no second SSD drive corresponding in speed. The Netac N530S 240GB drive has a write speed of about 420MB / s, the reviewed KingSpec MT-256 drive can read and give at a speed of 500MB / s, so Netac is the weak link here, it physically cannot receive a file at a speed of 500MB / s: 
In terms of read speed, SSD drives do not have any pitfalls, so KingSpec MT-256 SSD drive will provide 500MB / s.
Pros:
+ all the advantages of SSD drives (power consumption, noiselessness, compactness, speed)
+ high-quality Micron memory (MLC type)
+ fairly large SLC buffer (about 14GB)
+ great speed
+ compact mSATA form factor
+ price
Minuses:
- somewhat stripped down controller
Conclusion: Sufficiently capacious budget SSD drive with good speed and more "survivable" MLC memory for installation in compact devices with an mSATA connector: minicomputers (nettops), laptops, external adapters/flash drives with USB 3.0 ports. I was satisfied with the performance of the drive, so if you are looking for an inexpensive option for a high-speed drive, I recommend buying it!
With coupon " MSATA256» The cost of the KingSpec MT-256 SSD is $84.99 (about 4900r). Comparable in cost to mSATA SSD drives offline is almost impossible to find, analogues start at 6500r. Coupon is valid until October 31, 2017.
The product was provided for writing a review by the store. The review is published in accordance with clause 18 of the Site Rules.
I plan to buy +22 Add to favorites Liked the review +13 +27The mSATA standard - also known as mini-SATA - was officially introduced in September 2009. It was intended for laptops and other compact PCs that lacked space for a 2.5-inch drive. Now on sale you can even find motherboards equipped with this port. Externally, this interface is similar to the PCI Express Mini-Card slot, but at the electrical level there is a difference that cannot be noticed from the outside. In order to be able to install an mSATA drive into the PCI-E Mini-Card slot, the manufacturer's intervention is required. Namely, the installation of multiplexer chips. These microcircuits will keep track of which card is connected to the PCI-E Mini-Card slot, and, depending on this, connect this connector to the PCI-E controller or to SATA. Such an upgrade is always done at the factory, during the assembly of a particular board, and, as a rule, the purpose of the Mini PCI-E slot is either reflected in the specifications or signed near the port itself.
As for the mSATA form factor drives themselves, they can now be found in almost every ultrabook, because they are much smaller and thinner than their 2.5-inch counterparts.
From bottom to top: conventional 3.5-inch hard drive; 2.5" SSD; mSATA solid state drive
In addition, it is cheaper to use a ready-made mSATA connector in an ultrabook than to invent your own port and also produce drives for it. Although some ASUS ultrabooks or Apple laptops use their own proprietary connector and drives of the same type.
mSATA connectors in desktop motherboards are extremely rare. But if such a port is soldered, then the drive installed in it can be used either as a system disk or as an SSD cache. Intel Smart Response is a good example of this technology, although you can get away with a regular 2.5-inch drive instead of mSATA.
If we talk about the minuses of mSATA drives, then, apart from their low prevalence, there are only two of them: volume and price. Due to the size of the drive, it is impossible to solder more than four memory chips on it, which means that some of the controller channels will not be used, and in theory, the read and write speeds of such drives may not be very high. However, the manufacturer can to some extent compensate for the small number of channels involved by installing fast memory or one of the LSI SandForce controllers that supports on-the-fly data stream compression.
⇡ Test participants
In this comparative test, we decided to go a little against the rules. This time, together with mSATA drives, we will test conventional SSDs. This is to see if there is a performance difference between the two formats. And if so, how big is it?
Here is a list of devices representing the mSATA camp:
- mSATA Crucial M4 256GB (CT256M4SSD3)
- mSATA Kingston SSDNow mS200 120GB (SMS200S3/120G)
- mSATA Plextor M5M 256GB (PX-256M5M)
- mSATA Transcend 128 GB (TS128GMSA740)
As for 2.5-inch drives, we have recently tested a lot of such devices, but for this comparison we decided to take only two of them:
- 2.5" SSD Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB (SH103S3/120G)
- Plextor M5 Pro 2.5" SSD 256GB (PX-256M5P)
The first, Kingston HyperX 120 GB (SH100S3/120G), was chosen because of the LSI SandForce SF-2281 controller - a similar controller, LSI SandForce SF-2241, is installed in one of the mSATA drives. Another drive, the Plextor M5 Pro 256 GB (PX-256M5P), was also chosen for its controller. It uses Marvell 88SS9187-BLD2. The exact same chip is in another mSATA drive, the Plextor M5M. The Crucial M4 256 GB (CT256M4SSD3) also uses the Marvell controller, but the previous generation is the Marvell 88SS9174-BLD2. For SSD Transcend, there was no analogue in the list of devices we tested. Alas, it uses a rare JMicron controller.
| Manufacturer | Crucial | Kingston | Plextor | Transcend | Kingston | Plextor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series | M4 | mS200 | M5M | HyperX | M5 Pro | |
| Model number | CT256M4SSD3 | SMS200S3/120G | PX-256M5M | TS128GMSA740 | SH100S3/120G | PX-256M5P |
| Form Factor | mSATA | mSATA | mSATA | mSATA | 2.5 inches | 2.5 inches |
| Interface | SATA 6Gb/s | SATA 6Gb/s | SATA 6Gb/s | SATA 6Gb/s | SATA 6Gb/s | SATA 6Gb/s |
| Capacity, GB | 256 | 120 | 256 | 128 | 120 | 256 |
| Configuration | ||||||
| Memory chips: type, interface, manufacturing process, manufacturer | MLC, ONFi, 25nm, Micron | MLC, Toggle-Mode DDR 2.0, 19 nm, Toshiba | MLC, Toggle-Mode DDR, ND, SanDisk | MLC, ONFi 2 (sync.), 25 nm, Intel | MLC, Toggle-Mode DDR 2.0, 19 nm, Toshiba | |
| Memory chips: number / number of NAND devices in a chip | 4/ND | 4/2 | 4/4 | 4/ND | 16/1 | 8/4 |
| Controller | Marvell 88SS9174-BLD2 | LSI SandForce SF-2241 | Marvell 88SS9187-BLD2 | Jmicron JMF667H | LSI SandForce SF-2281 | Marvell 88SS9187-BLD2 |
| Buffer: type, size, MB | DDR3 SDRAM, 128 | No | DDR3L-1333 SDRAM, 256 | DDR3-1066 SDRAM, 128 | No | DDR3 SDRAM, 512 |
| Performance | ||||||
| Max. sustained sequential read speed, MB/s | 500 | 550 | 540 | 530 | 555 | 540 |
| Max. sustained sequential write speed, MB/s | 260 | 520 | 430 | 270 | 510 | 460 |
| Max. random read speed (blocks of 4 KB), op./s | 45 000 | 86 000 | 79 000 | 68 000 | 87 000 | 100 000 |
| Max. random write speed (blocks of 4 KB), op./s | 50 000 | 48 000 | 77 000 | 69 000 | 70 000 | 86 000 |
| physical characteristics | ||||||
| Power consumption: idle / read-write, W | ND | 0,4/1,8 | 0.2/ND | 0,3/2,1 | 0,46/2,0 | ND/0.25 |
| impact resistance | ND | ND | 1500g | 1500g | 1500g | 1500 g (1 ms) |
| MTBF (mean time between failures), h | 1.2 million | 1 million | 2.4 million | 1 million | 1 million | > 2.4 million |
| AFR (annualized failure rate), % | ND | ND | ND | ND | ND | ND |
| Overall dimensions: LxHxD, mm | 50.88x29.88x3.6 | 50.88x29.88x3.6 | 50.8x29.8x3.6 | 50.8x29.85x4 | 100x69.85x9.5 | 100x70x7 |
| Weight, g | ND | 6,86 | 9 | 8 | 97 | 70 |
| Warranty period, years | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Average retail price, rub. | 7 100 | 4 200 | 7 300 | 4 800 | 6 500 | 8 400 |
⇡ Crucial M4 256 GB (CT256M4SSD3)
The first mSATA SSD we reviewed, the Crucial M4 CT256M4SSD3, uses a Marvell 88SS9174 controller. At the time of this writing, it can be considered obsolete, because there are already solid-state drives with the Marvell 88SS9187 controller on the market. However, the use of the old controller is fully justified by the fact that this drive was introduced in mid-2012.
We'll be testing the 256GB Crucial M4 (CT256M4SSD3) but you can also find this SSD in 128GB, 64GB, and 32GB. The latter model, in our opinion, is best suited for SSD cache, and not for installing the OS.
Crucial M4 CT256M4SSD3
The Crucial M4 CT256M4SSD3 is equipped with four Micron ONFi 2.x memory chips. The exact version of the interface is not specified, although this is not surprising: many SSD manufacturers have been doing this lately
. The number of NAND devices in each memory chip is also unknown. Paired with the controller is a 128 MB DDR3 cache.|
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As for the memory, we can say that this is MLC memory made using the 25 nm process technology. Well, speeds: the established read speed should be 500 MB / s, and writes - only 260 MB / s. As for the random read and write speed, according to the manufacturer, it reaches 45,000 IOPS when reading and 50,000 writing.
If we talk about the number of rewriting cycles, then the manufacturer does not directly declare them, although on the official website you can find information that the drive can withstand 40 GB daily writes for 5 years.
If we talk about the cost, then the average price for the Crucial M4 CT256M4SSD3 is about 7,100 rubles at the time of writing this review. Although in Moscow online stores you can buy this drive a little cheaper - for 6,600 rubles.
⇡ Kingston SSDNow mS200 120GB (SMS200S3/120G)
If a manufacturer wants to make an SSD based on the SandForce platform, then in the vast majority of cases he will choose the LSI SandForce SF-2281 controller. In the case of Kingston SSDNow mS200, another controller was chosen - LSI SandForce SF-2241. As with all SandForce controllers, the SF-2241 uses compression for all recorded information. If the data lends itself well to compression, then the speed of the drive should be good, otherwise it will drop catastrophically.
The 120 GB model we are considering is considered the most voluminous in the line. In addition to it, on the market you can find Kingston SSDNow mS200 mSATA drives with a capacity of 60 and 30 GB.
Kingston SSDNow mS200 120GB (SMS200S3/120G)
The differences between the LSI SandForce SF-2241 and SF-2281 are that the 41st controller supports MLC and SLC chips with capacities up to 128 and 64 Gb, respectively. As for the LSI SandForce SF-2281, it does not have such severe restrictions - it can work with MLC and SLC chips with capacities up to 512 and 128 Gbps. In general, the SF-2241 and SF-2281 controllers are very similar to each other.
Controller LSI SandForce SF-2241
The drive board has four Flash memory chips with a Toggle-Mode DDR 2.0 interface, which is very unusual for a SandForce controller - usually ONFi chips are used in tandem with it. The memory manufacturer is Toshiba, all chips are made according to the 19-nm process technology. Judging by the markings of the chip cases, each of them contains two NAND devices and, as a result, all eight channels of the controller are involved (unless the SSD has lost the advantages of interleaving NAND devices on the channels, which would be possible if these same devices were in two times more). Unfortunately, the manufacturer does not report anything about the number of rewriting cycles. Kingston says that the established write speed should be 500 MB / s, and read - 520 MB / s. The speed of random reading and writing blocks of 4 KB reaches 86,000 and 48,000 IOPS, respectively.
Memory Kingston SSDNow mS200
The average retail price for a 120 GB Kingston SSDNow mS200 drive at the time of writing this review is 4,200 rubles. But if you search properly in Moscow online stores, you can buy this drive cheaper - for about 3,950 rubles.
⇡ Plextor M5M 256GB (PX-256M5M)
The Plextor M5M PX-256M5M uses the Marvell 88SS9187 controller, replacing the outdated Marvell 88SS9174 we've seen in the 256GB Crucial M4 (CT256M4SSD3) drive. The new controller features support for SATA 3.1 specifications and also allows the TRIM command to be queued along with read/write commands. In addition, the developers of Marvell 88SS9187 promise to increase performance and reduce power consumption - the latter should appeal to owners of ultrabooks and other mobile PCs. Also on the drive board is soldered cache memory DDR3L-1333 SDRAM, 256 MB.
The Plextor M5M 256 GB drive (PX-256M5M) is considered the "largest" in the line. In addition to the 256 GB model, 128 GB and 64 GB mSATA SSDs are on sale.
Plextor M5M 256GB (PX-256M5M)
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The memory used in the Plextor M5M PX-256M5M is Toggle Mode DDR 2.0. It was manufactured by Toshiba using the 19nm process technology. Each chip contains four NAND devices, so all eight controller channels, and even with alternation. As always, the memory manufacturer is silent about the number of rewriting cycles. As for the speed characteristics, the established read speed should be 540 MB / s, and writes - 430 MB / s. The random read and write speeds of this drive are similar. So, the declared read speed of 4 KB blocks is 79,000 IOPS, and the write speed is 77,000 IOPS.
At the time of writing this article, the average price of the drive is 7,300 rubles, although in Moscow online stores you can actually find this drive for about 400 rubles cheaper.
⇡ Transcend 128 GB (TS128GMSA740)
The last drive considered in this test - Transcend SSD TS128GMSA740 - is equipped with a Jmicron JMF667H controller, which has four channels for Flash memory, and up to eight NAND devices can be "hung" on each channel. Not forgotten is the wear leveling function and support for Toggle Mode DDR 2.0 memory made using the 19nm process technology. Also, this controller can blink LED indicators, if any are soldered on the board.
128 GB is the maximum capacity for this line of Transcend mSATA drives. Also on sale you can find SSD from the same series with a volume of 64 and 32 GB.
Transcend SSD 128GB (TS128GMSA740)
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About the memory chips soldered on this SSD, at the time of writing this article, it was not possible to find accurate information. It is only known that the memory interface is Toggle Mode DDR, although it is not clear what version it is and what process technology the memory was produced on. As for the speed characteristics, the established read speed should be 530 MB / s, and writes - 270 MB / s, which is not very much. Random read speed is 68,000 IOPS and write speed is 69,000 IOPS.
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At the time of writing this article, the average price of a Transcend 128 GB drive (TS128GMSA740) is about 4,800 rubles, but if you try, you can find this drive in Moscow online stores at a lower price: about 3,600 rubles.
This is where we end the description of mSATA form factor drives and move on to a story about other test participants. All the drives described below have already participated in our group testing of 14 SSDs with a capacity of 240-256 GB, so we will simply give excerpts from this article.
⇡ Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB (SH100S3/120G)
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As simple calculations show, the SSD in the client computer will become morally obsolete long before its memory cells wear out. This means that you can save some of the cost of the drive by using chips with a smaller resource of rewriting cycles. The number in the name Kingston HyperX 3K means exactly that - 3 thousand rewrite cycles, in contrast to the "simple" HyperX, whose resource is 5 thousand cycles. The interface and manufacturing process of microcircuits remained the same. In terms of performance, there is also almost no difference between them, but 3K is still cheaper.
⇡ Plextor M5 Pro 256 GB (PX-256M3P)
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The M5 Pro is the first SSD to replace the well-deserved Marvell 88SS9174 with the Marvell 88SS9187 controller, designed to improve performance and reduce power consumption.
The Plextor M5 Pro is equipped with Toshiba Toggle-Mode DDR 2.0 memory, manufactured using a 19 nm process technology. The M5 Pro also comes with DDR3 chips up to 768MB in total in the 512GB model. With such a buffer size, it is obvious that, in addition to service information, the controller also stores user data there.
The Plextor M5 Pro supports AES-128 and AES-256 full disk encryption. To control data integrity, along with a 128-bit ECC mechanism, a certain algorithm is used in the firmware called Robust Data Hold-out. According to the manufacturer, each device undergoes rigorous hardware testing before delivery.
The performance data shown in the table is valid for devices running firmware version 1.02, also called Xtreme by the manufacturer. With earlier firmware versions, the speed is not much, but still lower. Therefore, we recommend that all M5 Pro buyers, as well as owners of OCZ Vertex 4, check the firmware version and update.
Every day more and more users are thinking about the question: how is the HDD in a laptop replaced with an SSD? This topic is especially relevant now: the hard drive, as in a mobile computer, is becoming obsolete.
To change or not to change? That is the question
There has been a discussion for many years whether the hard drive will be superseded by solid state drives or not. Power users value SSDs for speed and reliability. However, any medal has two sides, so it should be noted that the reactivity of the drive is very expensive.
The high cost of SSD for the most part and does not allow it to enter widespread use. Many owners of PCs and laptops, whose activities require the best performance, still renounce the HDD.
Pros and cons of SSD and HDD
The fact is that HDD has a number of disadvantages in comparison with SSD:
As a rule, it is because of them that many decide to replace it, and one cannot ignore the advantages of hard drives over solid state drives:
- Volume. At the moment, ordinary users are available from 320 GB to 10 TB. And the same SSD in ordinary stores can be found with a maximum of 2TB. We are not talking about drives for industrial or server equipment, but only about those that can be bought at the nearest computer market.
- Price. She is much lower. If we compare the cost of a popular hard drive with a volume of 2 TB with an SSD of the same capacity, it turns out that a solid state drive is 16 times more expensive than an HDD.
- With an SSD, it is almost impossible to recover deleted data due to the storage method. The maximum that can be done is to take the drive to the laboratory, where the necessary equipment will be.
Based on the foregoing, we can conclude if the speed and security of data is more important than their volume. Do you value low power consumption? Feel free to upgrade to an SSD.
What HDD is used in the laptop?
At the moment, laptops use 2.5-inch hard drives. This means that inside there are “pancakes” of exactly this diameter. Some MacBooks have 1.8 ″ hard drives installed, but this is a separate issue, and we will not talk about them.
Each disk has a set of characteristics, such as:
- manufacturer;
- size: the amount of data to fit, usually in GB;
- buffer memory: fast memory or cash;
- rotation speed: the number of revolutions per minute made by the spindle;
- connection interface: connector that connects the drive to the board.
The HDD price depends on the set of these characteristics and their quality. The most common hard drive option at the time of this writing has:
- connection interface - SATA III;
- volume - 2 TB;
- - 5400 rpm;
- buffer memory - 32 MB.
What SSD can be installed instead of a hard drive?
The main difference between a solid state drive and an HDD is that data is written non-mechanically. Simply put, information is recorded on microchips. This results in high and low noise levels.
Such drives have 4 common form factors:
- PCI-E AIC (add-in-card);
- M.2 2280;
- mSATA;
- 2.5 in.
In the context of this article, which is devoted to the question of how to replace the HDD in a laptop with an SSD, all attention will be paid to the latest format drives, i.e. 2.5 inches. They with HDD have the same shape and SATA III connection interface. A similar view allows you to remove the drive and install an SSD in its place, screwing it to the same slide and closing it with the same cover.
mSata form factor SSD
Some laptops also support mSata. They have a special III on the motherboard and two places for screws to secure the drive. Such SSDs can be used both as independent storage devices, and paired with depends on the design of the laptop.
In many Lenovo models, such an SSD acts as an additional medium (in the role of a cache). There are laptops in which mSata is installed in pair with the hard disk and is used as a system partition, that is, nothing is installed on it except for the operating system. Thanks to this solution, OS loading is accelerated, and the amount of data storage remains quite large, since information is written to disk.
SSD form factor 2.5″
To successfully replace the HDD with an SSD, you need to choose the right drive. At the moment, we managed to decide that it should be 2.5 inches and connected via SATA III. It is also worth paying attention to the thickness of the SSD, since for hard drives it ranges from 5 to 9.5 mm. If you buy an SSD that is too thick, the disk cover in the laptop may not close.
Next is a matter of taste. For home use, 100-300 GB is considered sufficient. According to Tom Hardware, the best SSD for users is recognized at its affordable price of less than $ 100, it has excellent characteristics. If you are an inexperienced user, just look for something similar in the description and you will not lose.
Replacing an HDD with an SSD in a laptop
The process of changing a hard drive to an SSD is the same as installing a new hard drive.
The first thing to do if the old hard works is to copy information from it to another medium. Important data must be transferred to the cloud, to a USB flash drive or removable disk.
You can buy a case for HDD 2.5, install an old hard one in it and use it later as a mobile storage medium.
Replacement process
First you need to remove the battery. If it is non-removable, turn off the computer, remove the cover, and remove the battery connector from the motherboard.
- Loosen the screws that hold the disc cover and remove it.
- Remove the screws holding the hard drive sled.
- Pull the sled away from the connector to disconnect the HDD and remove it from the case.
- Loosen the screws securing the drive to the sled and remove it.
- Take the drive, install it in the sled in the same way as the hard drive was, and tighten the screws.
- Lower the SSD with the sled into the case and slide it into the slot to connect the drive.
- Screw the sled fasteners into the housing.
- Close the cover and tighten the screws.
- Connect the battery in the same way as disconnected, and close the cover if necessary.
- Turn on the laptop and check the performance of the SSD.
The minimum check will be to go into the BIOS or UEFI and see how the drive is determined. In most laptop models, this can be done by pressing the DEL or F2 key (Enter on some) immediately after switching on.
If the drive is working and installed correctly, its name and serial number will be indicated in the information section. Additionally, you can run tests using the utility and check the rest, for example, the write speed.
The first thing to do is to copy the information. This is written above. The principle of operation for all computers in this regard is the same.
1. Disconnect the battery from the HP laptop. If the battery is removable, like this model, then you can do it simply:
- unlock the battery lock;
- pull the second latch;
- remove the battery from the socket.
2. Use a Phillips screwdriver to remove the screws that secure the hard drive cover to the chassis. In most models, it is small, about ½ of the entire back surface. Remove the cover, you may need to use a little force, as it can be secured with additional latches from the inside.
3. Loosen the screws that secure the hard drive carrier. There can be 2 or 4 of them. Move the hard from the connector to disable it.
4. Pry up the mount and remove the screws. If the hard drive is disconnected from the connector, this will be easy.
5. Loosen the screws that hold the HDD in the sled. Usually they are located on one and the other end of 2 pieces.
6. Install the SSD in the sled instead of the hard drive and tighten the screws on both sides.
7. Install the drive bracket with the drive into the chassis and slide it into the slot. Screw the slide screws back.
8. Close the housing cover, install the screws in the same order in which they were removed.
9. Connect the battery, that is, install it until a characteristic click. Slide the battery lock back into position.
10. Turn on the laptop and check that the SSD is defined in the system, you can perform additional testing.
Thus, the HDD in the laptop is replaced with an SSD. In the vast majority of models, this work is performed in the same way. The differences usually lie in the way the battery is disassembled and disconnected.
In this section, we will consider options for upgrading a hard drive to an SSD drive in Acer laptops. For clarity, an example will be given a model in which the battery is built-in, and almost complete analysis is required.
First of all, we still copy important data. Here the amount of information was small, so the transfer was made to a USB flash drive. We turn off the laptop and proceed to the replacement.
1. You need to remove the back cover of the case. To do this, remove all the screws from the back.
2. Remove the back, gently prying it around the perimeter. If the cover does not come off on either side, stop and check if all the screws are removed.
3. Disconnect the battery, to do this, remove the cable from the connector by gently pulling it towards you. Do not break the plug, otherwise you will have to completely change the battery.
4. In this model, the hard drive is not fixed in the sled, but simply inserted into the connector on the board between the chassis mounts. In order to replace the HDD with an SSD in a laptop, just remove the old drive by pulling from the connector. Then put the drive in its place.
5. Connect the battery back. Make sure the connector is straight and not damaged.
6. Replace the housing cover and tighten all screws. Make sure that the back does not pinch the wires.
7. Turn on the laptop, check the performance of the solid state drive in any way. If the computer does not respond to the power button, you will have to disassemble it again to check the battery.
In this way, the HDD in the laptop is replaced with an SSD for some models from the manufacturer Acer. You can rely on this instruction if you have to update other computers with a built-in battery.
Replacing HDD with SSD in Lenovo laptop
There is no big difference from the previous two options here. It can be noted that replacing the disk with an SSD drive in this option combined the two previous ones. This Lenovo model has a removable battery, but the HDD mount is located under the back of the case. There is no separate lid.
Following the main principle, you need to transfer the necessary data to another place or prepare an HDD-case to mount your old disk into it. This time we will not copy anything, we will insert the hard drive into Case and start using it as a portable “flash drive”.
1. First you need to disconnect the battery. The battery in this model is removable, so you need to remove the latch and remove the battery.
2. Unscrew all the screws in turn, which are located at the bottom. Be sure to check if your model has extra screws on the side.
3. Carefully remove the cover, snapping off each fastener one by one. If the case does not give in, check if all the screws have been removed.
4. Remove the screw that secures the hard drive carrier. In this example, there is only one. Lift up the HDD brackets and remove it from the laptop.
5. Use a screwdriver to remove the screws that hold the sled to the hard. In this model, the mounts have a shielded foil that protects the disk controller from shorting to the case.
6. Install the new SSD into the HDD bracket and screw it back into place.
7. Close the laptop with the bottom of the case, carefully snapping all the fasteners. Tighten the screws in the same order and connect the battery.
8. Turn on the laptop and test the drive in BIOS or some utility, for example, Victoria.
Ways to change the HDD to SSD in a laptop can be listed endlessly. The fact is that each model has its own principle of disassembly. Therefore, if you are not qualified enough and do not have experience in this matter, it is recommended to turn to professionals.
Replacing the hard drive with a solid state drive will increase the performance of your laptop by an order of magnitude. However, be sure to take into account the parameters of the processor and the amount of RAM. If you have a very weak CPU installed and no more than 2 GB of RAM, then the system will slow down anyway, even with an SSD.
Price your computer adequately, make only the necessary changes to it, and it will serve faithfully until you buy a new one.
I recently purchased an ASUS K501UX laptop, and on YouTube, and I was asked a question, is it possible to replace an ordinary HDD disk with a modern, much more productive SSD disk in it? Of course you can, but why? Not in the sense that for some reason I am opposed to new technologies, but, it seems to me, a stereotype of thinking has already formed: throw away the hard drive, install a solid-state drive in its place, and grace will come. So it is, but everything is a little more interesting. Installing an SSD in a laptop can be done in several ways. Let's figure it out. Consider laptop hard drive interfaces, their options and capabilities.
HDD vs SSD
It makes no sense to describe the advantages of solid state drives over conventional hard drives. The merits and demerits of each are well known to anyone who distinguishes a "C note from an F note", or, in computer terms, a processor socket from a disk interface. I want to talk about something else. In order not to be unfounded, let's take for example a couple of modern SSDs belonging to different classes, from budget to top-end productive devices. Well, for the company - a regular hard drive, just for comparison.
I’ll make a reservation right away that I will choose SSD drives with a capacity of 256 GB, because I think that at the moment this is the optimal amount both in terms of money and enough space to install the operating system and the necessary programs. I'll take the Winchester with a capacity of 1 TB. For our conversation, the capacity of the disk is not important. I will immediately give some characteristics of each model, in particular, the peak read / write speed. The remaining parameters are of no interest to us at the moment.
| Type | HDD | SSD | ||
| Model | HGST Travelstar 7K1000 | SanDisk Plus | Samsung 850 EVO | PNY EP7011 |
| Capacity, GB | 1000 | 240 | 250 | 240 |
| 120 | 530 | 540 | 525 | |
| 120 | 440 | 520 | 490 | |
| Estimated cost. | 4600 | 3940 | 6700 | 14500 |
Have you noticed a pattern in all solid-state drives? The maximum read / write speed is almost the same for everyone. While the prices differ several times. Of course, other disk parameters, such as the controllers used, the type of flash memory installed, the speed of random read / write on blocks of different sizes, etc. will vary. Why is that?
The answer lies in the interface used to connect the drive, be it a hard drive or SSD for a laptop or desktop computer. Interfaces will be discussed further.
SATA, mSATA, M.2
Modern laptops, like desktop computers, have at least one, but more often several SATA connectors for connection. You can also find mSATA connector, or M.2. How do they differ, what can they offer in terms of speed performance and ease of use? A bit of theory.
I will warn you right away, I will operate with approximate figures that give a correct idea of the capabilities of the interface, but do not complicate the calculations. For simplicity, we will consider 1000 bytes in kilobytes.
SATA
This interface has replaced the PATA, which has already gone down in history. Now there is a third version of this interface. Briefly mention the characteristics of each version:
- SATA 1. The specification was introduced in 2003. The bus frequency on which the controller worked was 1.5 GHz. This made it possible to achieve a bandwidth of 1.5 Gb / s, or about 150 MB / s.
- SATA 2. The bus frequency has been doubled to 3 GHz, which doubles the throughput to 3 Gb/s, or 300 MB/s.
- SATA 3. The controller bus frequency increased again and reached 6 GHz. Bandwidth - 6 Gb / s, approximately 550-600 MB / s.
The question may arise, if there are 8 bits in a byte, then the bandwidth should be higher than indicated, because if you divide 6 Gb by 8, you get 750 MB / s. The fact is that when transmitting data, the coding system "8b / 10b" is used, in which each byte of data is accompanied by two bits of service information.
Given that SATA 3 is actively replacing older versions, it is he who is most interesting. If you take a closer look at the given throughput characteristics, you will notice one interesting thing: it is approximately equal to the read speed of SSD drives. Rather, it should be said the other way around - modern SSD drives have reached the ceiling of the SATA 3 interface capabilities during sequential read operations.
As for conventional hard drives, there are actually a lot of SATA 2 versions for them. No hard drive is able to reach its data transfer limit. What can we say about SATA 3. The expediency of using it is only when reading / writing to the hard drive buffer. Mechanics still does not allow to achieve such transmission speeds.
mSATA
This is a kind of modification of conventional SATA for use in laptops and other similar devices. It allows you to connect a compact SSD drive. Fundamentally no different from the same SATA 3, using the same controller with the same characteristics. Its presence in a laptop allows you to connect an additional solid state drive in a pair with a conventional hard drive or a 2.5-inch solid state drive that replaces it. Installing an SSD in a laptop of this form factor will still give a noticeable speed gain, and can be a very useful procedure for not the most modern computers.
M.2
Let's take a closer look at this drive connection interface. It replaced mSATA, has a different connector, and serves the same purpose - connecting compact SSD drives. By the way, not only them, this interface is suitable for installing expansion cards, for example, Wi-fi modules, Bluetooth adapters, etc. Now we are interested in connecting disks.
And I'm interested because even though drives are connected to it, it differs significantly from SATA. And not just the connector. The beauty is that in addition to the SATA controller, the PCI-Express bus, which is more powerful in terms of speed characteristics, is also used. This bus has also reached the third version, which allows the M.2 interface to use 4 lanes of the PCI-Express bus.
If we translate this into numbers, then:
- PCI Express 2.0 with two lanes (PCI-E 2.0 x2) provides 8 Gb/s bandwidth, or approximately 800 MB/s.
- PCI Express 3.0 with four lanes (PCI-E 3.0 x4) gives 32 Gb/s, which corresponds to approximately 3.2 GB/s.
As you can see, a significant difference compared to SATA. True, it should be noted. The connected drive can use both the SATA interface and one of the PCI-Express options. In addition, it is important that the motherboard manufacturer ensures that the specifications for this interface are met.
| Model | Plextor PX-256M7VG | Kingston HyperX Predator |
| Capacity, GB | 256 | 240 |
| Interface | SATA 3 | PCI-E x4 |
| Max. sequential read speed, MB/s | 560 | 1290 |
| Max. sequential write speed, MB/s | 530 | 600 |
| Estimated cost. | 6100 | 11100 |
Let's explain the table. The Plextor drive uses the SATA interface, which imposes its own limitations on the speed of the drive's exchange with the controller. Opportunities are fully utilized. Kingston, on the other hand, works on a different bus, PCI-E, which significantly affects performance. Unfortunately, the price too, but that's another topic.
Continuing the conversation about the M.2 interface, one cannot but mention the differences in the connectors of this interface, which consist in the options for the location of the keys, i.e. cutouts. The connector format is as follows:
| Key type | B key (M.2 socket2) | M key (M.2 socket3) |
| Scheme |  |  |
| Key location | Contacts 12-19 | Contacts 59-66 |
| Supported interfaces | PCIe ×2, SATA, USB 3.0, Audio, PCM, IUM, SSIC and I2C | PCIe ×4 and SATA |
Accordingly, SSD drives also have several types of connectors:
| Key type | b key | M key | M&B key |
| Scheme |  |  |  |
| Key location | Contacts 12-19 | Contacts 59-66 | Contacts 12-19 and 59-66 |
| Supported interfaces | PCIe x2, SATA | PCIe ×4, SATA | PCIe x2, PCIe x4, SATA |
As you can see, SSD drives are produced not only with B or M, but also with a universal M&B key, which allows you to install such a drive in any slot with a B or M key.
It immediately becomes clear why the M.2 connector is better than SATA, to which we are all accustomed. The name of the latter speaks for itself - there is only one interface for connecting disks, SATA, and there can be no options. At the same time, M.2, having all the characteristics of this interface, is also able to work on another bus, i.e. PCI-Express, and this, as they say, is completely different money. Rather, completely different speeds.
It should be said that the M.2 connector is very versatile, and is used to connect a wide variety of devices. The device type is determined by the location of the key, which prevents an unsupported device from being installed in this slot. For example, M.2 with key E (pins 24–31), like key A (pins 8–15), is used to connect Wi-fi and Bluetooth adapters and a number of other devices, but is not designed to connect SSD drives.
Moreover, the specification reserves keys that are not currently used, but may be in demand in the future. Key F is planned for use with future memory interfaces, keys C, D, G, etc. are also provided.
Finishing the marking, let's mention the following: the specifications of the connector on the motherboard often contain numbers, for example, "supports devices 2242, 2260, 2280". There is nothing wrong with this marking. Everything is simple. These are the dimensions of the disk for which there are fasteners, i.e. a platform into which a screw is screwed to fix the drive. It turns out that if support for 2280 drives is declared, this means that their dimensions should be 22 mm wide and 80 mm long.
Choosing and installing an SSD in a laptop
What to look for when choosing an M.2 SSD?
Firstly, on the type of key, although most models are offered with a universal M&B.
Secondly, the interface used by the disk. If this is SATA 3, then the exchange rate of approximately 550 MB / s is the ceiling. If PCI Express is used, then it is already more interesting, but also more expensive.
Questions about which controller is better, what memory is used, the availability of support for TRIM commands and other characteristics of specific drives are a topic for a separate discussion.
Conclusion
Let's summarize. Laptops, due to their compactness, do not provide a large choice in upgrading the disk system. It was always possible to replace the installed disk with a more capacious, productive one, or even replace it with a solid state one, losing in capacity, but gaining significantly in speed.
The presence of an M.2 connector in a laptop is a nice bonus, which gives an interesting opportunity to change the configuration and, most importantly, significantly increase the speed of exchange with drives. Several options are possible.
Option 1
Do not touch the hard drive, especially if it has a capacity of 1 TB or even higher, but install an M.2 (or mSATA) form factor SSD as a system drive. What do we get? After transferring the system to this disk, we have a fast bootable media with a full set of programs that are critical to the performance of disk operations. These can be graphics packages, video editing programs, and even "heavy" games. The hard drive remains as a file storage and for installing programs that do not need a high exchange rate with the drive. Thus, at the same time we save the resource of the SSD disk.
What are the disadvantages of this option? Oddly enough, increased power consumption. This is true for those who often work offline, without a network connection. It would seem, how much does an SSD consume? A little, but it's different. The hard drive does not go anywhere, and still "eats" the battery. Replacing it with a solid state one slightly increases battery life. But it reduces the useful capacity of the disks.
In my opinion - the most optimal solution. Installing an SSD in a laptop is performed as an addition to the hard drive and also an SSD. That is exactly what I did.
Option 2
Use the smallest SSD for caching disk operations. A budget solution, a kind of half measure, but the computer will work faster.
Has the right to exist.
Option 3
Install an M.2 SSD, but do not make it a system one, but use it to run programs that need high disk performance.
M.2 may also be somewhat of a transitional phase in anticipation of the next generation of storage connectivity. In the meantime... For now, you should take advantage of what is available, use the M.2 connector to install an SSD drive, which is quite capable of overtaking the coolest 2.5-inch drive that you can put in place of a traditional hard drive. The interface allows it!
