MBP ExpressCard/34 speed? SSD ExpressCard?

[e12a]

from what i remember it's more so the controller used in the eSATA expresscard that allows booting from it. The Sil 3132 to my knowledge cannot be used to boot from. i have one and it just doesn't work with my MBP. I've heard the jmicron controller can boot from it, but don't quote me.


as far as those stating esata is slow or runs off USB, you either have no experience or have improper drivers installed.

despite Silicon image's lack in driver support, my 1TB WD black drive hooked up externally OUTPERFORMS my internal hitachi 320gb by a good margin.

 

[tivoboy]

overheating

Can anyone using this solution, comment on the overheating and or battery life which some have said suffer greatly?

 

[dopeytree]

Has anyone got this to work on "Model Identifier: MacBookPro2,2"

I'm very interested in trying this!

 

[serr]

Looks like we have 64GB version to choose from now.
Any opinions on this one?
FileMate SolidGO 64GB Solid State Drive (SSD) ExpressCard 34 with Mini USB 2.0, Model 3FMS4U64M-WR

Regarding the comments about failures. Do I see a common thread of overheating? Has anyone tried removing the outer casing from the SSD and moving the hard drive temperature sensor to the express 34 SSD?

 

[ootoaoo]

If you go w/the 64GB, realize it won't work well as a boot drive, unless they create an Ultra:
http://www.wintecind.com/filemate/

The other just "connects" via USB vs. eSata, so I'd snag the 48GB or not at all (as you'll be limited to USB 2.0 speeds vs. uber fast)

 

[Timur]

1. The JMicron based ExpressCards can be booted from.

2. Transfer-rate is above 110 mb/s for HDs supporting it (and probably higher since the PCI-E slot has enough bandwidth).

3. The JMicron based ExpressCards use OS X inbuild AHCI driver which is completely bugged (at least in combination with 2008/2009 based unibody Macbooks) and leads to both Kernel Panics and data-corruption!

4. The 2010 based Macbooks are said to finally allow the ExpressCard slot to be used with Windows 7 (and likely Vista). This is significant, because on the 2008/2009 models the only way to reliably (read: no data corruption) use a JMicron based ExpressCard was on bootcamped XP (talk about irony).

 

[Reapur]

Im not sure what MBP you are using, however after I contacted Apple about support for USB 3.0 in an express card, I made sure that the new i7 17inch had a Expresscard 2.0 slot which has a theoretical throughput of 5gb/s where as Expresscard 1.0 has a throughput of 2.5gb/s. So if you have a new MBP your bottle neck speeds will be the actual card or the SSD you decide to use. As for USB 3.0 it looks like Apple is slow out of the gate for driver support in the OSX kernel. Perhaps with a major update coming later this year Apple will finally allow us to at least use USB 3.0 express cards in our MBPs.

 

[Timur]

You are right, 1 lane of PCI-E 1.0 offers 250 mb/s (that's without substracting overhead though) and 2.0 will offer double as much. The bottleneck is the controller and even more the harddrive itself.

 

[microlomaniac]

Hey,
I thought I might add my experiences with my ExpressCard SSD here, too.

I have the Filemate SolidGO 24GB drive (yes, the 32 & 64 GB variants connect via USB internally, the 24 & 48 GB versions include a real PCIe SATA controller) (which has one unused port, btw )

I've been booting Snow Leopard from it just fine, with my user folder being on the internal HDD. Works just fine. And it's pretty darn fast. Not as fast as "real" 2.5" SSDs, but you feel the quick random access time. Opening mail.app after a fresh boot-up takes less than 2 seconds, with the actual mails still on the HDD.

So yes, the SSD internally connects via SATA, see the screenshots below. Right now the disk is empty, because I recently had some trouble with my boot partition disappearing. I'm in touch with Wintec and I hope to find an answer to that strange behaviour.

 

[dustin91]

Hey Micro...

How long do you run your MBP with the card as the main OS drive? Mine is on about 10-12 hours a day, and I'm afraid that this is just too long to rely on an SSD for HDD reliability. Not a huge concern because I back up to Time Machine every hour in two locations, but still. I'd rather not have the thing catch fire after a few days.

Thanks!

 

[B74A]

96GB 120/60 MB/s

I just ordered the Wintec Filemate SolidGo Expresscard, 96GB version which is just out now, and in stock from memoryc ... hopefully shipping today - see 96GB_FileMate_SolidGO_ExpressCard_34_Ultra_SSD - too bad it does not have USB 3.0 ...

My intention is to install OS X on it, apps and ... maybe user folder, not sure about that last one yet.

I am also upgrading my internal HDD from 250 to 500 GB, and I am considering to make the first 96GB of that drive into a mirror of the Expresscard, so that I have the option of running my Macbook even without this card. Mainly in case of failure or other problems, as I have never used the Expresscard slot yet, having had this Macbook Pro 15" for over two years now.

I hope the heat will not be an issue, but I think that being 96GB sized, I should be able to spin down the 500GB quite often (well, then maybe not, if I choose to use mirroring). Instead of having a mirror, I might just have OS X on both drives, so that I can boot, at least.

Suggestions welcome thanks

 

[dustin91]

Hey B74A, please repost here when you get everything set up. I keep hearing more bad things than good about running the system from a card (mostly overheating issues), but maybe the mfr. has fixed some things, and if you're successful in the setup than I want to jump on board!

 

[B74A]

96GB ExpressCard from Wintec

I was communicating with Wintec to find a supplier, which I found in the meantime. But since I had him "on the line" I asked him about the heat and reliability issues, and he replied

On the 96GB Expresscards we've made some significant changes to address the issues we were having on the 48GB version. By tightening our internal power spec we ultimately reduced the overall power consumption and were able to bring down the heat. We've also updated the Expresscards to a newer Firmware version which has dramtically improved the reliability of the cards.

Please feel free to let us know how your new card is working out.

For some quite odd reason, it says

ENGINEERING SAMPLE

ONLY

on the ExpressCard - no other text or label, except a small line of text with the version and product number. The box it came in looks quite normal though, and I am not sure whether this is a mistake or a deliberate sell-out of an item which should not have been sold ...

As you can read in this post https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=10351942&posted=1#post10351942 , the card seems to be working fine, I just need to get my head around how to migrate my account so it still works in the new setup. Had the ExpressCard been large enough, I would just have transferred all of it there, just to make it work, but it does not at the moment ... so my plan is for now, to boot on the original 250GB (which I have done now), then move iTunes and iPhoto directories OUT of the user folder, to make it smaller, so I can migrate it onto the 96GB card.

 

[dustin91]

96GB Wintec working great so far

I have a clean install of Snow Leopard running on the 96GB SSD, and it's been really snappy, and not hot at all. Under normal usage, I'm at around 150* and 2,000-3,000 rpm on the fan. My stock drive in the late 2008 MPB would easily rocket to 6,000 rpm just loading up basic apps. The area around the card doesn't feel hot at all, and my laptop is closed and running 8-9 hours a day as it's connected to a LED Cinema Display, plus it's in a case. I'd notice any heat at the end of the day, and I haven't yet. I do have it cloned to a partition on my drive though, just in case. And I've only put apps and mail files on it... all other docs are on the other drive. But I couldn't go back to a regular HD at this point!

 

[ltcdrdata]

and...

@B74A

Hi B74A,
I haven't figured out how to send you a personal message (tried making you 'a friend'), hope you still read this thread.
I'm interested in buying a 96Gb Wintec FileMate expresscard. Can you tell me your experience with it now you have been using it for almost a year ?
(same question for Dustin91 ofcourse)

Thx

 

[dustin91]

working great!

Geez, sorry guys... I forgot all about this thread. I've had the 96G card for about 8-9 months now, and love it. Never had a heating issue - my 2008 MBPro's fan is set to run at a minimum of 4,000 rpm, but the case has never felt hot or anything. It's a significant boost in boot time as well as startup time for iTunes, Adobe and Office apps (although they still run unbearably slow regardless of boot disk or processor speed). And the laptop still runs 9-10 hours a day at my office, plus a good few more at home.

I do have Carbon Copy Cloner set to make a clone onto the internal hard drive and an external daily, just in case, as well as Backup, TimeMachine, and ChronoSync.

Overall though, I would absolutely do it again, and I'm remiss that Apple discontinued the port. I see no need for an SD card slot when a $10 USB accessory gives you access to every card imaginable. The SD slot looks so... PC. ; )

 

[B74A]

I am still listening here, getting an email when there is an update to the thread.

Yes, my card still works, it is awesome. I mainly notice how fast it really is, when I use someone else computer - it seems like it is hanging when you get used to virtually no waiting.

I have not had any problems with heat, loss of data or anything else. The only hickups is when it happened once or twice that I press on the card and it pops out. It happened when going through security, and taking the MBP out for inspection, I must have pressed on the card - and it popped out. Even though it is just sleeping, it does not mean a thing, as long as you re-insert the card before you open the lid again.

But the card is almost flush, not like the old PCMCIA PCCARD where some types would have a part of it outside.

I have recommended this option to several others, and personally installed it on two friends MBP - they have exactly the same MBP, and it works like a charm. Upgrading from 2 to 4 GB ram at the same time is a good thing to do as well, as is replacing the internal drive with a 500GB drive.

All in all, I cannot see myself upgrading to a new MBP for a while, even though it is now 3 years old.

 

[ltcdrdata]

A great thank you to you both! I read a few reviews at suppliers that were quite negative in term of reliability, but I'm convinced now. Gonna get myself one of those new MacBook Pro's 17" with Thunderbolt AND a 96Gb Wintec FileMate SSD card... boy this computer will scream