Super Talent Releases SSD Upgrade for Asus S101 Eee PC

[btarunr]

Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today launched an SSD, offered in capacities up to 64GB, that was specially designed as an upgrade for the Asus S101 Eee PC.

The Windows model of the S101 includes only 16GB of local storage, so Super Talent's upgrade SSD offers the S101 user the opportunity to double or quadruple the storage capacity in his netbook.



This new SSD has been rigorously tested in Super Talent's compatibility labs for both performance and functionality to ensure it meets Super Talent's high quality standards. With a SATA interface, it delivers impressive 90 MB/sec max sequential read speeds and up to 55 MB/sec write speeds. Joe James, Super Talent's director of marketing noted, "You can never have enough storage space. This is sure to be a popular upgrade for the S101." All three models are shipping now. The 64GB model will retail for approximately $169. For more details, visit the product page.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Weer]

What is the point of SSD's on Netbooks? They're far too slow to see any real advantage, and the disadvantage in price and capacity is ridiculous.

 

[btarunr]

Considering that storage is the weakest subsystem in netbooks (as with pretty much every PC), 99/55 is a performance boost. Also take into account the SSDs' access time and power consumption.

 

[lemonadesoda]

What is the point of SSD's on Netbooks? They're far too slow to see any real advantage, and the disadvantage in price and capacity is ridiculous.

Actually, that view couldnt be more wrong.

1./ Netbooks often have limited RAM (often 1GB), and therefore "trash" the pagefile a lot. And the pagefile is very slow on a HDD compared to a SSD. So there is an immediate boost to virtual memory

2./ SSD uses less power than a HDD. When "full on", it doesnt. But when "idle" it is much better. There is no wasted power spinning a HDD that isnt being used (and waiting for idle time to spin down).

3./ Spin up times of a sleeping HDD create that horrible lag. With SDD there is no such lag.

4./ Access times (seek) on SSD are near zero meaning any application load or general windows usage is much more snappy.

5./ DONT confuse similar read/write speeds equates to the same performance. With lower seek times and instant "spinups" the SSD perform much better in practice and use less power. Net win for a netbook.

6./ Netbooks are thrown into bags. And bags get dropped. SSD is much more robust. Net win.

7./ Netbooks dont need a large storage base. They are not a desktop replacement, but an addition for on the road. Therefore you only need key applications and data, not volumes of MP3s, pictures and movies. Those are stored on your NAS at home/office.

The pricing of <$200 for 64GB is simply AMAZING. Win.

 

[blobster21]

funny how this ssd upgrade is THE ideal walkaround to microsoft 16Gb limitation on any winxp netbook.

comes at a price though, half of the S101 itself

 

[Weer]

Actually, that view couldnt be more wrong.

Thank you for taking the time to explain your view to me

1./ Netbooks often have limited RAM (often 1GB), and therefore "trash" the pagefile a lot. And the pagefile is very slow on a HDD compared to a SSD. So there is an immediate boost to virtual memory

Actually, the netbooks that come with expensive SSD's often have 2GB. But that is irrelevant, because 2GB of RAM will only set you back some pocket change. The idea of buying an SSD instead of RAM is absolutely positively laughable (no offense).

2./ SSD uses less power than a HDD. When "full on", it doesnt. But when "idle" it is much better. There is no wasted power spinning a HDD that isnt being used (and waiting for idle time to spin down).

I have a netbook (Acer Aspire One), and whenever I don't use it, I shut it off. The "idle" power usage is of no personal concern to me. Not to mention that ~6 hours of battery life when "full on" on my 9-cell battery is more than I could ever need from a netbook.

3./ Spin up times of a sleeping HDD create that horrible lag. With SDD there is no such lag.

That's very nice (as I personally know from having an SSD in my computer), but on a netbook - it's not something I'd care for. The CPU causes twice the lag because it's simply that slow, anyway.

4./ Access times (seek) on SSD are near zero meaning any application load or general windows usage is much more snappy.

Yes, I've read extensive reviews on this, and while you'd be 100% right on a PC of mine's stature, on a netbook, because of all the other components, it's almost useless, and the gains are minimal.

5./ DONT confuse similar read/write speeds equates to the same performance. With lower seek times and instant "spinups" the SSD perform much better in practice and use less power. Net win for a netbook.

Even IF it wasn't buggled down almost entirely by the rest of the hardware, I would still not care enough to switch out my huge 160GB HDD for it.

6./ Netbooks are thrown into bags. And bags get dropped. SSD is much more robust. Net win.

Oh please. If you drop a netbook, the HDD being cracked is the least of your concern.

7./ Netbooks dont need a large storage base. They are not a desktop replacement, but an addition for on the road. Therefore you only need key applications and data, not volumes of MP3s, pictures and movies. Those are stored on your NAS at home/office.

The pricing of <$200 for 64GB is simply AMAZING. Win.

Actually, I use my netbook as a laptop. I keep every piece of 720p film, TV show, music, photos, etc. on it, and the 160GB is just barely enough for my slim on-the-road pickings.

And the price of 125$, which is what I spent on my 64GB SSD, was tough in comparison to the 125$ price tag on the, uh.. 1.5TB segate drive I was looking at instead. It's not 2.5-inch, sure, but as a point of comparison it does do its job.

 

[lemonadesoda]

Actually, the netbooks that come with expensive SSD's often have 2GB. But that is irrelevant, because 2GB of RAM will only set you back some pocket change. The idea of buying an SSD instead of RAM is absolutely positively laughable

LOL. Nobody would buy a SSD to replace RAM when RAM upgrade is an option. Many netbooks are however limited to 1GB, and the best, 2GB. Depending on your RAM and what you use the netbook for, a SSD may be a great help.

The "idle" power usage is of no personal concern to me

You are confusing concepts. HDD idle is very different from system standby. Your HDD is constantly trying to idle to save power. Look at your control panel power options to understand how it works.

Yes, I've read extensive reviews on this, and while you'd be 100% right on a PC of mine's stature, on a netbook, because of all the other components, it's almost useless, and the gains are minimal.

Absolute rubbish to say it has no effect. The 1.8" HDD is probably the weakest link in a netbook. Unless you have your netbook plugged in permanently so that the HDD doesnt spin down AND you regularly defragment, then a SSD will improve things a lot. Put your netbook on the train, plane or bus, working off battery, and YES, a normal user who doesnt spend every night defragmenting their HDD, and a SSD is more snappy than HDD for general use. And windows .dll or .gif required is instantly there.

I would still not care enough to switch out my huge 160GB HDD for it

That's your choice. And quite fine. But not a general statement. You clearly use your netbook as a "subnotebook, full features". Your use is different from other peoples use.

Oh please. If you drop a netbook, the HDD being cracked is the least of your concern.

LOL. You clearly havent suffered from portable 2.5" click of death, children knocking a HDD based device off a table, etc. etc.

Most netbooks will survive a drop off a table onto a carpet. Most HDDs will not. All SSDs will survive. You only need to have *one* experience of lost data to put data robustness high up the list of priorities.

Actually, I use my netbook as a laptop. I keep every piece of 720p film, TV show, music, photos, etc. on it, and the 160GB is just barely enough for my slim on-the-road pickings.

There-you-go. Now you clearly state your position regarding your use of your laptop. Your general comment "What is the point of SSD's on Netbooks? They're far too slow to see any real advantage, and the disadvantage in price and capacity is ridiculous." is therefore relevant for you, but you have to accept that not everyone is like you or wants to be! LOL

 

[Baum]

narf! get these with sata connector! i smell some ramdisk fun

ok, does this mean the Asus S101 has internal SATA interface for SSD? thought they use usb?

 

[Weer]

LOL. Nobody would buy a SSD to replace RAM when RAM upgrade is an option. Many netbooks are however limited to 1GB, and the best, 2GB. Depending on your RAM and what you use the netbook for, a SSD may be a great help.

But that's ridiculous. RAM upgrade is always available. You just buy the RAM and have someone replace it. And if you want 2GB of RAM - then BUY 2GB of RAM. No one is forcing you to buy the 1GB model(s), unless I'm mistaken and Asus hire mobsters to stand behind anyone who browses their internet-based Eee PC collection and file an online order.

You are confusing concepts. HDD idle is very different from system standby. Your HDD is constantly trying to idle to save power. Look at your control panel power options to understand how it works.

Yes, you are right; I simply misunderstood what you wrote. And as I said, this pro is not enough to warrant the reduction is capacity and elevation of price. A 5,400 RPM drive would not use that much more power anyway.

Absolute rubbish to say it has no effect. The 1.8" HDD is probably the weakest link in a netbook. Unless you have your netbook plugged in permanently so that the HDD doesnt spin down AND you regularly defragment, then a SSD will improve things a lot. Put your netbook on the train, plane or bus, working off battery, and YES, a normal user who doesnt spend every night defragmenting their HDD, and a SSD is more snappy than HDD for general use. And windows .dll or .gif required is instantly there.

You apparently have actual experience with SSD's in Netbooks. I only have seperate experience with both of them. And yet, I would bet quite a fortune on the prospect that in a tiny little Netbook with a single-core 1.6Ghz CPU, the HDD is not the weakest link. But even if it was, again, it's not worth the loss in money and capacity. It's simply too big of a loss for a sub-400$ machine. You want performance? Get a dual-core laptop - not a netbook. But while using a netbook, you might as well have the best price/peformance - get a 40GB HDD instead of a 160GB and save even more money while still have the performance that you require for such a small handy computer.

That's your choice. And quite fine. But not a general statement. You clearly use your netbook as a "subnotebook, full features". Your use is different from other peoples use.

Oh, and how do you know what people use it for? I bought it because it's small, not because it's incredibly slow. I wanted a 10-inch laptop that could play 720p movies, and I'm sure that there are many like me.
The real netbooks were the 7-inch ones. When they started making 9, not to mention 10-inch variants, the equation of it being used for "Net" purposes went out the window. Heck, we have netbooks with 12-inch footprints now.

LOL. You clearly havent suffered from portable 2.5" click of death, children knocking a HDD based device off a table, etc. etc.

I have not heard of these "children"; are they a leading cause in hardware damage? I do not own any, in any case. And I have three 2.5" WD Passports that have been nothing but fast, sturdy and reliable ever since I bought them. Even my old, trusty 40GB variant.

Most netbooks will survive a drop off a table onto a carpet. Most HDDs will not. All SSDs will survive. You only need to have *one* experience of lost data to put data robustness high up the list of priorities.

Well, I would ask you to prove that, but I'm not trying to be a bad guy. All I know, is that in my 10 years of being into computers (I'm only 19), I have not had a SINGLE HDD fail or die. My ancient 20GB HDD that I bought at the turn of the century still works. And meanwhile, the computer running it has been replaced twice, while going through 5 moves.

There-you-go. Now you clearly state your position regarding your use of your laptop. Your general comment "What is the point of SSD's on Netbooks? They're far too slow to see any real advantage, and the disadvantage in price and capacity is ridiculous." is therefore relevant for you, but you have to accept that not everyone is like you or wants to be! LOL

I do not consider myself to be unorthodox. What I want, is surely what a smart, average boy my age would want. I think it is thus relevant to many people, maybe most.
But I am thankful for your positive spirit.

 

[lemonadesoda]

But that's ridiculous. RAM upgrade is always available. You just buy the RAM and have someone replace it. And if you want 2GB of RAM - then BUY 2GB of RAM. No one is forcing you to buy the 1GB model(s), unless I'm mistaken and Asus hire mobsters to stand behind anyone who browses their internet-based Eee PC collection and file an online order.

I agree. It is ridiculous! Some netbooks are limited to 1GB, e.g. the "Z" atoms are 1GB max, the "N" are 2GB. But 2GB is the max. There are situations were you might need more. Seriously. If you run VMware and have two OS's up, you really need a bit more RAM. You DONT need a super powerful PC or laptop to run VMware... but if you are... you DO NEED lots of RAM.

A netbook it more than enough power to run OSX (Mac) and XP and Linux etc. etc. But it isnt the most practical format. However, if, for whatever reason, you need that capability, 1GB aint enough, and 2GB is a bit short. Efficient (SSD) virtual memory viz. pagefile solves the issue.

Well, I would ask you to prove that, but I'm not trying to be a bad guy. All I know, is that in my 10 years of being into computers (I'm only 19), I have not had a SINGLE HDD fail or die.

Consider yourself VERY LUCKY. I have had a laptop HDD fail on me in Singapore in the middle of a project with KEY/CRITICAL data on it. I have also had a 2.5" portable HDD get knocked off the table by a 2-year old and 5 years of archives (and install files) are lost.

Your luck is no antidote to risk of failure through "knocks".

PS. Put a portable HDD in the hands (or handbag) of a woman and expect a half life the same as a pair of shoes.

 

[Weer]

Don't be ridiculous. 2GB is plenty, and you can easily upgrade, making SSD's useless.

I do not consider the positivity in my life "luck".

And PS. I've been wearing the same great pair of shoes for 4 years.

 

[btarunr]

Please avoid personal overtones in discussions of this nature.

 

[Castiel]

I would get this, SuperTalent makes some nice SSD's!

 

[Weer]

Please avoid personal overtones in discussions of this nature.

Of course.

 

[jduvall]

I am stuck, can't find spot to install Super Talent SSD in my new ASUS S101

please help, anyone know how I can install this Super Tallent SSD in my new ASUS S101? I did not realize the SSD would be so inaccessable, I see screws & covering over battery, do I need to pop off key board as some blogs post?
Have already upgraded the RAM, love the S101, deeply appreciate any assistance. If Pleasse email me link or assistance at xxxx@xxxxx.com, may be able to repay you with RAM, spare parts & more...o