Dell XPS 15 (9530) Flawed mSATA Setup

Ok Thanks. And then with the new Msata plugged in do I have to reconfigure it using intels software or command prompt to set up the intel rapid start and storage capabilities or will that all be done automatically? Thanks again for your help your being great!

Matt

Here is the link for how to set up Intel Rapid Start. You want to set up a partition the same size as your system memory - 16GB - and remember to change it if you upgrade your memory.

http://download.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/rapid_start_technology_user_guide.pdf

You can then allocate the rest of your mSATA to disk cache with Intel Rapid Storage. You will end up increasing the disk cache size to 48GB, which should improve performance a little bit.

http://download.intel.com/support/chipsets/sb/intel_smart_response_technology_user_guide.pdf

Wow thanks man. What other options do I have, do you recommend just going for a brand new SSD drive and replacing the HDD like you have? Or is replacing the Msata for say a 128 gig one that I have just found sufficient?

Obviously running entirely off SSD is faster -- that's what the top of the line model does.

I think performance with HDD with SSD cache is quite excellent.

The long term reliability of HDD vs SSD is a subject of considerable debate. HDD are a problem in laptops -- they don't like heat and they don't like being dropped. But with SMART you usually get plenty of warning of HDD failure. And the vast majority of the time I have had a failed laptop HDD, I have been successful in recovering everything by attaching it to a desktop and cloning it with Clonezilla.

SSD have theoretical reasons why they should last longer -- no moving parts. And they don't mind being dropped. And while you can only write to flash memory a finite number of times, this article is very interesting:

http://us.hardware.info/reviews/4178/hardwareinfo-tests-lifespan-of-samsung-ssd-840-250gb-tlc-ssd-updated-with-final-conclusion

Basically they estimate a lifespan of 214 years for the flash memory.

On the other hand, I have had 3 SSD drives fail on me -- suddenly, without warning, and in every case with total loss of data. We have OCZ SSDs at work -- they have never been an issue although they have a rather poor reputation and I believe OCZ went bankrupt. My 3 failures were all Crucial M4 drives. They have a good reputation. And while Crucial has replaced them with minimal hassle, I have not found any explanation as to why they do this. Maybe I'm superstitious, but I switched to Samsung hoping for better luck.

Why keep using SSDs then? Well they are really fast. And its hard to go back. But I ALWAYS back up important stuff like documents and pictures. Either over the web (I use Google drive even though it slows boot time) or to a network storage drive. This was always good practice, but I admit to being sloppy about it with HDDs because I am confident I can recover data after failures. With SSDs I expect to recover ZERO data after failures.

I don't think you bought the wrong machine -- I think we have the best laptop in the world.

It is extremely easy to upgrade to SSD by cloning your HDD. The fastest way is to attach both drives to a desktop, boot the desktop using Clonezilla (a Linux live boot designed for cloning disks). (http://clonezilla.org) Just be very careful which drive you are copying from so you don't copy the blank drive to the one with data. Or you can use a USB to SATA adapter, and clone using just your laptop.

This is exactly what I did (see earlier posts). By switching you BIOS to AHCI mode, then your mSATA becomes just another storage drive. I enjoy setting up dual boot systems (just because its a challenge and I like showing off) and I might do that. But Linux doesn't fully support our graphics yet (http://bumblebee-project.org/) so that's on the back burner. Or you can just use it for more storage.

I keep my original HDD as a backup system image, so if I get a sudden SSD failure (again) I can just put it in and not lose productivity.

If you are willing to wait a month or so until Samsung's 1TB mSATA SSD becomes available, you could clone your HDD to a 1TB SSD, creating a "top of the line" XPS 15 with twice the SSD storage as the best model Dell ships, and an additional 1TB in slightly slower storage for stuff that doesn't need to be so quickly accessed. Like all your mp3s and your entire movie collection. A total of 2TB internal storage in a laptop seems huge to me.

Wow you have really got me thinking....  Maybe I have brought the wrong machine lol.  If say in about a year's time I feel like an upgrade it wouldn't be much hassle to buy an sad and clone the hdd on to that would it? Hopefully ssds will be cheaper by then and I would have saved myself some money overall.  Also if you do upgrade entirely to ssd does that make the Msata redundant? Or can it still be used for something?  Thanks again for all your help you seem to really know your stuff.  Can I enquire to what you work as? 

Matt

I agree that this machine is among the best in the world, however I was hinting at that may be perhaps I should have gone for the top spec model...  Mainly because I believe it comes with a larger battery? Is this true or is it just a battery with a different voltage? 

Your Idea above though really does sound amazing! Is there not a difference in performance then between Msata and a normal ssd?  Any ideas at how much Samsung new Msata will retail at? You've got me really thinking now! 

For me, yes. Most of the time I keep my laptop plugged in.

My understanding is the top model has a larger battery which extends into the HDD bay. So then your only storage option is the mSATA.

My understanding is that the top model uses a Samsung PM841 with speed 540MB/s read and 330MB/s write.

I put a Samsung 840 EVO in my HDD bay with speed 540MB/s read and 520 MB/s write.

The difference is the EVO uses some flash as a cache to speed writes.

My expectation is the newly announced mSATA version of the EVO will do the same thing, we will see.

mSATA SSD are generally more expensive per GB than SATA3 SSD, as they are new to the consumer market.

So you view the bigger battery as a disadvantage as you have to be completely reliant in Msata? 

IMHO myth.

My last laptop was Dell Inspiron 1545. Original battery still holds charge nicely & battery life is pretty much what it always has been.

My wife has a Inspiron 1521 which she uses on battery power a lot. She's on her 3rd battery and it does not hold charge well.

Fair play.  Plays havoc with the battery doing that though doesn't it?  Or is that just some technical myth? Lol

Ok one past question and I promise I'll leave you be able you can enjoyyour wweekend! If I was to get either a large Msata or a new ssd in the future does tht mean that Intel quick boot and rapid storage are no longer needed or will they still serve a purpose? 

Rapid Storage is supposed to speed up HDD -- it serves no purpose once you use SSD as your main disk.

Intel Rapid Start is less clear. It saves an image of your system memory on SSD to speed wake from hibernation. My testing is wake from hibernation off my EVO is faster than Intel Rapid Start off the Micron SSD our system comes with. But its not a fair test as the EVO is faster than the Micron SSD. I could make a Rapid Start Partition on my EVO and compare start times that way. But it really starts practically instantly, so I'm really not motivated to make the effort.

The short answer is I turned both off.

Ok well thanks for all of your help mate, it really is very appreciated. Don't suppose I could have your e mail? You seem like a handy guy to know lol.

I'm going to ring Dell anyway see what they have to say for themselves... doesn't hurt to try and I might get something out of it. I already have the link you provided about rapid start which is hard to argue with, however I can't seem to find that Intel rapid storage needs 18.6 gig. Could you point me in the right direction?

Matt