[rescue] IDE SSDs? I never knew...

[Mark Benson]

> On 27 Jun 2024, at 18:01, Alexander Jacocks via rescue <rescue at sunhelp.org> wrote:
> 
> I, too, use msata -> ide adapters in vintage equipment. However, I don't agree that it's a waste.
> 
> There are a couple of reasons that I feel this way:
> 1) lower power draw and heat generation is always good for vintage electronics
> 2) lower access time _feels_ fast, even with low max transfer rate

I only meant it was a waste insomuch as using full-fat SSDs is relatively expensive and unnecessarily high bandwidth vs other solid state alternatives such as an IDE DOM or a Flash solution others might suggest. Anything with less moving parts is going to be better than a hard drive, typically.

Flash solutions (IDE To SD or IDE to CF) tend to be more cost effective and compatible for older systems, but can suffer durability in high-write scenarios, DOMs (drive-on-module units) are more robust typically (being mostly industrial use). As others have stated, there are also some IDE to PCMCIA and IDE to CF solutions that were floating around, I have a SanDisk one that’s a 2.5" metal shell with an internal PCMCIA slot and a PCMCIA to CF adapter with a de-branded SanDisk CF card in it :)

SCSI, also, is an entirely different basket of eggs, as you tend to be reliant either on a SCSI Emulator, such as BlueSCSI, ZuluSCSI et al, or on a SCSI to IDE adapter, which you can then plug any number of the above IDE alternatives into. I ran met PowerMac 9600 on a SD to IDE to ACARD SCSI adapter lash-up for a while and it was decently quick. ACARD physical SCSI to IDE adapters are getting a bit thin on the ground but I’ve picked up a few branded as IBM (I think they used them to put cheap IDE drives in SCS RS6000 systems for a while) on the evilBay.

— 

Mark