[wcs]

Hey all,

I've been lurking these forums for the last few weeks since I got my Mini9. I love it, and I love Ubuntu's new NBR (Karmic) on it as well. My disk space was becoming an issue since I installed NWN, though. Everyone who wants to play it, don't bother with Hordes of the Underdark! Your FPS will decrease by 50% due to the things Bioware added, so just play the original campaign. Bioware graciously gives all the game data away for Linux users, you just need to purchase a hard copy (original game) for a cd key. The performance is really really nice if you just use the original campaign and Undrentide, since Bioware didn't muck those up with extra hi-detail models. I'm getting around 25-30 fps indoors.

So that is the backstory, I wanted some more performance and space.

I was lurking around and saw that my options were Super Talent or Runcore. Runcore is too expensive and always on backorder, apparently, and people were having issues with it shorting out (and having to use washers?! Are you guys serious?!). I decided that I wanted to get the Super Talent, but, I also saw that Active Media Products had a Sabretooth Model that looked decent enough, and for the price, was comparable to the Super Talent FEM32GFDL.

I saw that Aaronasb had acquired the Sabretooth drive, but said disparaging things about it. I decided to give Activemp the benefit of the doubt. Well, after installing it, in the bios it says that it is a FEM32GFDL. Imagine my shock!

Well, hell, the price was better than the FEM32GHDL(THE OLD SUPER TALENT MODEL) on Amazon, for the value of the drive (since the newer GFDL is faster I hear). Am I suprised that Activemp rebrands FEM32GFDL's? Yes. I think it is a bit deceptive

Am I disappointed? Not really, since at least I got a bargain on it (compared to the prices for the other gfdls on other sites and the leftover ghdls), it shipped quickly, and boots up without a hitch.

I'll let everyone know if any aspect of my game performance changes, as well (load times, etc). I also got 2gb of Crucial RAM, which is worth it, I think.

Just a heads up to everyone. I'm not saying that the product is bad, it is sort of deceptive, though. I can't complain, though, since I was half expecting this, but am also glad at least I got the good version of the Super Talent for less.

---------- Post added at 03:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:52 PM ----------

Replying to myself, here, but my NBR install seems to be botched somehow. Windowpicker doesn't work, fastswitcher doesn't work, I'm missing the power button icon, etc.

Going to reinstall. Not going to blame it on the new ssd, that would be jumping to conclusions.

---------- Post added at 04:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:14 PM ----------

Same problem again, will switch to normal ubuntu 9.10 to try that out.

---------- Post added at 04:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:00 PM ----------

Scratch that, the functionality has been regained with NBR, but now boot time has gone from 30 seconds to more than 1 minute! What gives? I thought bigger ssds were faster?

---------- Post added at 05:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:07 PM ----------

Installed Ubuntu on it, but the start up still takes like a minute. Will put the old SSD (stock) back into it see what the start up time is.

---------- Post added at 05:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:13 PM ----------

Yeah, the stock SSD, 8GB, Stec, boots up ubuntu netbook remix faster. ~25 seconds.

Is the slow bootup on the Sabertooth aa due to the AA itself? At this point, I think so. This is disappointing. I'll do some further testing later.

[reflex]

Welcome to MDM.

See this thread, and the links within. Some people have had slow/stalled boots in recent Linux distros on some drives. I don't know if it's your issue, but it's something to investigate.

[wcs]

I applied the workaround in a fresh install of NBR and the boot time is a little less than 25 seconds. This SSD works just fine. Awesome! Would recommend to buyers and ubuntu users, so long as they use the following workaround:

ORK AROUND FOR THIS PROBLEM:

1. sudo gedit /lib/udev/rules.d/95-devkit-disks.rules

2. locate the following lines (about 1/3 the way into the file; search for "smart")

# ATA disks driven by libata
KERNEL=="sd*[!0-9]", ATTR{removable}=="0", ENV{ID_BUS}=="ata", ENV{DEVTYPE}=="disk", IMPORT{program}="devkit-disks-probe-ata-smart $tempnode"

3. comment out the second line by adding a # in front, so you should have

# ATA disks driven by libata
#KERNEL=="sd*[!0-9]", ATTR{removable}=="0", ENV{ID_BUS}=="ata", ENV{DEVTYPE}=="disk", IMPORT{program}="devkit-disks-probe-ata-smart $tempnode"

4. save the file and reboot

[AaronASB]

Originally Posted by wcs

Hey all,

I've been lurking these forums for the last few weeks since I got my Mini9. I love it, and I love Ubuntu's new NBR (Karmic) on it as well. My disk space was becoming an issue since I installed NWN, though. Everyone who wants to play it, don't bother with Hordes of the Underdark! Your FPS will decrease by 50% due to the things Bioware added, so just play the original campaign. Bioware graciously gives all the game data away for Linux users, you just need to purchase a hard copy (original game) for a cd key. The performance is really really nice if you just use the original campaign and Undrentide, since Bioware didn't muck those up with extra hi-detail models. I'm getting around 25-30 fps indoors.

So that is the backstory, I wanted some more performance and space.

I was lurking around and saw that my options were Super Talent or Runcore. Runcore is too expensive and always on backorder, apparently, and people were having issues with it shorting out (and having to use washers?! Are you guys serious?!). I decided that I wanted to get the Super Talent, but, I also saw that Active Media Products had a Sabretooth Model that looked decent enough, and for the price, was comparable to the Super Talent FEM32GFDL.

I saw that Aaronasb had acquired the Sabretooth drive, but said disparaging things about it. I decided to give Activemp the benefit of the doubt. Well, after installing it, in the bios it says that it is a FEM32GFDL. Imagine my shock!

Well, hell, the price was better than the FEM32GHDL(THE OLD SUPER TALENT MODEL) on Amazon, for the value of the drive (since the newer GFDL is faster I hear). Am I suprised that Activemp rebrands FEM32GFDL's? Yes. I think it is a bit deceptive

Am I disappointed? Not really, since at least I got a bargain on it (compared to the prices for the other gfdls on other sites and the leftover ghdls), it shipped quickly, and boots up without a hitch.

I'll let everyone know if any aspect of my game performance changes, as well (load times, etc). I also got 2gb of Crucial RAM, which is worth it, I think.

Just a heads up to everyone. I'm not saying that the product is bad, it is sort of deceptive, though. I can't complain, though, since I was half expecting this, but am also glad at least I got the good version of the Super Talent for less.

---------- Post added at 03:14 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:52 PM ----------

Replying to myself, here, but my NBR install seems to be botched somehow. Windowpicker doesn't work, fastswitcher doesn't work, I'm missing the power button icon, etc.

Going to reinstall. Not going to blame it on the new ssd, that would be jumping to conclusions.

---------- Post added at 04:00 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:14 PM ----------

Same problem again, will switch to normal ubuntu 9.10 to try that out.

---------- Post added at 04:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:00 PM ----------

Scratch that, the functionality has been regained with NBR, but now boot time has gone from 30 seconds to more than 1 minute! What gives? I thought bigger ssds were faster?

---------- Post added at 05:13 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:07 PM ----------

Installed Ubuntu on it, but the start up still takes like a minute. Will put the old SSD (stock) back into it see what the start up time is.

---------- Post added at 05:22 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:13 PM ----------

Yeah, the stock SSD, 8GB, Stec, boots up ubuntu netbook remix faster. ~25 seconds.

Is the slow bootup on the Sabertooth aa due to the AA itself? At this point, I think so. This is disappointing. I'll do some further testing later.

Bad new brother, you got robbed. Super Talent 32GB 50mm PATA MLC Half Mini 2 PCIe SSD Super Talent 32GB MLC Half Mini 2 PCIe Solid State Drive for Dell Mini 9 Detail Page they sell the drive $20 cheaper and have better customer service.

Why not call a chicken a chicken. Don't say AA, its a Supertalent, peel the sticker off.

You can make the drive faster by aligning the sectors.

Google it.

[Mikazukinoyaiba]

Not only that but:

Amazon.com: Super Talent 32GB Mini PCI-E Half Solid State Drive (MLC) FEM32GHDL: Computer & Accessories

It's now $99.99 on Amazon, and don't forget about their free shipping. :x

[wcs]

Mika - That is the GHDL, the older and slower version of what I have, the GFDL. Of course it would be cheaper.

Aaron - I ordered from Amazon specifically because I don't trust many other sites. Thanks for the tip though; I MIGHT use Digital Discount in the future, but only because this forum apparently has had good experiences with them. How much is shipping? I had free shipping with Amazon, and received my package within 3 days. That sort've clinched the deal for me. I will try aligning the sectors, but it is different, since I use Ubuntu.

Overall, I am satisfied with this device, though. I see that Mika even uses the Super Talent ssd's, but I'm unsure which one.

[sakeating]

Hopefully the GFDLs are of better quality than the GHDL. I was using the GHDL 32 gig for a total of 32 days up until tonight when it ceased to be recognized by my a90. I am rmaing and looking for something better. It was a little bit slower than my stock 16gig stec. I was considering the active mp until I saw the price on amazon was pretty close to runcore. Given my experience with Patriot I don't think I will be purchasing any rebadged patriots either. I'm glad I stumbled across this post.

Originally Posted by wcs

Mika - That is the GHDL, the older and slower version of what I have, the GFDL. Of course it would be cheaper.

Aaron - I ordered from Amazon specifically because I don't trust many other sites. Thanks for the tip though; I MIGHT use Digital Discount in the future, but only because this forum apparently has had good experiences with them. How much is shipping? I had free shipping with Amazon, and received my package within 3 days. That sort've clinched the deal for me. I will try aligning the sectors, but it is different, since I use Ubuntu.

Overall, I am satisfied with this device, though. I see that Mika even uses the Super Talent ssd's, but I'm unsure which one.

[Bullroarer Took]

As long as we are talking about the FEM32GFDL, I bought one and use it with XP, and I think it's slower than the stock 8 gig drive was. Is there anything I can do to speed it up under XP?