Powerbook 1400 compact flash boot/virtual memory

Question

Powerbook 1400 compact flash boot/virtual memory

I am looking into getting a compact flash card and adapter for virtual memory and to boot the OS.
One card stuck out as a great one for this application:
the 512MB SanDisk Ultra II, it has one of the highest transfer speeds at 10.746MB/sec, fairly large storage, and much cheaper than some of the higher-end cards.
But will transfer speed realy affect the overall performance?
Or could I get a slower card, because the system might be slower than the card anyways?
Also, I am planing to buy one of the cheap adapters up on ebay. Could the tranfer speed be slowed down because I get a cheapo one?

Thanks,
Macmastershake.

Posted on Aug 15, 2005 7:53 PM

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Answer 1

jpl

Level 7

28,285 points

Aug 15, 2005 9:29 PM in response to macmastershake

macmastershake,

You might take a look at this article:

http://www.lowendmac.com/macdan/02/1114pf.html

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Answer 2

Aug 15, 2005 10:16 PM in response to jpl

That's one of the places that made me want to do this, good acticle.

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Answer 3

Denis Eddy

Level 4

3,571 points

Aug 16, 2005 10:00 AM in response to jpl

jpl
I was atracted to the idea of FlashCard memory for PBs some years ago, and the inevitable decline in price versus increase in size and quality continues to be a stimulus. Yet the nagging question remains: how many write/re-write cycles can you get?

A statement attributed to Toshiba that I have just seen would make me happy as a photographer, but not yet reassure me as a user of FlashCard virtual memory.

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Answer 4

jpl

Level 7

28,285 points

Aug 16, 2005 10:42 AM in response to Denis Eddy

Denis,

I wish I had an answer but the Toshiba link is the most I have read about flash memory cards. They are suggesting 10,000 write/erase cycles. I guess the question is how quickly those cycles can be used up when used as VM?

Sorry I have nothing to offer.

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Answer 5

Aug 16, 2005 3:03 PM in response to Denis Eddy

So if the cards might not last that long, should I go with a extremely cheap one?
But it's a great deal one the 512mb SanDisk Ultra II, $28 after rebate.

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Answer 6

Aug 16, 2005 5:50 PM in response to macmastershake

I have heard that the bus speed on the 1400 is very slow.
So my MAIN question is should I get the fast card or the cheap one.

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Answer 7

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

24,235 points

Aug 16, 2005 6:48 PM in response to macmastershake

The fast card appears to be quite inexpensive, so why not try it? You should find a suitable PC Card adapter in many computer and photo shops.

A full system (and the essential applications) on the card will allow you to turn off the hard drive ( and thus run the computer quietly, with low power consumption). In order to minimise the number of write cycles, you could switch Virtual Memory off and set the browser cache to zero K (usually, not a major problem with a high-speed connection).

Also, the CF card solution is perfect for short-term backup purposes and for file transfers.

Jan

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Answer 8

Aug 16, 2005 9:16 PM in response to Jan Hedlund

I think I'll just go for it then, I'll also use it to transfer data between computer.

Thank you.

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Answer 9

Jan Hedlund

Level 7

24,235 points

Aug 17, 2005 1:20 AM in response to macmastershake

Good luck! Since I am using standard CF cards in a normal SanDisk CompactFlash PC Card Adapter (mainly for file transfers between 520/540/540c, 190cs and 5300c PowerBooks), it would be interesting to hear what you have to say about the Ultra II. Please post your results.

BTW, I noticed that SanDisk offers a special Ultra PC Card Adapter. I do not know the reason for this (some kind of speed limitation in the normal adapter???), nor wherein the difference lies. One would have expected any adapter to work with the various CF cards. You may want to check this with SanDisk.

Jan

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Answer 10

Aug 17, 2005 1:43 AM in response to Jan Hedlund

I will post the results.
Also I found all of the CF speed information here: http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=6007-6133

Thank you.

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