Currently normal compact flash cards are more than sufficient for my retro rigs. Mostly I still use real HDDs. I know some people like to have a silent Retro PC, but thats not how it was. Since the CFs already have a classic IDE interface all you need is a passive adapter.

Cheap SSDs can be of course a future option for more modern retro PCs like Athlon XP systems.

Btw there are SATA controller cards from adaptec f.e., where you can plug such SSD directly and you will get Int13 support by BIOS.

Oh that's good news!

I found that once you get CF cards with 32+ they quickly get expensive. Whereas SSDs are getting cheaper every day.

The problem with CF is that no manufacturer says what random write performance their drives have. And this is the most important parameter for CFs used as HDD replacement.

elianda wrote:

Btw there are SATA controller cards from adaptec f.e., where you can plug such SSD directly and you will get Int13 support by BIOS.

Not from Adaptec, but do you think this would work in, let's say a Intel BX440 chipset machine and bootable?

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2-SATA-RAID-0-1-10 … 6#ht_1667wt_846

It ain't a retro pc if you can't hear the hard drive access 😜

Well I used a http://mail.lipsia.de/~enigma/neu/pics/adaptec_sata.jpg with SIL1205 on a GA7-IX and it works as boot device if you set BIOS to SCSI.

Alternatively 'Transcend' sells native IDE ones for years:
-SLC SSD's 2GB to 64GB.
-Disk on module's (DOM) 128MB to multiple Gigs Flash. It feels faster compared to my Sandisk SD card.

The Crucial M4 SSD is since long available in 64/128/256GB and generally a good buy. It does not use the criticised sandforce controller of the Super Talent in the first post.

Unfortunately the Transcend IDE flash modules aren't cost competetive with a CF card and adapter. 4G Transcend IDE modules cost $35 at the cheapest, closer to $50-60 at most places. A 4G CF with adapter shouldn't run more than $20.

That is true.
I got a good deal for a 4G one, and paid the usual price for a 1G one.
They are small and sturdy though.
I experienced some difficulties with BIOS disk access settings for these Disk on Modules.
Another downside of the direct IDE interface is that you cannot easily plug them in another PC and access them, unlike Sata / SD / Compactflash.

Compact flash cards are pretty useful for DOS, where there is a ton more reading than writing. Generally a game only writes to disk when installing, saving a game of a configuration. For Windows, they aren't so useful due to the swap file, which is constantly being written to.

Yes I was thinking more of W98SE projects with these SSDs.

I thought about putting Win98SE on a small SSD for the heck of it, since it's not an OS that demands a lot of space and my new retro computing mobo of choice actually has a couple of SATA 1 ports on it.

Problem is, to get the most out of any SSD, you have to use AHCI, which 2000/XP onward wouldn't have a problem with, but I don't know if Win9x will even recognize the drives if not running under IDE emulation mode. Old OS, new hardware, after all. But for all I know, maybe those unofficial 98SE Service Packs patched in AHCI support...

EDIT: Well, turns out the motherboard I had in mind doesn't even support AHCI mode on its SATA ports for some reason, just IDE emulation and RAID. Maybe that wasn't added 'til SATA II.

I have been using this for a while:
http://www.kingspec.com/en/product_xx69.html

This again needs the usual "laptop IDE to normal IDE" adapter. Works very well so far...