*HP 2510p Owners Lounge*

[ deleted - this post is quoted completely in the next post ]

 

So the scores on the Doors are :---

So running the stock 1.8" against a CLONED Runcore SSD still in the system as SLAVE



And after Setting the NewModus Caddy V2 to Master and removing the 1.8" we get ...



So your comments about capping in slave mode have now also been proven to be true...

Hope that helps


So the system is fast (and I have not even played with OC), it starts XP (power->post-> login) with 20s and fully operational another 5s ... but although the HP is still loading and starting services I can immediately browse, even my X301 which is native SSD & SATA cant do that ..

another observation is the overall heat (& Noise) has gone away down; Excel, Word and PowerPoint start as if I was Maximizing them instead of launching...

I think I'll go buy me a 64 or 128GB Runcore 1.8" Pro ZIF drive, if this is what it can do to my old machine, then I can get my CD Drive back on board

 

I would be very interested if you do.

 

hello
I have juste pre ordered a runcore pro IV ZIF for my 2510p. Are there some settings to change in the BIOS to make it run fine ?

If you're interested, I could run some benchmarks when I receive it.

 

If it's compatible, it should work fine without changing any settings. It's still unconfirmed if it'll work or not since the DVD drive and Hard Drive are on the same IDE channel. This can sometimes cause problems.

 

Wow nice read spead in the newmodus caddy. That looks like the solution to get unless the preliminary numbers on the Runcore Pro IV ZIF are false.

This benchmarks are from an Acer Aspire One connected to the ZIF version of the Pro IV.


Supposedly Runcore is limiting the PATA interface to UDMA4 vs 5 to improve stability. I haven't had the time to follow the thread so here is the link.

If any one can figure out how to check if an interface is limited to UDMA4 or how to bypass this in the driver to use UDMA5 let me know. There was mention in the thread that this is possible.

 

Interesting... Although anytime a product is artificially slowed down for "stability" reasons that throws up a whole bunch of red flags.

 

INFO: Manually setting ZIF/IDE transfer mode and standby timeout

1. Download hdparm for Windows.
2. Identify current transfer mode on the current master/slave drives:
   
   Code:

   C:\> hdparm -i /dev/sda 
   C:\> hdparm -i /dev/sdb  

   Will return current transfer mode with an astericks next to it
   
   
   Code:

   /dev/sda:
   
    Model=RunCore  64G-C  SSD, FwRev=1819, SerialNo=RCXXXXXXXX
    Config={ HardSect NotMFM HdSw>15uSec Fixed DTR>10Mbs RotSpdTol>.5% }
    RawCHS=16383/16/63, TrkSize=0, SectSize=0, ECCbytes=12288
    BuffType=unknown, BuffSize=32767kB, MaxMultSect=1, MultSect=off
    CurCHS=16383/16/63, CurSects=16514064, LBA=yes, LBAsects=125045424
    IORDY=on/off, tPIO={min:120,w/IORDY:120}, tDMA={min:120,rec:120}
    PIO modes:  pio0 pio1 pio2 pio3 pio4
    DMA modes:  mdma0 mdma1 mdma2
    UDMA modes: udma0 udma1 udma2 udma3 udma4 *udma5 udma6
    AdvancedPM=no WriteCache=enabled
    Drive conforms to: Unspecified:  ATA/ATAPI-5 ATA/ATAPI-6 ATA/ATAPI-7
   
    * signifies the current active mode

3. Set a batch file to run in startup with desired transfer mode and standby timeout. See hdparm commandline options for more details
   
   hdparm -X udma5 /dev/sda
   hdparm -X udma5 /dev/sdb
   hdparm -y -S 12 /dev/sdb

 

ouch, I didn't know I have taken such a risk. Is there a solution if there is a compatibility problem ?

 

Sorry, I warned about Runcore a few post back base on personal experience. They let their customers burn when they had ZIF issues with the first Pro series. I wouldn't buy them till the first reviews come out.

Well the Aspire One crowd is doing fine so far. Runcore's marketing is also back full speed and saying that all the issues with the ZIF connector have been resolved. Good luck. You can take advantage and try asking them about the master/slave settings. If you bought it with mydigitaldiscount then you can always cancel before the ship and wait till more reviews come out. Otherwise thanks for taking one for the team.

 

Flashing older bios versions

There's a few patched HPQFlash to that don't do bios version or signature checking so have more flexibility in going an older bios, eg: F.0A, if you wanted. Though can't go older than F.0A as they have some different bootblocks. Useful too if wanting to overcome delays/flashing of some warning message when using the optical bay caddy instead of the optical drive.

Freeing up resources - disabling TPM/VPro's PCI Serial Port and IDE Controller/Onboard LAN

There was always the TPM and PCI Serial Port (SOL) and Second IDE Controller (IDER) bios bloat associated with with Intel's VPro that I could disable in XP but the devices would still be there. I've been able to permanently disable these so XP doesn't ever see then with:

1. Download HPBI103 and save to a bootable USB key.
   
2. Read current Vpro state:
   
   
3. Disable TPM and VPro
   

It's changed my bios menu too. I can now disable LAN in there, and the AMT menu is gone. Only issue is my brief attempt at re-enabling VPRO/TPM hasn't worked. Might reduce a bit of load on XP for better battery life or free up resources?

 

Yes the incompatibility issues where with the V1 Pro and Runcore marketing is assuring that the ZIF cabling is a thing of the past. My concern is less with the product issues, but more with the fact that they rushed the product to the market with little testing outside of a few initial netbooks. They then underestimated the difficulty of supporting the different variations of ZIF implemented in products back then. Finally they messed up the end user support. The community was very enthusiastic about them initially because they were like half the price of a Samsung, Mtron, etc. They responded very openly in support of initial complaints (they are one of the few companies I know that actively post in user forums (OCZ is another example). But then they clammed up and stopped responding after 2-3 bad fixes it became clear they didn't know what they were doing and not enough was done to test the drives properly. I hope the IV is better, but this thing about limiting the PATA interface to UMDA4 to maintain stability is another shady thing to do. You see then very publicly touting the Indilinx level of performance on the SATA based drives, but it has been strangely quiet on the ZIF front. I'm guessing we will hear more soon as the drives come out, but this will not be what most folks are expecting from an Indilinx drive. As we know with the caddies putting a bridge chip infront of a native SATA chip is not trivial from a performance perspective. The safe call is to wait for a couple 1000 parts to be sold into retail and make sure the biggest issues are resolved.

BTW, the benchmarks above are from the actual 1.8" ZIF Pro IV drive. Check them out. They match quite well with what we expect from an Indilinx/PATA bridge solution. They are somewhere inbetween the new modus and ebay caddy reference points.

 

Thanks again nando4. I'll try this out and report my findings. It would be nice to unlock more performance from the eBay solution, but right now I'd recommend the newmodus solution unless your on a budget or planning to use an HDD.

 

The tweaktown link comes from the twitter account of the CMO of Runcore. See the post from 8/19 which I pasted below. It has the link and refrences.

 

I reread your summary post. I'm not sure if you read this post where where I confirmed that pin 47 is connected to the marvel bridge chip and the actual chip might be different from the ultrabay (couldn't find a pic).

That might explain the read performance issue. Another possibility is that I am experiencing the typical performance degradation when you need to erase rows when you do a random write. I installed window from a USB stick vs doing a clone so I don't know how much junk is on it. In theory I should do a trim on the drive and try it out again, but the trim tools are a bit scary since you need to set the sata port to a specific mode in the bios and I'm not sure if the bridge chip works this way. The only reliable way is to move the drive over.

I guess the only reliable way is as you suggested to get the datasheet for the chip from marvel. Didn't you say that they don't share that type of information readily with the public. I do recall reading somewhere that the master slave jumpers are not part of the standard ide interface pins. Anyway if you have any ideas how to do it that you want me to try just PM me and I'll give it a try.

 

Guys,


very good thread indeed, helped my find my way to the new modeus Caddy, now I seem to remember that there was a link at the beginning of this thread to a couple of retailers which sold of used and demo items, the links were there so that anyone (like me) could go upgrade to the 1.5/1.7 GHz CPU (?).

Could someone repost those links or if they were taken down due to policy PM them to me please...

Thanks in advance

 

You can overclock your a U7x00 to likely 1.4Ghz or more. It is techically possible to upgrade to a L7700-1.8Ghz CPU, but you'd need special equipment to solder off the BGA CPU and attach another. Overall not worth it. Suggest sell up and get a low spec SU9300 2530P instead. Has dual-channel RAM, SATA interface on optical and primary bay and newer chipset with 45nm penryn CPU.

 

Yep agree, thats my intent (Already OC'ed to 1.4G but fan on all the time ), and like I said, Im looking for the links to refurb retailers, EBAY no good as most only ship to US addresses verified by P-PAL, which ant supported here .

 

Are you using the 1.8" ZIF HDD and the default HP software image? Since putting my caddy SSD in and turning off my HDD my 2510p fan doesn't run as often or as loud anymore. The unit overall is much cooler. I don't know if it is because of the fresh XP install or by removing the HDD or both.

Still getting a 2530p might be the overall better approach because.

 

Been there done that, still not 100%, So thats why I have tried to find the links.. ... some sources I have ha mentioned that its up for a refresh, so no use going and buying a NEW device...

 

Mine is O/C to 1.5Ghz and fan is running as it does on 1.2Ghz. Maybe a few degrees more. Makes a big difference to our X3100 graphics performance. Win7RC1 WEI scored jumped from 2.4 to 2.9.

Worthwhile checking if you have runnaway processes putting excess CPU load and/or put some arctic ice thermal compound in place of the silly pad HP provide to dissipate heat faster. If wanting to upgrade, the cheap options:

12.1" US$699 HP_2530P SU9300-1.2 1GB 120GB-2.5" *refurb - US warranty*
12.1" US$678 HP_2530P SU9300-1.2 1GB 120GB-2.5" *refurb - US warranty*
12.1" US$825 HP_2530P SL9400-1.86 4GB 160GB GM45 VB *3yr global warranty*

There's a US$299 L7700-1.86 2510P systemboard on ebay if you are happy to swap it out. They do international shipping. Otherwise L7700-1.86 HP2510P are KS012UA#ABA and KS011UT#ABA if you want to google for them

 

Thanks for that mate

 

We will see. I ordered a 32gb PRO IV for my Sony Vaio P. But will test it in my 2510p before installing it in the sony. If it works and does what runcore claims i might order the 128gb for the 2510p.

Will get back to you with benchmarks etc when I recive it.
Should be some time late next week if the runcore twitters are correct.
They are just wating for the usb2 casing that is supplied with the SSD.

/ Santzia

 

Good luck! Looking forward to see your benchmarks. I hope Runcore proves me wrong on both quality and performance.

 

Hey, I have a question. The 1.8" 80GB one that Lenovo has from Intel, is that basically an X18-M, brother of the wildly popular X25-M? So it should get 250/70 read/write speeds?

The Samsung 128GB MLC is rated quite a bit faster than what I seem to be getting, which is 95-100/45-50. I'm running Windows 7 RTM. Do I need a special driver?

Please help! Thank you.

 

me thinks you posted in the wrong forum

 

Santzia have you gotten your drive yet? I saw the MDD website turn the preorder flag to backorder for the 32GB version of the Pro IV. It is funny that they don't give a firm date for when the drives will arrive and continue to take preorders. I hope you don't go through the same experience I went through when I ordered from them iback in Spring.

I've been monitoring the Acer Aspire One forum for lack of updates and it looks like the ZIF cables are still causing troubles (at least with the Acer One). The most recent items being blamed are the length of the cable, needing to limit speeds to UDMA4 and the socket or cable not holding well in place. Net result are problems with installation and day to day use after some gets a successful install.

The benchmarks are promising though nowhere close to saturating the PATA channel. The second user benchmarks are posted (60ies read / 40ies write, no random writes) and are inline with the first ones except for the better reads (60 vs 40ish).

http://forums.tweaktown.com/f78/runcore-pro-pata-mini-zif-ssd-acer-aspire-one-32111/index5.html

 

I did get an email from Runcore last night stating that there where some problems with my creditcard, so i checked my bank and it should be working.
Runcore cancelled my order and asked me to retry.
So i ordered a 64gb one instead.
Hoping that they will ship it.
On another note runcore hasn´t responded to any of my emails.
A total of 4 emails, not just regarding the problems from last night.
I´m getting a bad feeling about the company but will give it a try anyway.
Will update this thread as soon as I have any more info.

/ Santzia

 

Hang in there santzia. They are a real low cost outfit so you have to live with their post sales support. Sounds like you ordered directly from Runcore, where are you located? MyDigitalDiscount is their US reseller and I'm assuming you didn't buy from them.

On another topic I saw a deal for a 60GB OCZ Agility (w/ Indilinx controller, 2.5") for less than a hundred fourty USD shipped after rebate. I picked one up since I saw a review that all Indilinx drives perform pretty much the same. Hopefully this is a sign of where the prices will be by the Christmas season. That would be half of what they were last year. 60GB is enough for my portable needs and I can always access more stuff over WIFI from my servers.

 

I have received my runcore ProIV Zif today. The good news is that it seems to be recognized. I'm installing Windows 7 right now on it. I'll give you some feedback on any problem I have and some performance benchmarks later this week.

 

After 2 days, it seems to work well (it's a 64GB version)
Here are some benchmarks on Windows 7

- CrystalDisk Mark 2.2
80.13/60.36
72.93/63.14
16.34/9.48

- PC Mark 05 (system test suite) : 3244 (it was 2323 with the Toshiba HDD)

- Windows 7 hard drive performance index : 6.2 (3.9 with the Toshiba)

It seems to me that the performances are very close to the SATA runcore ProIV SSD tested before by Nobackup using the SATA caddy

 

Thanks for that mate ... so looks like a ZIF is coming my way... just ordered the 128G..... next week will post scores .... new life to an old platform

 

Anyone had the chance to try out Photofast V3 zif on this laptop (or on any other laptop) ?

 

I haven't seen benchmarks on it yet, though would say it would perform very similiarly to the Runcore ProIV, since they both use the Indilinx controller. The runcore ProIV offering 64GB for the same money. If want the fastest ZIF SSD, suggest the SLC Mtron Mobi, perhaps waiting a couple more months until the 64GB is released. You can see 1.8" ZIF SSD benchmarks though is twice the cost per GB of the Runcore ProIV.

 

Thanks for the report. It looks like the benchmarks are better than what the Acer Aspire One folks are getting. This looks like a decent SSD. Now the prices need to come down a bit.

 

Hey Borh,

Can you share the part number of your drive. I see mydigitaldiscount selling a Mac and "regular" version of the ZIF proIV. Not sure if there is a difference.

Have you tried trimming the drive? I was wondering if there is a way to do this through the ZIF interface.

TY!

 

RCP-IV-Z1864-C

Is that what you need ?

I haven't tried to trim the drive because I don't know how to do it. Can you give a link that explains how to do it ?

 

didnt the mtron mobi have issues with 2510p ?

 

Yes thank you. That is the same PN used by the mydigitaldiscount site. The MAC zif versions are offline right now due to compatibility issues. I did see a tweet from Runcore where some was able to get a mac running. Hopefully they will figure out the compatibility issues.

Here is an overview: http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3631&p=13

 

When I asked the Rocketdisk (US reseller for Mtron) they said the 2510p was supported. I've also read people recommending the Mtron and having no problems with it after they gave up on the initial runcore pros.

Mtrons are SLC drives and have a higher price tag. Runcore seems to be doing better with the ZIF issues as per reports from earlier posters.

 

does someone has the link to download the indilinx wiper tool ?

 

Well I just changed my 80GB Toshiba HHD for a 64GB Kingspec SSD ($230 on ebay). The DiskBench test I ran copied a 4gb file. The time went from 9.7 to 4.2 minutes!

Shutdown and boot up seem to take about the same speed but I'm pleased with the speed increase in the applications.

Cheers, steve

 

I'm new here,
after I read all the thread I've decided to buy a PATA caddy (so it won't consume 1w more) and an IDE hdd that i saw here a link to review of it (Samsung HM160HC) but I'll buy the HM121HC - I saw it's the most power efficient and the best performer for PATA.
Please correct me if I'm wrong

Also I'd like to know whether someone here using the PATA caddy?
Is there really difference in the battery life time between PATA and SATA caddys?
And what is the temperatures of the PATA hdd in PATA caddy in different working situations (idle, benchmarking etc.)?

 

I found one on the OCZ forum. Use at your own risk. Supposedly this is only for OCZ drives. If you read the Anandtech article you'll know what your getting into.

http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57434

 

Personally if you can afford it and do not need to carry a lot of files all the time get an Indilinx SSD. You won't believe the improvement in boot/shutdown and other program launch scenarios. 60GB is enough for me and I have full access to my movies and music over a 4965AGN mini PCI card. Even with the caddy I'm getting up to 6+ hours on my 2510p on a 6 cell battery. As I type this I'm getting -6.7 watt or 8:06 h:m. My 2510p also runs quieter and cooler. With my old 80gb 1.8 hdd the fan would turn on after a few minutes of use and would get very hot. Now I can't recall it getting hot anymore. This is using a SATA caddy and a 60gb ocz vertex drive which I got for less than $170 after rebates. A few weeks later I purchased an OCZ Agility 60GB for even less. Hopefully the deals come back around Thanksgiving and I'll pick one more up for my desktop.

 

It doesn't work. "Can't be run on drive C:"
Have you tried it with the runcore on the SATA caddy ?

 

I dont have in my country 1.8 zif ssd and i don't like to order it from ebay (no warranty).
Sata caddy will take +1watt more then IDE caddy (as it said here) so the sata caddy is not an option, as also the sata ssd in my country is 30% higher in price (same reason as above why not ordering it from ebay)

I'm almost sure about ordering the ide caddy, I need just some feedback about it

 

There is no seller of zif ssd in my country too (France). I have bought my runcore ssd from conics.net with 2 years warranty.
The only problem is that I have to pay the charges to send it to Japan if I have a problem.
I think you can also buy it from the runcore website with the warranty.

 

It's to much money for an effect that i can buy for less...
I'm asking for feedback of ide caddy....anyone?

 

Why not just buy in the EU .. at www.notebook.de google translate will help they send all over the EU and your rights are covered...

update they also do english http://www.notebook.de/runcore-ssd-festplatten-g-1049?section=shop&group=1049&lang=en all with 2 years warranty.... its where I bought my 250GB one