Most HD on CF-29?

I am thinking about trying to upgrade CF-29 to the best of its abilities. While I can't do much about RAM - i.e. 1.5G maximum for the most part, I am wondering what is the biggest hard drive you can reliably put into these puppies... anybody with an experience or idea?

 

Yes, I am using a Western Digital 320 GB HDD. It is a PATA which is what the CF-29 was designed for. There have been some work done here by Liamw652 to use a SATA adaper with mixed results, the problem is one of space. He was able to use a 500GB SATA in his CF-29, but there were some problems. This modification is still in the research stage in my opinion.

In reguards to the 1.5GB RAM limit that you have mentioned, it depends on the model. Click on the link in my sig for more info.

Welcome Aboard!

 

160 drives are popular. Several of the members are using 320's. They are available in 5400rpm and 7200rpm. Speed means heat. Heat is a sign of increased battery use. It's your choice.

Navigate to The Official CF-29 Toughbook Thread. Use [search this thread]. Enter "hdd" without the quotes. Enjoy the read.
There is a lot more there than an individual member can cover in a single page answer to your query.
It is really worth the read.
Welcome and have a g'day.
Jeff

 

All new IDE/PATA drives for Toughbooks are at 5400RPM... You need to go to SATA to get to 7200rpm.... Unless you buy an older Hitachi HD...

 

Yeah, and the newer 7200 RPM drives have half the rotating mass, so use a much smaller motor. Smaller motor, less heat, less noise, less current draw - even compared to the 4200 RPM drives that came stock in these.

mnem
Leaner, meaner, computing machine... errr.

 

Mnem... you are talking about SATA Drives aren't you?

 

TB -

For the most part, yeah. But even the newer 5400 RPM IDE drives... the 160GB ones we're using now, and the Hitachi 7200 RPM IDE models we used to seek out... they all were 2 generations newer than the 4200 RPM drives that came in these machines, and were much more efficient. The latest crop of SATA drives are 2 generations newer than those; they're even more efficient. It's hard to show when the maximum current draw seems similar; but once they spin up, their operating draw is much less, as is the seek current draw(servo motor for the heads); because the moving mass has been drastically reduced in both cases.

mnem
Gig-ity.

 

How about no "moving mass"?

Look what I just discovered, listed for the CF-52 Toughbook: 256GB Crucial RealSSD C300 2.5-inch SATA 6GB/s.

This, combined with one of the PATA-to-SATA adapters and, WHOOSH : "I feel the need for speed!" --LT Pete "Maverick" Mitchell, Top Gun

 

Ummm... naah.

First off, you can't even get 1GB/s out of the IDE interface you have, even with that adapter... so all that speed and money is WASTED.

Second - It's a MLC drive, not SLC... so cell wear is a major issue. I've played with several MLC drives, even those claiming massive transfer rates like this; they just aren't worth it with the data dropout I've seen. Save your shekels, get the biggest SLC SATA Drive you can, and use a second HDD or MLC SATA SSD for data.

If you don't have SATA2 on the MB, you're wasting your money on these drives.

mnem
SSDid it.