2010 October | Tech Blue

While they’ve been around for over five years, solid state drives are only beginning to start to get mainstream recognition as a viable alternative to traditional hard drives. Many techies tout the solid state drive, or the SSD, as being the future of hard drives. While the public has embraced the USB flash drive, it has yet to warm up to the SSD. Most don’t even know the differences between the two drive types, but as prices drop and size constraints increase, it’s worth the time to take a look at the pros and cons of these storage devices.

Basics

While a typical hard drive runs off of a magnetic, round disk much like a record, a solid state drive has no movable parts and runs off a solid one piece semiconductor. With the lack of moving parts, a solid state drive is less likely to break through normal wear and tear, which makes it a popular plug-in storage drive on laptops, notebooks, and netbooks. Hard drives, with their needle and record style of memory reading and writing, have a tendency to skip over normal wear and tear. The jostling that occurs in most mobile computing devices can also wear a hard drive down faster than that of a solid state drive, which does very well in more extreme environments, especially when it comes to heat.

Size
When it comes to hard drives, they can pack more storage space in a smaller package. A typical laptop sized hard drive can store up 160 GBs of information or more, while a comparable SSD can fit only 32-64 GBs. While this is a good size for those who compute on the go, anyone who is looking for some serious storage or using their laptop as their primary computing device will probably need much more space for their programs, files, and documents.

Speed

One way in which SSDs come out on top is speed. Since it doesn’t need to sit around and wait for the “needle” of the hard drive to be read, a solid state drive can recover and bring up information at blazing speeds. The persnickety nature of a hard drive’s magnetic disk, too, makes it harder for it to keep up with the SSD, as the grooves of the storage disk can wear down, making it slow even further. With the SSD’s information being all in one piece, nothing can physically wear down through normal use, meaning slow down over time just doesn’t happen.

Price

The biggest disadvantage the solid state drive has is price. Much like all new technology, the SSD is still evolving and advancing. While the hard drive has had decades to evolve technologically, allowing prices to come down on equipment, the SSD is still relatively new. Prices have gone down comparatively since the introduction of the solid state drive, but it still is more expensive per GB than a hard drive. The price difference has kept some manufacturers away from integrating them into their discount laptops, despite the longer life and speed of an SSD.

So, is it worth it?

If you’re looking exclusively for price, then a hard drive might have the upper hand. However, those looking for a faster, lighter, and more durable drive that’ll keep their information safe from a dreaded hardware failure should consider an EDGE SSD drive.

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New computer models for the week of 10/22/2010

October 22, 2010, 12:02 pm

Released this week, 100% compatible memory upgrades for the following systems

Compaq ProLiant BL460c G7 (603251-B21)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 12GB (6X2GB)
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 12
Chipset: Intel 5500

Compaq ProLiant BL460c G7 (603256-B21)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 12GB (6X2GB)
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 12
Chipset: Intel 5500

Compaq ProLiant BL460c G7 (603259-B21)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 6GB (3X2GB)
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 12
Chipset: Intel 5500

Compaq ProLiant BL460c G7 (603569-B21)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 6GB (3X2GB)
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 12
Chipset: Intel 5500

Compaq ProLiant BL460c G7 (603588-B21)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 6GB (3X2GB)
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 12
Chipset: Intel 5500

Compaq ProLiant BL460c G7 (603591-B21)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 6GB (3X2GB)
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 12
Chipset: Intel 5500

Compaq ProLiant DL160 G6 (590159-001)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 4GB
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 18
Chipset: Intel 5520

Compaq ProLiant DL160 G6 (590160-001)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 4GB
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 18
Chipset: Intel 5520

Compaq ProLiant DL160 G6 (590161-001)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 8GB (2x4GB)
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 18
Chipset: Intel 5520

Compaq ProLiant DL160 G6 (590162-001)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 12GB (6X2GB)
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 18
Chipset: Intel 5520

Compaq ProLiant DL160 G6 (605661-005)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 12GB (6X2GB)
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 18
Chipset: Intel 5520

Compaq ProLiant DL160 G6 (605663-005)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 6GB (3X2GB)
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 18
Chipset: Intel 5520

Compaq ProLiant DL180 G6 (487503-001)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 6GB (3X2GB)
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 12
Chipset: Intel 5520 Series

Compaq ProLiant DL180 G6 (487506-001)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 4GB
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 12
Chipset: Intel 5520 Series

Compaq ProLiant DL180 G6 (487507-001)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 12GB (6X2GB)
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 12
Chipset: Intel 5520 Series

Compaq ProLiant DL180 G6 (487508-001)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 6GB (3X2GB)
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 12
Chipset: Intel 5520 Series

Compaq ProLiant DL180 G6 (590636-001)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 4GB
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 12
Chipset: Intel 5520 Series

Compaq ProLiant DL180 G6 (590637-001)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 4GB
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 12
Chipset: Intel 5520 Series

Compaq ProLiant DL180 G6 (590638-001)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 8GB (2x4GB)
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 12
Chipset: Intel 5520 Series

Compaq ProLiant DL180 G6 (590639-001)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 8GB (2x4GB)
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 12
Chipset: Intel 5520 Series

Compaq ProLiant DL180 G6 (590640-001)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 16GB
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 12
Chipset: Intel 5520 Series

Compaq ProLiant DL180 G6 (605664-005)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: NOTES
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 12
Chipset: Intel 5520 Series

Compaq ProLiant DL180 G6 (605665-005)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 12GB (6X2GB)
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 12
Chipset: Intel 5520 Series

Compaq ProLiant DL180 G6 (605666-005)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 4GB (2x2GB)
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 12
Chipset: Intel 5520 Series

Compaq ProLiant ML350 G6 (576778-001)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 12GB (6X2GB)
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 18
Chipset: Intel 5520

Compaq ProLiant ML350 G6 (594874-001)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 12GB (6X2GB)
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 18
Chipset: Intel 5520

Compaq ProLiant ML350 G6 (600424-005)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 2GB
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 18
Chipset: Intel 5520

Compaq ProLiant ML350 G6 (600425-005)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 4GB (2x2GB)
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 18
Chipset: Intel 5520

Compaq ProLiant ML350 G6 (600426-005)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 4GB (2x2GB)
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 18
Chipset: Intel 5520

Compaq ProLiant ML350 G6 (600427-005)

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 6GB (3X2GB)
Maximum RAM: 192GB
# of Banks: 6
# of Sockets: 18
Chipset: Intel 5520

Dell Latitude E4310

Speed of RAM: PC3-8500
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 1GB\2GB\4GB
Maximum RAM: 8GB
# of Banks: 2
# of Sockets: 2
Chipset: Intel i5 QS57

Fujitsu LifeBook S Series S710

Speed of RAM: PC3-8500
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 1GB or 2GB
Maximum RAM: 8GB
# of Banks: 2
# of Sockets: 2
Chipset: Intel Core i5, i7

HP Compaq G Series Notebook G62-220US

Speed of RAM: PC2-6400
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 3GB (2GB+1GB)
Maximum RAM: 8GB
# of Banks: 2
# of Sockets: 2
Chipset: N/A

HP LaserJet P3015x

Speed of RAM: PC2-3200
Fixed RAM: 128MB
Standard RAM: 128MB
Maximum RAM: 640MB
# of Banks: 1
# of Sockets: 1
Chipset: N/A

HP Pavilion dv5-1110em

Speed of RAM: PC2-6400
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 1GB/2GB/3GB/4GB
Maximum RAM: 8GB
# of Banks: 2
# of Sockets: 2
Chipset: N/A

Intel Intel Motherboards D945GCCR

Speed of RAM: PC2-5300
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 0MB
Maximum RAM: 4GB
# of Banks: 2
# of Sockets: 4
Chipset: Intel 945G

Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t Tablet (0651-7HU) DDR3

Speed of RAM: PC3-10600
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 1GB
Maximum RAM: 2GB
# of Banks: 1
# of Sockets: 1
Chipset: Intel NM10

Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t Tablet (0651-85U/86U) DDR2

Speed of RAM: PC2-5300
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 1GB or 2GB
Maximum RAM: 2GB
# of Banks: 1
# of Sockets: 1
Chipset: Intel NM10

Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3t Tablet (0651-xxx)

Speed of RAM: PC2-5300
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 1GB or 2GB
Maximum RAM: 2GB
# of Banks: 1
# of Sockets: 1
Chipset: Intel NM10

Lenovo Lenovo Thinkcentre M70e SFF (0809, 0822, 0830-xxx)

Speed of RAM: PC3-8500
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 2GB or 4GB
Maximum RAM: 4GB
# of Banks: 2
# of Sockets: 2
Chipset: Intel G41

Lenovo Lenovo Thinkcentre M70e SFF (0833, 0843-xxx)

Speed of RAM: PC3-8500
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 2GB or 4GB
Maximum RAM: 4GB
# of Banks: 2
# of Sockets: 2
Chipset: Intel G41

Lenovo Lenovo Thinkcentre M70e Tower (0806, 0829, 0832, 0842-xxx)

Speed of RAM: PC3-8500
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 2GB or 4GB
Maximum RAM: 4GB
# of Banks: 2
# of Sockets: 2
Chipset: Intel G41

Lenovo Lenovo Thinkpad T410i (2516, 2518-xxx)

Speed of RAM: PC3-8500
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 2GB
Maximum RAM: 8GB
# of Banks: 2
# of Sockets: 2
Chipset: Intel QM57

Sony Vaio VPCEA3PGX/BJ

Speed of RAM: PC3-8500
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 6GB (1x4GB + 1x2GB)
Maximum RAM: 8GB
# of Banks: 2
# of Sockets: 2
Chipset: Intel Core i5 HM55

Sony Vaio VPCEB33FM/BJ

Speed of RAM: PC3-8500
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 4GB (2x2GB)
Maximum RAM: 8GB
# of Banks: 2
# of Sockets: 2
Chipset: Intel Core i3 HM55

Sony Vaio VPCEB33FM/WI

Speed of RAM: PC3-8500
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 4GB (2x2GB)
Maximum RAM: 8GB
# of Banks: 2
# of Sockets: 2
Chipset: Intel Core i3 HM55

Sony Vaio VPCEB33FX/T

Speed of RAM: PC3-8500
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 4GB (2x2GB)
Maximum RAM: 8GB
# of Banks: 2
# of Sockets: 2
Chipset: Intel Core i3 HM55

Sony Vaio VPCEB3GGX/BJ

Speed of RAM: PC3-8500
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 4GB (2x2GB)
Maximum RAM: 8GB
# of Banks: 2
# of Sockets: 2
Chipset: Intel Core i3 HM55

Sony Vaio VPCEB3HGX/BJ

Speed of RAM: PC3-8500
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 4GB (2x2GB)
Maximum RAM: 8GB
# of Banks: 2
# of Sockets: 2
Chipset: Intel Core i3 HM55

Sony Vaio VPCZ137GX/B

Speed of RAM: PC3-8500
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 4GB (2x2GB)
Maximum RAM: 8GB
# of Banks: 2
# of Sockets: 2
Chipset: Intel Core i5 HM57

Toshiba Portege R700-S1321

Speed of RAM: PC3-8500
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 4GB (2x2GB)
Maximum RAM: 8GB
# of Banks: 2
# of Sockets: 2
Chipset: Intel Core i5 HM57

Toshiba Satellite Pro L450-EZ1522

Speed of RAM: PC3-8500
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 3GB (2GB+1GB)
Maximum RAM: 4GB
# of Banks: 2
# of Sockets: 2
Chipset: Intel GM45

Toshiba Toshiba mini Notebook NB255-N240

Speed of RAM: PC2-6400
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 1GB
Maximum RAM: 2GB
# of Banks: 1
# of Sockets: 1
Chipset: Intel I NM10

Toshiba Toshiba mini Notebook NB255-N245

Speed of RAM: PC2-6400
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 1GB
Maximum RAM: 2GB
# of Banks: 1
# of Sockets: 1
Chipset: Intel I NM10

Toshiba Toshiba mini Notebook NB255-N246

Speed of RAM: PC2-6400
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 1GB
Maximum RAM: 2GB
# of Banks: 1
# of Sockets: 1
Chipset: Intel I NM10

Toshiba Toshiba mini Notebook NB255-N250

Speed of RAM: PC2-6400
Fixed RAM: 0MB
Standard RAM: 1GB
Maximum RAM: 2GB
# of Banks: 1
# of Sockets: 1
Chipset: Intel I NM10

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EDGE Tech Corp Launches Full Line of SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Products

October 20, 2010, 2:41 pm

Check out our new line of USB 3.0 Products!

DiskGO External SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Hard Drive:

SuperSpeed USB 3.0 allows for transfer rates up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0 (when connected to a USB 3.0 port). Achieve rapid data transfer rates in a low power, efficient manner.
The fastest USB technology available.
Backwards compatible with USB 2.0 computers and devices.
Includes Dmailer Backup software. Create an encrypted profile and set redundant file backups to your portable hard drive as well as automatically archive past versions of files as they are modified.
Dmailer allows you to sync and back up files to a personal online cloud.* Access files stored in the online cloud from any computer connected to the Internet using a simple, search engine style interface.
Rugged aluminum casing provides cooling and durability.

*Store up to 2GB of data online free. 30GB or unlimited online storage available for a yearly subscription.

DiskGO Portable SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Hard Drive:

SuperSpeed USB 3.0 allows for transfer rates up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0 (when connected to a USB 3.0 port). Achieve rapid data transfer rates in a low power, efficient manner.
Backwards compatible with USB 2.0 computers and devices.
The fastest USB technology available.
Includes Dmailer Backup software. Create an encrypted profile and set redundant file backups to your portable hard drive as well as automatically archive past versions of files as they are modified.
Dmailer allows you to sync and back up files to a personal online cloud.* Access files stored in the online cloud from any computer connected to the Internet using a simple, search engine style interface.
USB powered – no extra power adapter needed.
Rugged aluminum casing provides cooling and durability.

*Store up to 2GB of data online free. 30GB or unlimited online storage available for a yearly subscription.

SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Desktop PCI Express Card:

SuperSpeed USB 3.0 allows for transfer rates up to 10 times faster than USB 2.0 (when connected to a USB 3.0 device). Achieve rapid data transfer rates in a low power, efficient manner. This is the fastest USB technology available. It is backwards compatible with USB 2.0 devices and adds two USB 3.0 ports to a desktop computer for connecting USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 devices.

SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Laptop Express Card:

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How To Install Windows 7 With a Flash Drive

October 20, 2010, 11:29 am

Windows 7 is really a great step forward for Microsoft and already, people are making a tremendous shift to it from XP and Vista. If you are using a net book or a PC without a CD or DVD drive, you are probably stuck, trying to figure out how to get this new operating system on to your machine. The good news is, it’s relatively simple and all you need is the Windows 7 (or Vista) install CD, a USB thumb drive and a free version of WinRAR.

Requirements

USB Flash Drive with no less than 4GB of space
WinRAR, Free download at www.rarlab.com
Windows 7 Install Disk

1. Format the Thumb Drive
With your computer turned on, plug in your flash drive. Click start and then type in the find box cmd.exe. Right click on it and then select Run as administrator. Next, type “diskpart” and then hit enter from the command line. Next type “list disk” to reveal all of the active disks on your pc, each having a corresponding number assigned to them. Type the following commands in order ensuring to hit enter after each command.

Select Disk # (replace the # with the number corresponding to your flash drive)
Clean
Create Partition Primary
Select Partition 1
Active
Format FS=NTFS (This step make take several minutes to complete.)
Assign (Be sure to take note of the drive letter assigned)
Exit

2. Create a Bootable Drive from your Thumb Drive
Insert the Windows 7 install disk into your optical drive. Right click on the drive letter and click “view files”. Create a folder on your desktop and copy all of the files from the Windows 7 install disk into the folder. Click start and then type in the find box cmd.exe. Right click on it and then select Run as administrator. From the command prompt, navigate to the folder you created on your desktop. It should be formatted similarly to “C:\Users\Username\Desktop\Foldercreated”. Once in the folder you created, type “CD Boot”. Next, type “Bootsect.exe /nt60 DriveLetter:” where Drive letter is the letter corresponding to your flash drive. After this has completed, the flash drive has been successfully turned into a bootable device. The next step is to move the install files onto the drive.

3. Load up the Install Files
Double click on your flash drive to open its contents up. From the desktop, open the folder you created with the Windows 7 install files in it. Copy the contents of this folder and paste them into the flash drive. Once this is done, you have completed the process of making the flash drive an installable medium for Windows 7.

4. Reboot your computer
With your newly created bootable flash drive plugged in, restart the machine you want to install windows 7 on. Enter your bios and change the boot order to try the flash drive first. Save your changes, exit and the process is complete.

With this guide, any machine can be upgrade to Windows 7. You may notice that installing from the flash drive is preferable, as it can be much quicker than the traditional optical drive method.

Category: Helpful Articles & Videos | Comment comment

New computer models for the week of 10/29/2010

Solid State Drives vs. Hard Drives

New computer models for the week of 10/22/2010

EDGE Tech Corp Launches Full Line of SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Products

How To Install Windows 7 With a Flash Drive

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