What's the difference between MIni PCIe mSATA and PATA?

T

Trackr

[H]ard|Gawd
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I (apparently) have a Mini-PCIe PATA drive inside of my Dell Mini 9.

I bought a MIni-PCIe mSATA drive (because they look the same and they have identical pins).

But it doesn't work with it.

I'm being told I need the PATA version, which some people refer to as just "Mini-PCIe."

So, is it really true - are there too identical drives that require two different connections?
 
There are two types of drives, with very similar physical connectors and form factor, that are different electronically.

Yes, it's retarded.
 
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No.. I wasn't being sarcastic.

I wish everyone was as smart as Menelmarar and just say "Yes, it's retarded" in such a succinct way.
 
Thuleman said:
Still not quite clear on this, does this drive Intel 310 Series 40GB mSATA mSATA (mini PCIe form factor) MLC Enterprise Solid State Disk SSDMAEMC040G2C1 - OEM just fit into a PCIe slot on the motherboard or does one have to go through the mSATA to SATA adapter and then attach it to a normal SATA port?

Would be awesome if one could just stick it on the mobo and be done with it but I have a hard time finding any info to confirm that.
Click to expand...
Read post 5, I cant fathom a way to make it more clear using English language.

Particularly when you didnt specify your motherboard.

If your mnipcis slot is wired for sata, yes.
If its a dell mini 9 like OP, or most laptops, no.
 
Menelmarar said:
Read post 5, I cant fathom a way to make it more clear using English language.
Click to expand...
;)
It doesn't actually answer the question though. Mini PCIe is just a name, it could mean anything. The question basically is whether it fits into a normal PCIe slot, physically fits into it, and then whether it would actually work as intended if you manage to cram it in.

I would want to stick this onto an Intel S5000PSL which has 2 x PCI Express* x8, 2 x PCI Express x4 (x8 Connectors). Are the wired for SATA? Don't know, how would I find out? Conceivably this board was made before mini PCIe came to be.

There are lots of adapters from mini PCIe, which others call mini SATA, to SATA. However, I also found this one Mini PCI-E / PCI-E adapter which will do what I really want to do, except only at PCIe 1x rather than 4x or 8x.
 
Thuleman said:
Still not quite clear on this, does this drive Intel 310 Series 40GB mSATA mSATA (mini PCIe form factor) MLC Enterprise Solid State Disk SSDMAEMC040G2C1 - OEM just fit into a PCIe slot on the motherboard or does one have to go through the mSATA to SATA adapter and then attach it to a normal SATA port?

Would be awesome if one could just stick it on the mobo and be done with it but I have a hard time finding any info to confirm that.
Click to expand...

I think you would have to use one of those mSATA-to-SATA adapters, and then plug it into a normal SATA port, if you have one.

mSATA is not PCIe. It's just a regular SATA connection that happens to use the same connector as miniPCIe (which is why one of those adapters would work...it's just SATA with a different connector). I totally agree on the retarded comment...seriously, my brain is exploding trying to come to grips with how stupid this is to "overload" an existing standard (mPCIe) with another incompatible standard. Maybe the intent is to eventually have slots that are true mSATA/mPCIe dual-mode where you could plug either kind of device in and it would switch to the correct mode? If so that would be kind of cool though.

You have to be careful about distinguishing between form factor (the mechanical shape of the card and connector) and the electrical standard, and vendors have been playing around with the mPCIe form factor for a long time, apparently.

In the case of your Mini 9, it is neither mSATA nor PCIe, just yet another proprietary interface that happens to use the mPCIe form factor, but not the mPCIe (or mSATA) electrical standard. Personally I'm holding out for mRS-232 myself :).

Here's another take on the Dell Mini9 situation, which I think explains it a little better.

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-ssd-310-msata-mini-solid-state-drive,2854-3.html
 
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