What is a half slim solid state drive?

DJ...

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It's the half slim bit that I'm interested in. They're so much cheaper than traditional SSDs and I'm curious as to what it is they are. It appears they have no case, so what's needed to get them working safely? I've found a mobo with a SATA3 connection and half slim SSD that says it's SATA3 compatible. Just curious if I should go for this (in an HTPC own-build) or the enclosed SSD...
 
its a SSHD

its like a normal hardrive and a ssd in one
wont be as fast as a real SSD but its faster than a normal hardrive

so its the best of both

speed and space

for a htpc it will be nice :)

lots of space and faster than a normal harddrive
 
Its doubtful that the lack of casing makes any real diff in price. More likely to be technically inferior in some way. That being said I'm not familiar with them either so keen on hearing the answers.
 
These seem amazing!!!

Small form factor FTW!

I doubt it needs a case, i think these are purpose built for computers such as my mac mini or macbook pro or air!
You dont need a case if it fits in a 'case'!

They are pretty appealing to me at the moment.
 
Didn't know about half slim SSDs ...

Indeed it is half the length of a 2.5" drive with a SATA interface and no casing. Considering the mounting holes it's likely used on expansion boards.

toshiba_32nm_msata_half_slim_ssd.jpg


The mSATA SSDs are used in Intel NUCs.
 
Ah I see now that it's not a regular SATA interface. DJ they'll be used in embedded products. They need a matching slot to plug it into (like the mSATA in a NUC). Doubt you can use them in a typical PC.

Okay so they can only be used on a board with an mSata connector? I've been looking at the NUC. Perhaps this will sway it for me...

EDIT: hang on, I've seen these advertised for mSATA and SATA3 separately. Are you sure it will only work with the likes of an Intel NUC?
 
Okay so they can only be used on a board with an mSata connector? I've been looking at the NUC. Perhaps this will sway it for me...

EDIT: hang on, I've seen these advertised for mSATA and SATA3 separately. Are you sure it will only work with the likes of an Intel NUC?

You use an mSATA SSD in a NUC, not the half slim SSD.
 
The mSATA SSD is on the left in this pic of a NUC, RAM on the right.

intel-nuc-finished.jpg
 
Okay now I'm confused. I thought you said the half-slims would work in an NUC? So what devices would these half-slims work in?

Never even heard of half slim until tonight. Haven't seen them in use before. Even Google image search shows little implementation other than an expansion board.
 
Okay you're going to have to treat me like an imbecile here. I know you think you're answering my questions but every reply goes straight over my head. :D

What you're saying is the half-slims won't work in the NUC? If so, what exactly are they for?
 
Okay you're going to have to treat me like an imbecile here. I know you think you're answering my questions but every reply goes straight over my head. :D

What you're saying is the half-slims won't work in the NUC? If so, what exactly are they for?

I haven't heard of or seen them before.
 
Never even heard of half slim until tonight. Haven't seen them in use before. Even Google image search shows little implementation other than an expansion board.

Okay cool. Thanks.

Trying to figure out what hdd to install here and these things keep popping up...
 
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