Type I vs. Type II Card.

[shawnc]

Now that the prices of the CF card have dropped to the level of the microdrive (MD Type II), I would like to start a discussion of the advantages/disadvantages of each medium. I always thought it was a no-brainer in that the only advantage to the MD was price. But I recently saw another post where someone mentioned that the MD was faster, and implied that it was more reliable.

I'll start with my thoughts.

CF (Type I) - Solid state (I think that means no moving parts) reduces battery drain significantly.
> Likely to last much longer than the MD.
> Many different manufacturers to choose from.
> Disadvantage - Price (up until now).
> Slower?

MD - Price (up until now)
> Moving part causes quicker battery drain and likely to wear-out sooner.
> Made by IBM (my personal opinion is that you can NEVER go wrong with IBM).
> Faster than CF?

I could use clarification on the functional definition of speed. Will I notice a difference in how long it takes to go from song to song when playing mp3's/wma? Or will I only notice a difference when accessing the drive initially?

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Thanx,

[IronGeek]

Here are a few benchmarks:
http://www.robgalbraith.com/diginews/2000-08/2000_08_28_microdrive.html
http://www.foxpop.ndirect.co.uk/eclectica/microdrive02.htm


Looks like CF is faster overall, but acording to one benchmark the Microdrive may read faster than some CFs.

[Janak Parekh]

I strongly disagree with the post that says the MD is more reliable -- it's not bad, but is far more susceptible to drops or mishandling, and is a moving part. While it is slightly faster in sustained reads, the "sleep-wakeup" cycle (that is, the MD stops spinning if not used for a few seconds and then has to get up to speed again when it is accessed) causes a major net performance loss, and is highly annoying.

For MP3/WMA/Ogg, you're not going to notice any performance improvement on the MD's part. By all means, get a CF card, unless you're willing to wait for the upcoming 6GB Microdrive (which has no official release date yet, AFAIK, so it may be quite some time).

--janak

p.s. "Type I" doesn't imply flash memory, just thickness. There are both Type I and Type II CF flash cards. Microdrives are Type II.

[shawnc]

I strongly disagree with the post that says the MD is more reliable -- it's not bad, but is far more susceptible to drops or mishandling, and is a moving part. While it is slightly faster in sustained reads, the "sleep-wakeup" cycle (that is, the MD stops spinning if not used for a few seconds and then has to get up to speed again when it is accessed) causes a major net performance loss, and is highly annoying.

For MP3/WMA/Ogg, you're not going to notice any performance improvement on the MD's part. By all means, get a CF card, unless you're willing to wait for the upcoming 6GB Microdrive (which has no official release date yet, AFAIK, so it may be quite some time).

--janak

p.s. "Type I" doesn't imply flash memory, just thickness. There are both Type I and Type II CF flash cards. Microdrives are Type II.

Exactly the type of info I was looking for. It looks as though Dell has the 1G CF card on BO. I guess I'll just have to cancel that and purchase through the link here from Amazon (don't like rebates, but sure do like paying less :D )

Also, thanx for the clarification on type I and type II.

[Janak Parekh]

You're welcome. My opinions have gotten even stronger on this topic, as my Microdrive started developing bad sectors yesterday. :cry: I can still use the first 900MB or so, but I'm sure it's downhill from here.

Well, I can't complain, I guess -- it's been over 18 months of heavy use. I'm going to be shopping around for flash memory this weekend, myself.

--janak

[shawnc]

Well, I can't complain, I guess -- it's been over 18 months of heavy use. I'm going to be shopping around for flash memory this weekend, myself.

--janak

Be sure to use the affiliate link :wink: . AFAIK it is still available (JSO, with your memory, I'm sure you know what I mean :D )

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

I can't think of a single reason to go with an MD over CF myself. From the benchmarks I've seen myself, MD can be faster than CFs, but I can't think of any PPC apps where you'll see that slight speed increase.

Previously, people went with MDs mostly b/c they were a great deal cheaper than their solid-state equivalents. That gap has closed dramatically since though.

[Janak Parekh]

Previously, people went with MDs mostly b/c they were a great deal cheaper than their solid-state equivalents. That gap has closed dramatically since though.
Well, not from a technology standpoint - they can now squeeze 6GB into a CF II form factor using magnetic media. However, from a productized standpoint I agree with you entirely. (In other words, where's the darned 6GB Microdrive? :D)

--janak

[Ekkie Tepsupornchai]

they can now squeeze 6GB into a CF II form factor using magnetic media
Unreal. I'm sure when they do become universally available, this will once again become a popular choice... this will probably sell for at least 1/3 of the price of an equivalent solid-state CF (shoot didn't we see the price on that Pretec 3GB CF quoted at close to $3k?).