4 ms·

microSD cards don't really cut it for a general-purpose desktop in terms of lifespan and reliability and SSD over USB is an awkward workaround at best. Hopeful

microSD cards don't really cut it for a general-purpose desktop in terms of lifespan and reliability and SSD over USB is an awkward workaround at best. Hopefully the RPi 5 will have NVMe or a SATA port at least.

seg_lol 6y ago
I believe a CM4 module could fit in the same space. They were probably developed in parallel, so they couldn't afford to gate the Pi 400 on the CM4 timelines. Also, don't under estimate the performance of future SD cards. v0, get it shipped v1, improve
- Drdrdrq 6y ago
  The issue with SD cards is not performance, it is longevity. I threw away more SD cards than I care to admit. :-/
  - seg_lol 6y ago
    What is your experience with the DVR series of SD cards? https://carcamcentral.com/guide/recommended-microsd-cards-for-dash-cameras https://carcamcentral.com/guide/recommended-microsd-cards-fo... I know there are other power down issues with SD cards and corruption well. I think in a class setting I would have important files replicated to an NFS server, with at least hourly snapshots.
  - throwaheyy 6y ago
    I’m surprised there isn’t a market solution for long-life (SSD lifespan) SD cards. SD card is just a physical/electrical interface, couldn’t manufacturers put more resilient flash circuitry inside?
    - ThrowawayR2 6y ago
      Specialized industrial use SLC microSD cards exist (e.g. https://www.avnet.com/shop/us/products/sandisk/sdsdqed-064g-xi-3074457345639505458 https://www.avnet.com/shop/us/products/sandisk/sdsdqed-064g-...) but they cost a lot and have smaller capacities because they use SLC.
TaylorAlexander 6y ago
Integrated would be cleaner but I’ve found it to be quite simple to boot off of a USB3 drive on the Pi4.
m0dest 6y ago
Agree; from my experience with Pi SD cards, it’s straight-up irresponsible to recommend that anyone use an SD card with the Pi for their main computer. Every Pi SD card has ended in irreparable disk corruption. The SD hardware’s wear-leveling and delayed allocation is fundamentally incompatible with any device without a battery, especially with frequent writes. The “official” solution for the Pi is to use read-only SD cards with overlayfs. That’s not the default and it’s not how entry-level users will use this.

seg_lol 6y ago

I believe a CM4 module could fit in the same space. They were probably developed in parallel, so they couldn't afford to gate the Pi 400 on the CM4 timelines. Also, don't under estimate the performance of future SD cards. v0, get it shipped v1, improve

Drdrdrq 6y ago
The issue with SD cards is not performance, it is longevity. I threw away more SD cards than I care to admit. :-/
- seg_lol 6y ago
  What is your experience with the DVR series of SD cards? https://carcamcentral.com/guide/recommended-microsd-cards-for-dash-cameras https://carcamcentral.com/guide/recommended-microsd-cards-fo... I know there are other power down issues with SD cards and corruption well. I think in a class setting I would have important files replicated to an NFS server, with at least hourly snapshots.
- throwaheyy 6y ago
  I’m surprised there isn’t a market solution for long-life (SSD lifespan) SD cards. SD card is just a physical/electrical interface, couldn’t manufacturers put more resilient flash circuitry inside?
  - ThrowawayR2 6y ago
    Specialized industrial use SLC microSD cards exist (e.g. https://www.avnet.com/shop/us/products/sandisk/sdsdqed-064g-xi-3074457345639505458 https://www.avnet.com/shop/us/products/sandisk/sdsdqed-064g-...) but they cost a lot and have smaller capacities because they use SLC.

TaylorAlexander 6y ago

Integrated would be cleaner but I’ve found it to be quite simple to boot off of a USB3 drive on the Pi4.

m0dest 6y ago

Agree; from my experience with Pi SD cards, it’s straight-up irresponsible to recommend that anyone use an SD card with the Pi for their main computer. Every Pi SD card has ended in irreparable disk corruption. The SD hardware’s wear-leveling and delayed allocation is fundamentally incompatible with any device without a battery, especially with frequent writes. The “official” solution for the Pi is to use read-only SD cards with overlayfs. That’s not the default and it’s not how entry-level users will use this.