aboutsummaryrefslogtreecommitdiff
path: root/build/posts/pi-400-internal-ssd/index.html
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
authorBradley Taunt <bt@btxx.org>2024-06-10 09:41:25 -0400
committerBradley Taunt <bt@btxx.org>2024-06-10 09:41:25 -0400
commit07e4a2dafe248280b5610f8c7d09b0f30b530f54 (patch)
tree8a145d1d4d07e1278a837ff15dadccc322d27515 /build/posts/pi-400-internal-ssd/index.html
parent16d28628aca9b2d356de31c319f5e7bc0f5b2b02 (diff)
Initial modifications to rebuilt only changed files based on mod date, performance updates
Diffstat (limited to 'build/posts/pi-400-internal-ssd/index.html')
-rw-r--r--build/posts/pi-400-internal-ssd/index.html96
1 files changed, 96 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/build/posts/pi-400-internal-ssd/index.html b/build/posts/pi-400-internal-ssd/index.html
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..8b6fe08
--- /dev/null
+++ b/build/posts/pi-400-internal-ssd/index.html
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
+<!doctype html>
+<html lang="en">
+<head>
+ <meta charset="utf-8">
+ <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
+ <meta name="color-scheme" content="dark light">
+ <link rel="icon" href="data:,">
+ <title>Stuffing an SSD Inside the Raspberry Pi 400</title>
+ <link href="/atom.xml" type="application/atom+xml" rel="alternate" title="Atom feed for blog posts" />
+ <link href="/rss.xml" type="application/rss+xml" rel="alternate" title="RSS feed for blog posts" />
+<style>*{box-sizing:border-box;}body{font-family:sans-serif;line-height:1.33;margin:0 auto;max-width:650px;padding:1rem;}blockquote{background:rgba(0,0,0,0.1);border-left:4px solid;padding-left:5px;}img{max-width:100%;}pre{border:1px solid;overflow:auto;padding:5px;}table{text-align:left;width:100%;}.footnotes{font-size:90%;}</style>
+</head>
+
+<nav>
+ <a href="#menu">Menu &darr;</a>
+</nav>
+
+<main>
+<h1 id="stuffing-an-ssd-inside-the-raspberry-pi-400">Stuffing an SSD Inside the Raspberry Pi 400</h1>
+<p>2021-08-13</p>
+<p>I have successfully jammed an mSATA SSD into the main shell of my Raspberry Pi 400. It wasn&#8217;t as straightforward as I thought it would be - in fact, most <em>real</em> hardware tinkerers will probably vomit in their mouths once they see how I achieved this&#8230;</p>
+<p>But I&#8217;m happy with my build. Those with better skills and knowledge can most likely improve upon this concept (and please do if you can - I&#8217;d love to see it!)</p>
+<p>Enough chit-chat - on to the build!</p>
+<h2 id="the-finished-masterpiece">The Finished &#8220;Masterpiece&#8221;</h2>
+<p>Below you can see the final look of my modded Raspberry Pi 400, which I have personally named the <strong>Raspberry Pi 400X</strong>:</p>
+<p>Do you see that ugly black USB-C to USB-A cable jutting out from the top? That little guy connects directly to the mSATA SSD <em>inside</em> the plastic keyboard structure and allows us to boot via USB. It also gives us the flexibility to easily <em>unplug</em> the internal SSD for times when we desire to boot from micro SD or a different USB device altogether.</p>
+<p>So, how did I make this?</p>
+<h2 id="the-shopping-list">The Shopping List</h2>
+<p>Before we deep dive into the terrible hardware modifications I&#8217;ve made to my Pi, I&#8217;ll list out all the items&#47;tools I used during the making of this monstrosity:</p>
+<ul>
+<li>mSATA 64GB SSD Half Size (KingSpec) &#8594; <a href="https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32385499968.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.210e4c4dIH8xWv">AliExpress</a></li>
+<li>mSATA to USB 3.1 enclosure (gutted) &#8594; <a href="https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B07BBM3BVS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&amp;psc=1">Amazon</a></li>
+<li>Dremel rotary tool with soft sanding bits</li>
+<li>Metal cutting scissors &#47; knife</li>
+<li>Electrical tape</li>
+<li>Patience</li>
+</ul>
+<h2 id="modding-the-raspberry-pi-400">Modding the Raspberry Pi 400</h2>
+<p>The final product requires us to attach the half size mSATA SSD to the (gutted) enclosure and then insert that directly inside the Pi (next to the lock port &#47; ethernet). Our first step will be to disassemble the Pi 400, safely remove the keyboard module and remove the metal heatsink.</p>
+<p>With your trusty metal cutting scissors (or whatever tool you prefer) you will need to cut out room for our enclosure internals to fit within:</p>
+<p>Next you will need to carefully remove the Pi board itself from the red part of the case. Once placed safely aside, it&#8217;s time to bust out our sanding dremel and remove the jutting plastic blocking our soon-to-be-added SSD. Remember to wear a mask during this phase, since breathing in plastic dust and fumes is not fun!</p>
+<p><strong>Important to note:</strong> this will remove one of the screw slots needed to secure the heatsink into the board. Not a big deal if you ask me&#8230;</p>
+<p>While you have the Pi board removed you should also cut out a slot for the USB-C to USB-A cable to connect our mSATA to one of our USB 3 ports on the Pi. For this I&#8217;ve opted to butcher the lock port (will I ever really use that anyway?)</p>
+<p>Now all that&#8217;s left is to insert our gutted mSATA enclosure (with the half size SSD attached of course)
+, tape it down with some hideous electrical tape and close this bad boy back up!</p>
+<p>That&#8217;s it! You now have the portable power of the Raspberry Pi 400, but now with the speed and performance of an SSD!</p>
+<h2 id="the-performance-gains">The Performance Gains</h2>
+<table>
+<thead>
+<tr>
+<th>Storage Type</th>
+<th>Seq. Write</th>
+<th>Random W</th>
+<th>Random R</th>
+</tr>
+</thead>
+<tbody>
+<tr>
+<td>Micro SD Card</td>
+<td>17818 KB&#47;sec</td>
+<td>812 IOPS</td>
+<td>2335 IOPS</td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+<td>mSATA SSD</td>
+<td>206738 KB&#47;sec</td>
+<td>14615 IOPS</td>
+<td>17925 IOPS</td>
+</tr>
+</tbody>
+</table>
+<p>I think it&#8217;s pretty clear that the SSD blows the default micro SD card out of the water&#8230;</p>
+<h2 id="closing-thoughts">Closing Thoughts</h2>
+<p>Now clearly you could just plug-in an external SSD and walk away with the same performance boosts - but where is the fun in that?</p>
+<p>If anyone decides to improve on this or make a cleaner approach, please do share it with me. I&#8217;d love to see it!</p>
+<footer role="contentinfo">
+ <h2>Menu Navigation</h2>
+ <ul id="menu">
+ <li><a href="/">Home</a></li>
+ <li><a href="/projects">Projects</a></li>
+ <li><a href="/uses">Uses</a></li>
+ <li><a href="/wiki">Wiki</a></li>
+ <li><a href="/resume">Resume</a></li>
+ <li><a href="/colophon">Colophon</a></li>
+ <li><a href="/now">Now</a></li>
+ <li><a href="/donate">Donate</a></li>
+ <li><a href="/atom.xml">RSS</a></li>
+ <li><a href="#top">&uarr; Top of the page</a></li>
+ </ul>
+ <small>
+ Built with <a href="https://git.sr.ht/~bt/barf">barf</a>. <br>
+ Maintained with ♥ for the web. <br>
+ Proud supporter of <a href="https://usefathom.com/ref/DKHJVX">Fathom</a> &amp; <a href="https://nextdns.io/?from=74d3p3h8">NextDNS</a>. <br>
+ The content for this site is <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">CC-BY-SA</a>.<br> The <a href="https://git.sr.ht/~bt/bt.ht">code for this site</a> is <a href="https://git.sr.ht/~bt/bt.ht/tree/master/item/LICENSE">MIT</a>.
+ </small>
+</footer> \ No newline at end of file