HP Workstation Z1 (1st Generation) -> msata ssd in miniPCIe

[RogerWilco]

USB pass-throught pins that the mPCIe spec has listed - these just give the signals to the USB bus. mPCIe can accept mSATA drives if the motheboard has a SATA controller for the port - which the original Z1 doesn't.

I'd like to know what the purpose of mSATA port is in the Z1 when you can have two SSDs?

@KUE112: may I ask why you even bother with the Z1 if you don't like it? The original Z1 model states exactly what is supported (minus the GPU and RAM) - I don't see why you have a problem with it.

The HDD caddy has the part 681960-001  and you can still buy directly from the HP Parts Store. As far as I know, the part you stated as a hinge never existed.

[KUEI12]

I never said I did not like it. It is the tech support from HP that I do not care for. Things are not clearly spelled out for you. Hence, this entire thread was created. And, to find out specs you typically have to dig deep and do alot of research. Using their parts finder typycally returns 0 results for parts currently in production. And, no the DUAL 2-1/2" laptop drive caddy was not coming up in the parts finder when I tried months ago. And there is also an entire thread in here devoted to that confusion. Thankfully, it now does :), but the hinge does not. Have you tried getting info on replacement, or alternative monitor screens? It's like pulling a bowling ball out of a mouse's @ss. Where is a SIMPLE compatability or options list?

I did not mean to offend you, but it seems I have. Sorry for that.

[RogerWilco]

No worries, you haven't offended me at all 🙂 I re-read my last post and it did come across a little rude - sorry for that.

If you mean the LCD panel, they are easy to come buy. Part is #671197-001 - you can get them on eBay for about US$130. I've had to replace mine when the right-hand side of the screen went dark.

I agree, it would be nice if all the information was in one central location and not spread between 800 HP sites - some corporate ones and some consumer ones.

[XenonXTZ]

mSATA differs from standard miniPCIE device like WLAN or WWAN cards with different pinout.
The USB that you are talking about has nothing to do with storage controller.
HP was dumb enough not to implement mSATA in original Z1, when the same gen HP 6300 AIO and 8300 AIO had the dedicated interface for mSATA storage.
It was doable, because C206 supports mSATA standards.

Here's a reply to you question. I will hate to have 2 lousy 2TB drive instead of a 3.5" 6TB storage and have 1 mSATA speed for OS, apps and etc.

[Big_Dave]

If the socket in question is a type 1 then the chances of getting a SSD to work are slim. If you are desperate then there is at least one hack on the internet showing how to make a SSD work in a type 1 slot.

If the slot in question is a type 2 or type 3 then a SSD should work according to PIC-SIG standards.  The operative word being "should".

[RogerWilco]

Sorry Big_Dave, but do you even own the Z1 machine. But what you posted, the answer is "no".

[Big_Dave]

Sorry Roger,

But read the articles on the internet.  If you haven't tried it then don't guess by saying no.

[KUEI12]

Xenon. I agree more drive space is better; however, I loath the idea of having only 1 drive in my pc. I love the option of having a backup drive inside that I can easily use for backup rather than having to jack with an external unit. Those exteral backup drives are garbage. They are typically the bottom of the barrel drives that are designed to fail deliberately. That is why they typically have no power switches. If your single drive fails, losing 6tb of data could be disasterous. The dual, fast swap feature allows me to dump large amounts of data from 1 Z1 to another with no headache.

On a side note:

I used to build my own high end cad/cam pc's, but these Z1's, whether it be G1's or G2's, make computing so much more convenient that I do not think I will ever build another desktop again. I hooked 2 of these b1tches together as dual screen and can swap from 1 pc to another with a simple keystroke. How great is that!?!

It is good to see so many intelligent responses to these posts. And, in the last few weeks, it has really livened up.Just keep in mind, computers are just tools we use to accomplish our own individual tasks. People do not need to take these comments personally. Not pointed at you Xenon. You have been most helpful with your insight and experiences. Thanks a bunch to all of your. You have all given me a lot of fresh ideas 🙂 🙂

[XenonXTZ]

If you are going to have 2 drives in the system, why not set RAID 1 for reliability?

Idling a drive as a backup drive is a waste of the drive, IMO.

External backup drive is actually is the option that I use.

I have my Z1 with a 3.5" 3TB 7.2K RPM drive and a 2.5" SSD.

The storage drive is a regular 25.4mm height drive and the SSD  is 7mm thick.

USB 3.0 can practically exceed regular HDD throughoutput.  Run any drive in sequential write of a large chunk of data and you will see that no HDD will make it beyond 130MB/s. I use regular 1.5TB USB 3.0 external drive to have a monthly backup of my valuable data like family photos, my music collections and etc.

As for the usage, Z1 is the best computer that I ever had and I'm not going to build or buy anything else for a looong time.

I'm not a pro designer or CAD engineer, but I love great machines, and Z1 is definitely one of the best ever built AIOs!

This is the reason I have this machine.

This would be a solution for those Z1 G1 owners who actually have heavy files and need storage with a high RPM drive and also need a fast boot drive. It basically eliminates the need of an mSATA in G1, but still it would have been nice to have mSATA by default in the machine that was going upto $7K.

The only drawback is  the heat that the LCD degerates. The drive surface becomes quite warm.

If anybody is interested in this mod, let me know. I will try to explain in a few steps what is needed for this project.

[RogerWilco]

I might be missing something, again, but the Z1 G1 supports two SSD drives... what is the need for mSATA? A good Intel SSD has the same power consumption and performance as mSATA. Here's a good example: your car can go 200km/h but the legal limit is 110km/h... Factoring in some speading/overtaking, you don't need the maximum threshold.

@XenonXTZ: the heat generated by the LG display + say summer heat in a non-aircon room of 40C is far within the max temperature for SSD and HDDs. Not a prob. The problem you get is the RAM + CPU fans get really loud. Summer in Australia 😞

I've built quite a few Poot's over the years and I agree, the Z1 is by far the best machine out there. There are no other 27" AiO machines that can be upgraded to the max and support MXM GPUs. The only real downside is the cost. You can get around this though by either buying the base model and upgraing or buying a slightly used one on eBay and then upgrading.