mSATA upgrade

[OnTheSurface]

Aside from the obvious warranty void upon doing such an upgrade, can anyone see any issues with removing the current Micron 64GB mSATA drive that is in the Surface Pro and upgrading it to an ADATA 256GB 500/500 drive?

 

[J515OP]

I see no issues other than the you could totally mess up you Surface not just the warranty. If you have the skills and inclination go for it but for most people it simply isn't worth the risk.

 

[ArnoldC]

Did you see how iFixIt dismantled the Surface Pro? If you got guts go ahead.

Issues- what is the current consumption of the drive you will be replacing the Micron with?

 

[OnTheSurface]

Thats a very good question, Arnold. I am having trouble finding out the consumption level for the drive I'm considering. I am looking at the ADATA XPG SX300 256GB mSATA drive (550/505 read write), and it states ultra low consumption level. I know that it uses the LSI SandForce SF-2281 controller, so it's optimized for Ivy Bridge.

The drive itself does not look difficult to get to, after looking at the iFixit breakdown. I have been hacking electronics for about a decade, so I am fairly comfortable.

I hope to get my Surface this weekend when more arrive. Once I have it, the next step will be the drive. I will be sure to do a step-by-step for it including images.

Thanks for the replies!

 

[marcux]

iFixit have been doing this for ages, and even they managed to damage the unit a little, you think you'll be able to open it without damaging the case?

 

[OnTheSurface]

In short, yes, I do.

In all my years of repairing iPhones, iPads, MacBook Airs, radios, DVD players ......... whatever, I have very rarely broke anything. If I did, it was usually due to the lack of patience. Which, with a device like the Surface Pro, I will be taking my sweet time with.

I know that some of the gang over at iFixit are quite fearless, due to the lack of ownership of the devices, they couldn't care less about the end result. They aren't "hacks" necessarily, but they are hardly gurus either.

 

[bosamar]

I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures! Good luck!

 

[J515OP]

I'm looking forward to seeing the pictures! Good luck!

Yes, me too It will be nice to see somebody pull this off even if it is not meant for the average person.

 

[TeknoBlast]

Hell, I can barely fill up a 64GB Surface + 64GB sdCard. I dont see any reason to attempt to upgrade the local drive, unless just to say "because I can."

 

[Kiwibru]

Better reduce coffee consumption before the surgery. Those iFixit pix made it look like a fairly nasty intrusion, not for the high strung.

 

[Afy]

It certainly would be interesting to see. A possible downside would be increased power consumption. You could run into issues with space as well. Given that the chip density may be higher or the dimensions slightly different, it may render it into an exercise in futility.
However should you decide to do it... would love to see the results.
What about upgrading the RAM?

 

[DanielN]

What about upgrading the RAM?

The RAM is soldered in as two banks on the mainboard. Unless you are good at soldering surface mount components, I wouldn't even try.