Using an SSD as swap?

[Robert Krawitz]

On Thu, 2 Dec 2010 10:52:54 -0600, Jack Coats wrote:
> Unless it MUST be portable, if you have additional USB2 or firewire
> ports available, an external device
> might be the correct answer.   I could see someone (like me :) ) using
> the 'Handyman's Secret Weapon'
> (duct tape) to strap a USB drive on the back of a laptop ;)  But let's
> not go there...

Like I said, laptop.  And I do take it from place to place.  And USB
is a whole lot slower than SATA, even running in compatibility mode.
And to be honest, most USB sticks I've tried are complete garbage.

> Back to what substitutes for reality:
>
> You may have reached the practical limits of your machine.  I deal
> with this all the time.  Sometimes there is no real substitute for a
> 'fork lift upgrade' if you really need to do more than your machine
> is architecturally suited. ... Bummer.

I know full well I'm trying to push it beyond its design limits.  The
problem is that to get a laptop with the specs I want (17" WUXGA with
AMD graphics -- not 1920x1080, and not nVidia at least until nouveau
is reasonably solid -- and at least 8 GB of RAM capacity) will set me
back at least $1000, even used.  If $150 lets me get a few more years
of life out of my current laptop, it's a good investment.