SlashGear

All eyes may be on Dell’s newer Inspiron Mini 10 netbook right now, but that doesn’t stop loyal tinkerers wanting to add some extra oomph to their Dell Inspiron Mini 9 machines.  Arch-modder JKK has flipped out the standard SSD that Dell supply with the 8.9-inch budget ultraportable and replaced it with an 128GB RunCore SSD.

Video after the cut

Unlike some hacks it’s not just a case of whipping open the base-plate and dropping in the new drive.  Instead there’s some desoldering to be done – to get the original memory out – and then some Dremelling to clear space for the new RunCore SSD.

The end result is a netbook that scores 72.71 MB/s and 49.90 MB/s on sequential read and write scores, considerably higher than anything the original storage was offering.  The RunCore SSD itself runs to nigh-on $400, though, making it more expensive than the netbook itself; this is probably a mod you’ll look at and admire, rather one you’ll try at home yourself.