[ale] SSD drive vs. CF Card + ATA interface?

[Chris Woodfield]

Hi,

Looking at building a new mini-ITX router/firewall - trying to  
eliminate moving parts as much as I can. So I'm looking to use a  
fanless CPU, flash-based storage device for the OS, etc.

Mobo-wise, I'm looking at the Via EPIA M700: http://www.via.com.tw/en/products/mainboards/motherboards.jsp?motherboard_id=670

What's interesting about this board is that it appears to have an on- 
board CF socket - with an ATA interface - what's not clear is whether  
or not it supports booting from CF.

Question is, what does a dedicated SSD flash drive have over a simple  
CF card ATA interface? Speed? Wear leveling/improved write cycles?  
Booting ability? The price difference is pretty substantial,  
especially since I'm only looking for ~4GB of flash storage, just  
unclear on what I'm giving up by not using a "real" SSD device.

Opinions appreciated...

-C