We didn’t think the previous generation of SSDs, topping out at around 280MBps read speeds, were in any way hampered by their celerity, but Intel’s bringing the future to us whether we like it or not with its new 510 Series SSDs. These Marvell-controlled flash storage drives will zip data to your processing unit at a rate of 500MB per second and write anything you send back at a clip of 315MBps. That’s mostly thanks to the 510 being one of a new breed of consumer SSDs with a 6Gbps SATA interface, which has effectively removed a bottleneck from the performance equation and uncorked the extra vroom now contained within. When bought in bulk, a 250GB SSD 510 will cost you $584, while the slightly slower (450MBps read, 210MBps write) 120GB model will set you back $284. Full press release after the break.
We can think of a pretty good reason why Apple might have a head-start when it comes to Thunderbolt-capable machines, but Apple doesn’t actually have a timed exclusive on the technology, at least according to Intel PR. The company told us that while it’s currently targeting an early 2012 launch for Thunderbolt with other OEMs — whereas the new MacBook Pro has Thunderbolt right now — there’s nothing stopping other manufacturers from launching machines with the 10Gbps interconnect a good bit earlier if they so desire.
In related news, the first Thunderbolt peripherals have just been formally announced — the Promise Pegasus RAID array we saw spitting out 800MB / sec video streams, and the LaCie Little Big Disk. The former will come in four-bay and six-bay variants, topping out at 12TB of magnetic storage when it arrives in Q2, and the latter will boast a pair of Intel 510 Series SSDs — which, by the way, have yet to be formally announced — in RAID 0 for 500GB of storage in total. PR after the break.
Super Talent is living up to its name today with the release of the world’s “smallest and fastest” mini PCIe SSD. When we last took a look at the company’s mini PCIe offerings, they were rocking 40MBps reads and 15MBps writes, but with the release of the new CoreStore SSD line, these exceptional storage makers have destroyed those 2009 specs with speeds topping out at 350MBps and 80MBps. The speedy CoreStore MV measures a mere 30mm x 50.95mm, combines Marvell’s latest controller with DDR ONFi 2 flash, and is compatible with netbooks, notebooks, and other devices sporting a second gen mini-PCIe slot. Those devices working a standard PCIe slot can expect 350MBps reads and 220MBps writes with MV’s big brother, the CoreStore MP. Both drives come in 16GB, 32GB, or 64GB and should be available starting next month at an undisclosed price — though we figure true speed freaks will pay just about anything to get their fix. Jonesing for specs? Check out the source link below.
We’re becoming somewhat repetitive in our writing about SSDs — every next one is that extra little bit faster or better and the crown just keeps exchanging hands — but we couldn’t be happier for it. Solid state storage is still one of the most exciting and rapidly developing areas of modern technology, a fact evidenced perfectly by the recent introduction of OCZ’s Vertex 3 Pro drive. It touts a mad 550MBps maximum read and 500MBps maximum write speeds, mostly thanks to the brand spanking new SandForce SF-2500 controller chip it has onboard. It’s been put through the benchmarking wringer by a number of sites today and the resulting conclusion has been lucid and unequivocal: the Vertex 3 Pro is the new champion among standalone 2.5-inch SSDs. AnandTech goes so far as to say it’s “the first drive that really needs a 6Gbps interface.” The V3Pro isn’t yet on sale and the hardware looked at it in these previews was not final, but the next generation of SSDs looks to be keeping the breakneck pace of development that’s characterized the storage medium so far. Lovely!
The forecast for speedy, razor-thin laptops is looking pretty sunny right about now, because it seems Intel’s SSD 310 truly does bring the power of a full-sized solid state drive on a tiny little board. Storage Review and The SSD Review thoroughly benchmarked the tiny 80GB mSATA module this week, and found it performs even better than advertised — easily tearing through 200MB / sec reads and 70 MB / sec writes — which put it slightly behind Intel’s legendary X25-M series but well ahead of the company’s X25-V boot drives. While we’re still not seeing Sandforce speeds from Intel’s tried-and-true controller and 34nm silicon and they might not make Toshiba’s Blade run for the hills, we can’t wait to test it out in some new Lenovo ThinkPads when they integrate the SSD 310 later this year. Oh, by the way, that big green board up above isn’t the drive. It’s actually the tiny one on top.
This article was written on February 02, 2007 by CyberNet.
A few weeks ago there was a conversation going on within our comments regarding the use of solid state drives (SSD) versus hard disk drives (HDD). The big thing about using SSD’s is that they are faster and more energy efficient, especially in the case of the iPhone which is what the comments pertained to. Earlier today I was flipping through YouTube videos (like I do almost everyday) and I came across one that actually demonstrated two systems side-by-side that compared the speed of a SSD and HDD drive:
The solid state drives are still very expensive, and according to the price comparison I have below it would cost $2500 for a 100GB SSD. Distributing these drives with PC’s is still a little out of the question, but we keep inching closer and closer to being able to reap the benefits of solid state drives:
Faster startup – Since no spin-up required.
Faster boot and application launch time – Result of the faster read and especially seek time.
Lower power consumption and heat production – no mechanical parts result in less power consumption.
No noise – Lack of mechanical parts makes the SSD completely silent.
Better mechanical reliability – Lack of mechanical parts result in less wear and tear as well as the ability to endure extreme shock, vibration and temperatures.
Security – Quickly “wipe” of all data stored.
Deterministic performance – “Seek” time is constant, and performance does not deteriorate as the media fills up.
Lighter and smaller (typically)
While all of that seems too good to be true, it is in some cases. Here are some of the things that may not be so lovable about solid state drives.
Price – Currently around $25 per GB compared to about $0.25 per GB for mechanical drives.
Slower write time – Around 18 MB/s compared to over 50 MB/s for hard drives.
Lower recoverability – After an SSD fails it is nearly impossible to recover any of the data.
Vulnerable – An abrupt powerloss, magnetic fields and electric/static charges could have more of an effect on an SSD compared to normal HDD’s.
I’m curious how long it will take for PC hard drives to start the transition over to solid state drives, but as limitations become more of a factor I think manufacturers will be looking for alternatives. One of the biggest upsides that I see to having the SSD’s is the extended battery life due to the lack of mechanical parts, but as seen above there are also several other advantages.
The other thing that I’ve been wrestling with in my mind is whether operating systems will ever be shipped directly on computer chips rather than software that gets stored on a drive. All of the necessary configuration files could stored on a drive that is read from, but if the operating system was closer to the processor I think the speed increase would be remarkable. I’ve heard talk about this sort of thing before but it has only been rumors.
It’s always interesting to think about what the future holds for technology…
Own a first generation MacBook Air? If you’re perfectly fine with hanging onto it for awhile, Other World Computing is now offering a tempting upgrade in the storage department. The newly announced Mercury Aura Pro is promised to deliver up to 275MB/sec, which equates to right around 3x faster than the factory SSD on 2008 – 2009 MacBook Air models. It’s said to be the first SandForce-based SSD available for those machines, with 60GB, 120GB, 240GB and 480GB models available. The foursome is available today for $199.99, $299.99, $579.99 and $TBA. Curious, but true.
Hello, speedsters! OCZ Technology has just busted out a new trio of solid state solutions here at CES, so we won’t waste any time getting down to business. Up first is the performance-oriented, MLC-based Vertex 3 Pro, which runs along quite hastily on the SATA 6Gbps interface. We’re told that it’s built with a next-generation SandForce controller, enabling it to approach 80,000 IOPS and demonstrate 550MB/sec transfer rates. Up next is the Vertex 3 EX, which also utilizes a SATA 6Gbps interface but relies on SLC Flash memory. It’s also capable of pushing a similar read rate (and the write rate of 525MB/sec ain’t too shabby, either), with both the EX and Pro to be offered in capacities of 50GB, 100GB, 200GB and 400GB. Finally, the third-generation Z-Drive is being officially revealed, with the Z-Drive “R3” PCI Express SSD being the company’s first SandForce-drive PCIe SSD. It’s engineered for Tier-0/1 data applications, and offers performance rates of 1GB/sec and 135,000 IOPS. Those with absurdly deep pockets can buy one with up to 1.2TB of onboard storage, but alas, OCZ’s not serving up MSRPs on any of these guys. The full release is after the break, complete with details on its new ZX Series of power supplies.
With a name like ioSafe, you know it’s hardcore. The company has made a name for itself by concocting products that can outlast minor disasters, and per usual, it’s using CES as a springboard for something else that you probably can’t destroy. This year, the Rugged Portable is on display, arriving in a pair of enclosure options and offering a bundled data recovery service to boot. The unit is quite literally wrapped in metal — the aluminum option can withstand up to 2,500 pounds of force, while the titanium shell doubles that up and shrugs its shoulders at up to 5,000 pounds. It’s also immune to submersion — your data remains safe in up to ten feet of salt water for as long as 72 hours, and it’ll still come out unscathed when dipped in oil and other toxins.
Naturally, the HDD or SSD within (your call there) is covered by suspension springs, and the USB 3.0 interface ensures that you won’t be waiting around in the jungle for things to transfer. Those who snap one up will get one year of data recovery service included, a one-year ‘No Hassle’ warranty and up to $5000 for “third party forensic recovery services” if needed. Time Machine owners will be happy to know that this drive is fully compatible with the service, and you’ll be able to select HDDs from 250GB to 1TB or SSDs from 256GB to 512GB. As for prices? $149.99 for the stock 250GB HDD aluminum version, $3,899.99 for the 512GB SSD titanium build with an extended warranty, and everywhere in between. It’s up for pre-order today and should ship later this month in the US, with global availability details to follow in due time.
What’s “bringing excitement back into personal computing” more than anything else? According to Micron, it’s SSDs, and it says it’s now “accelerating this enthusiasm” with its new RealSSD C400 drives. Those are apparently the industry’s first drives to use 25 nanometer NAND technology, which naturally brings with it a number of benefits — namely, storage capacities from 64GB to 512GB (in 1.8-inch and 2.5-inch sizes), peak read speeds of 415 MB/second, and write speeds varying by drive (the 512GB hits 260MB/s). No word on prices just yet, but Micron expects mass production to begin in February, and the drives will also sold by Micron’s Crucial division as the m4 SSD in the first quarter of the year.
Update:Hot Hardware managed a hands-on with this bad boy, and there’s a video proving it just after the break.
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