Mar 03

WD’s first SiliconEdge Blue SSD launches, gets reviewed

Posted in: benchmark, flash, reviewed, solid state drive, SolidStateDrive, SSD, storage, Today's Chili

Remember when Western Digital picked up SiliconSystems for a song during the height of last decade’s Great Recession? Here we are a year later looking at the first fruit of that relationship, as WD has just introduced its first consumer-oriented solid state drive in the SiliconEdge Blue and its enterprise-ready SiliconDrive N1x. Both 2.5-inch families feature a native SATA 3.0Gbps interface along with read speeds as high as 240 – 250MB/sec and write rates peaking at around 140 – 150MB/sec, and the former has already hit the test bench on a number of occasions. For those considering the upgrade, you should probably dive into those links below — most everyone came away feeling that the SiliconEdge Blue was a wee bit underwhelming for the price, with Hot Hardware noting that the “Micron C300 and Intel X25-M were measurably faster overall,” and the lofty MSRP just left ’em looking for more. Here’s hoping for a price drop and / or a SiliconEdge Black, eh?

WD’s first SiliconEdge Blue SSD launches, gets reviewed originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Mar 2010 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceWestern Digital 1, 2  | Email this | Comments

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Mar 01

SSDs gone wild at CeBIT: Plextor reveals its first, Xtreem-S1 peeks out and OCZ teases external Enyo USB 3.0

Posted in: cebit, solid state drive, SolidStateDrive, SSD, storage, Today's Chili, usb, usb 3.0, Usb3.0

Man, it’s been a white hot minute since we’ve heard the good word from Plextor. Today, all that changes. After sticking to the relatively boring optical media market for years, said outfit has finally realized that there’s money to be made in flash storage. The PX-64M1S (64GB) and the PX-128M1S (128GB) are the company’s first-ever SSDs, both of which arrive in 2.5-inch form factors and use an integrated SATA II interface. As for transfers, you’ll see sequential read rates as high as 110MB/sec and 130MB/sec, while sequential write rates hit 65MB/sec and 70MB/sec (respectively in both cases). Both units can be snapped up now for $225 (64GB) / $400 (128GB). In related news, OCZ is using CeBIT as a springboard for the launch of its external Enyo USB 3.0 SSD; unfortunately, details surrounding capacity, price and pretty much anything else are being left out, but you can bet we’ll be hounding its booth representatives for those and reporting back. Finally, Team Xtreem is dishing out a 250GB Xtreem-S1 SSD with a Sandforce processor and read / write rates of around 260MB/sec, though models will be available in 60GB and 120GB as well. Peek the source links for all the nitty-gritty details, and stay tuned for more from Hannover.

SSDs gone wild at CeBIT: Plextor reveals its first, Xtreem-S1 peeks out and OCZ teases external Enyo USB 3.0 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:23:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink I4U News  |  sourcePlextor, OCZ, Team Xtreem  | Email this | Comments

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Feb 25

Crucial’s 6Gbps RealSSD C300 goes on sale, costs as much as a decent laptop

Posted in: solid state drive, SolidStateDrive, SSD, Today's Chili

You’ve gone for the 64GB of quad-channel DDR7 RAM, you’ve got your Core i26 processor, and you’re running a triple pack of those Radeon Ultra HD 9000 cards in CrossFire. But something’s missing from your speed demon machine — could a $799 SSD be the answer? Crucial would have you believe that, yes, splashing all your rent money on a 256GB storage drive is a totally worthwhile investment, and early reviews of the RealSSD C300 revealed it to be “holy mother of god” fast. So no qualms about its speed, but if your benchmark lust knows some budgetary bounds, you may want to consider the slightly more reasonable 128GB variant, which comes in at $499. Both are available right this minute direct from Crucial, so either go buy one or stop this torture and go distract yourself with something cheaper.

[Thanks, Rick]

Crucial’s 6Gbps RealSSD C300 goes on sale, costs as much as a decent laptop originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Feb 2010 06:51:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceCrucial (256GB), (128GB)  | Email this | Comments

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Feb 23

SanDisk ships 60GB / 120GB G3 SSD to North America and Europe

Posted in: europe, now shipping, NowShipping, ship, shipping, ships, solid state drive, SolidStateDrive, SSD, storage, Today's Chili, uk, usa

Lookin’ to get your flash on, are you? Fret not, as SanDisk has just announced that its 60GB and 120GB G3 solid state drives are headed out to retailers as we speak. Both North America and Europe are getting served simultaneously, with the drives promising sequential performance of up to 220MB/sec on the read side and up to 120MB/sec on the write side. You’ll also be thrilled to know that the G3 range supports the newest Windows 7 TRIM feature, which enables the drive to “continuously manage its resources and retain optimized performance throughout its lifespan.” Those anxious to supplant their existing 2.5-inch HDD can snag one now from the web for $229.99 (60GB) / $399.99 (120GB), while those who prefer ye old B&M sales will have to wait a few weeks still.

SanDisk ships 60GB / 120GB G3 SSD to North America and Europe originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Feb 2010 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceBusiness Wire  | Email this | Comments

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Feb 19

Active Media Products serves up Aviator-2 external USB 3.0 SSD

Posted in: solid state drive, SolidStateDrive, SSD, storage, Today's Chili, usb, usb 3.0, Usb3.0

You know what’s better than a new solid state drive? An Olympic gold medal. You know what else? A USB 3.0 SSD, of course! Active Media Products has just dished out details on its latest device, the Aviator-2 external USB 3.0 solid state drive. Available in case-only, 64GB and 128GB flavors, this one promises transfer rates as high as 4.8Gbits/sec (that’s ten times the rate of USB 2.0, just so you’re well aware), and considering the 3- x 5-inch size, you should have no issues slipping this into the chest pocket of your Members Only jacket. We’re in no place to comment on the difficultly of slipping $34.95, $259.95 or $449.95 (in order of mention) out of your wallet, though, which is essentially required in order to take one home. That’s the breaks, kid!

Gallery: Active Media Products Aviator-2 external USB 3.0 SSD

Active Media Products serves up Aviator-2 external USB 3.0 SSD originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 14:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceHot Hardware  | Email this | Comments

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Feb 19

OCZ cranks up the performance on Vertex Limited Edition SSD

Posted in: solid state drive, SolidStateDrive, SSD, storage, Today's Chili

CeBIT gets going next month, but OCZ Technology’s not waiting around for the show to begin. Instead, it’s pushing out details on its swankest SSD ever ahead of time, which will hopefully make room for some fancy prototypes to take up space in Germany. The Sandforce-based Vertex Limited Edition (LE) is based around an all-new architecture, and the company claims that this drive is its “fastest, multi-level cell (MLC), performance-based drive yet.” How fast, you ask? How’s about 270MB/sec on the read side and 250MB/sec on the write side, not to mention 15,000 IOPS. Unfortunately, it’s still stuck on the SATA 3Gbps interface, but for those indifferent to that lingering 6Gbps alternative, you can be on the lookout for these to ship in 100GB ($399.99) and 200GB ($829.99) flavors for a limited time.

Gallery: OCZ Vertex Limited Edition SSD

OCZ cranks up the performance on Vertex Limited Edition SSD originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Feb 2010 01:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Hot Hardware  |  sourceOCZ Technology  | Email this | Comments

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Feb 12

Compaq Airlife 100 puts Android OS, Snapdragon CPU, and an SSD behind 10.1-inch touchscreen

Posted in: Android, AndroidOs, arm, breaking news, BreakingNews, GoogleAndroid, HP, laptop, mwc, mwc 2010, Mwc2010, netbook, snapdragon, solid state drive, SolidStateDrive, SSD, Today's Chili, touchscreen, ultraportable, wifi

HP’s mobile computing unit appears to have decided that the term smartbook refers to putting a smartphone’s components inside a netbook’s body — which kind of makes sense — so they’ve built their Airlife 100 atop an Android OS platform, underpinned by a Snapdragon CPU (unconfirmed, but highly likely), a 16GB SSD, 3G and WiFi connectivity, and a 10.1-inch touchscreen display. We really can find no cause for complaint — in fact this is the most excitement a Compaq-branded product has caused us… ever. HP touts a rock solid 12-hour battery life for the Airlife, which stretches out to a mighty 10 days of standby, in case you’re one of those folks who hate to switch their electronics off. Announced in partnership with Telefonica, this smartbook will be offered as a subsidized part of mobile broadband service plans in Europe and Latin America. It may well find itself renamed under the HP Mini branding when it rolls around to the US, but for now head on over to Engadget Spanish for the full PR.

Gallery: Compaq Airlife 100

Compaq Airlife 100 puts Android OS, Snapdragon CPU, and an SSD behind 10.1-inch touchscreen originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 05:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceEngadget Spanish  | Email this | Comments

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Feb 03

Intel swings 25nm factory doors open for a tour de fab

Posted in: intel, solid state drive, SolidStateDrive, SSD, Today's Chili

Intel and Micron’s recent announcement that their collective superhero body, appropriately named IM Flash, is sampling 25nm flash chips has been accompanied with a whirlwind tour of their Utah production facilities for a few lucky journalists. PC Perspective bring us the atmospheric photo above, along with some videos, as they prance about one of the most hallowed (and cleanest) environments known to gadget lovers. Apart from the die shrink, the lads also discuss Intel’s reputed plans for a G3 SSD refresh some time “later this year” with snappier controllers onboard, which apparently was echoed by Micron who also intend to pump out faster processors with their SSD products. While you wait for all that to happen, hit the source link to find out how and where the stuff that gets put inside SSDs is made.

Intel swings 25nm factory doors open for a tour de fab originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 09:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourcePC Perspective  | Email this | Comments

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Feb 02

Windows 7 gets a thorough SSD optimization guide

Posted in: memory, os, solid state drive, SolidStateDrive, Today's Chili, Windows, windows 7, Windows7

We all know we want an SSD, but do we truly know what to do with one when we get it? Sure, you could plug it into the familiar SATA and power cables and consider your job done, but that’s not really the way of the geek. To educate us wistful, hopeful, soon-to-be SSD owners, TweakTown have put together a comprehensive guide on optimizing your solid state storage — starting from the very first step of picking out the right drive. What lies ahead is a full breakdown of the controllers available on the market today, along with helpful reminders of the importance of Trim command and garbage collection support. After you pick out your perfect life partner, you’ll be wanting to ensure it plays along nicely with Windows 7 as well, and they’ve got you covered on that front too. Just hit the source link and get informed. We did, even though we still can’t afford to buy one of these mythical drives.

Windows 7 gets a thorough SSD optimization guide originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Feb 2010 06:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceTweakTown  | Email this | Comments

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Jan 26

Seagate teams with LSI to enter PCIe-based SSD game

Posted in: solid state drive, SolidStateDrive, SSD, Today's Chili

Seagate didn’t bother serving up a gaggle of new wares at CES this year, but judging by its release shot out today, it’s hoping to make a serious splash in the SSD market a bit later on. Thanks to collaboration from LSI, the outfit is expected to deliver its own line of PCI Express-based solid state storage solutions. We’re guessing these devices will be similar in scope to the PCIe SSDs already outed by Fusion-io and OCZ Technology, but at least initially, they’ll be aimed squarely at the enterprise market. We’re hoping that’s just a beta test (of sorts) and that performance-minded desktop users will be able to snap one up at their local Best Buy in short order — too bad we’ve no assurance that these will be priced within the realm of feasibility, though.

Seagate teams with LSI to enter PCIe-based SSD game originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceHot Hardware  | Email this | Comments

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