Hasta La Gadget!

Solid state storage is maturing rapidly, as you can see on this allegedly leaked slide, but AnandTech reports that the improvements aren’t all about price per gigabyte — the 25nm successor to Intel’s X25-M G2 is shaping up to be one killer drive. In addition to increasing capacity to 600GB for a 2.5-incher and 300GB for a 1.8-inch size, the publication reports that the Postville Refresh will bring up to 40,000 IOPS in random 4K writes, and transfer larger sequential files with up-to-250MB/s reads and 170MB/s writes. To put that in context, they should be competitive with today’s very best SandForce SF-1200 drives, and hopefully trounce them on price. More impressive (if true), however, is that these new Intel X25-M G3 units are built to last: they’re reportedly able to transfer at least 30TB before they give up the ghost, and have a “power safe write cache” feature that may keep errant power outages from prematurely conking them out. We don’t exactly expect OCZ, Corsair, Mushkin and Crucial to sit around while Intel revolutionizes the market, though — even if Intel’s 25nm plant only benefits Intel, smaller die sizes will help solid state storage companies across the board.

Intel’s 25nm solid state drives boast huge capacity, improved reliability, four times longer life? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 17:57:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tired of waiting for SSD prices to hover anywhere near HDD prices? Join the crowd. Regrettably, we’re still no closer to that actually happening, but OCZ Technology is doing its darnedest to bring solid state storage to more of the masses with its newfangled Onyx 2 range. Available in 120GB and 240GB capacities, these SandForce-based drives offer 270MB/s read, 265MB/s write, and up to 10,000 random write IOPS (4k aligned), all without the higher costs that are generally associated with similar multi-level cell (MLC)-based solutions. For those looking to swap out their aging hard drive for an SSD that’s not diminutive in terms of storage space, the 120 gigger is listing for $189.99, while the 240GB model is going for $439.99. Hit the links below for more of those nitty-gritty tech details.

Continue reading OCZ debuts SandForce-driven Onyx 2 SSDs, priced as low as $1.58 per GB

OCZ debuts SandForce-driven Onyx 2 SSDs, priced as low as $1.58 per GB originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 28 Sep 2010 04:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Explaining the differences between DRAM and non-volatile storage is about to get that little bit harder, thanks to Viking Modular. The company’s decided to “borrow” the DIMM form factor for its latest enterprise SSD offering, equipping it with a 240-pin array to draw power from your spare memory slots. Of course, you’ll still need to hook up a SATA cable to get data flowing to this SSD — at a very respectable 260MBps for both read and write — but we must admit we’re in love with the very idea of it. This new design offers another option for consolidating storage right onto the motherboard and should help case modders yearning for ever-slimmer enclosures. Alas, the SATADIMM is only available to enterprise and OEM clients for now, but we can’t think of any reason why it won’t test the consumer waters as well — if not by Viking, maybe someone else?

[Thanks, David]

Continue reading Viking Modular’s SATADIMM jacks an SSD into your memory slot

Viking Modular’s SATADIMM jacks an SSD into your memory slot originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Aug 2010 07:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Seagate and Samsung — not exactly rivals in every facet, but certainly not buddy-buddy in the storage realm. These two have been attempting to one-up each other for as long as platters have been stacked within 3.5-inch HDD enclosures (and before, probably), but they’re putting their differences aside today and announcing a tag-team arrangement meant to jointly develop controller technology for enterprise SSDs. Under the newfangled agreement, the two mega-corps will work hand-in-hand and cross-license related controller technologies for solid state drive devices, with a goal to increase reliability and endurance for use in business environments. Curiously enough, the companies didn’t hand out any press imagery nor any specific details about what future devices would be emerging from the partnership; and yeah, we’re also wondering which logo is going to end up splashed across the packaging. While this may all seem distanced from you and your laptop at the moment, it’s surely just a matter of time before enterprise demands become consumer demands. Right, fellas?

Continue reading Samsung and Seagate to jointly improve SSDs, give each other noogies behind the barn

Samsung and Seagate to jointly improve SSDs, give each other noogies behind the barn originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 13 Aug 2010 04:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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She ain’t the first solid state drive to ship with a keen understanding of both SATA II and USB, but in the case of niche storage devices, the more the merrier, right? The newest member of the UltraDrive family (that’d be the UltraDrive MX, if you’re curious) has given Super Talent its first two-faced SSD, complete with a dual interface that enables it to be used as an internal or external drive. The company claims that this makes laptop drive swaps a lesson in simplicity, as you simply mount it via USB in order to clone your existing drive, and then connect it via SATA once you’re ready to take it beneath the surface. We’re told to expect read and write speeds as high as 250MB/sec and 180MB/sec, respectively, with capacities of 60GB, 120GB, 240GB and 480GB being available. Oh, and speaking of which — these bad boys won’t actually ship until September 1st, so we’d suggest pinching those pennies in the meantime.

Continue reading Super Talent’s dual interface UltraDrive MX SSD does SATA II and mini-USB

Super Talent’s dual interface UltraDrive MX SSD does SATA II and mini-USB originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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