The C300 SSDs, available in 128GB and 256GB capacities when they're released sometime early next year, whups the current top dogs in read/write speeds. It's also the first to take advantage of the new SATA 3.0, which allows 6Gb/s throughput, twice that of SATA 2.0—but regardless of whether it's using 2.0 or 3.0, it's still blazingly fast. It's rated at 355MB/s read and 215MB/s write—for comparison, the champ, OCZ's Agility EX, gets 255MB/s and 195MB/s read and write speeds, respectively. You can see it compared with "a market leader" (probably either the OCZ or maybe Intel's X25-M) here:

By using the new ONFI 2.1 specification, it's also got nearly five times the data speed per transfer, which is basically means you'll be seeing improved performance while multitasking.

The C300 series is expensive, obviously, at about $350 for the 128GB and $715 for the 256GB (and then only when bought in bulk), but it's a pretty incredible performer—hopefully we'll be seeing it in some equally impressive laptops when it's released next year. [Micron]

Speed

I've been happy with a 16GB Patriot Xporter, which Ars mentioned in their 2009 test as one of the fastest. This Corsair is faster. On an informal test transferring 2.7 GB of MP3 files, the Corsair Flash Voyager 128GB was twice as fast in writes and a touch faster in reads.



Note: Since this measures megabytes per second, longer bars = better

I was very casual about this test. I did not shut down all my other apps during it, but I did run multiple trials. And I did not test random access or exceptionally large file sizes. Why didn't I take testing more seriously? Because I just don't think you'll really buy this thing when you can get multiple 32GB drives for $50 or so. This thing is impressive, but all freaks of nature are impressive.

It's Big

On top of its price and performance, it's bigger. No, not only in capacity. See?

Yeah, well, it still fits in my pocket. Like a giant pet beetle. The kind that crawled out of skulls and pyramid labyrinth walls in The Mummy Part 5 or whatever.

I'd recommend it only if you have so much money that if you lose one, you'll merely say "oops" and not cry over it like I would.

128GB is a lot of space

It's fast

Kind of big for a USB drive, but still doable

Expensive

The first 128GB USB flash drive we say, the Kingston Datatraveler 200, was mostly a proof of concept, with relatively slow read/write speeds of 20/10MB/s. It was also prohibitively expensive at nearly $550. Corsair's drive has the speed to be really enviable, and it comes in even cheaper than the Kingston drive. Note, however, that we didn't say it's affordable, at all—Newegg is selling it for $400. Still, it's pretty great to be able to carry around even a massive music collection in the change pocket of your jeans. [Corsair]

The 2.5-inch FTM28GO25H claims a 100MB read rate and a 40MB write rate, faster than the “cheap” SSD modules of yesterday. If 128GB seems like too much space for you to handle, the company's offering a similarly spec'ed 64-GB model as well for $179. [Super Talent via JKontherun]

Jul 01, 2008 04:00

OCZ Technology Announces Core Series SATA II 2.5 Solid State Drive Delivering the World's First Truly Affordable High-Performance SSD for Consumers at Price Points Less Than 50% of Comparable High Performance SSDs

SUNNYVALE, Calif. —(Business Wire)— Jul. 1, 2008 OCZ Technology Group, Inc. (LSE:OCZ), a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory and computer components, today unveiled the OCZ Core Series SATA II 2.5" Solid State Drives (SSDs). OCZ has gained momentum in this pioneering technology, which uses NAND flash instead of rotating platters as the storage medium, and is a high-performance, highly reliable and energy-efficient alternative to conventional hard disc drives.







The OCZ Core Series delivers the performance and reliability of the latest SSDs at a 50% less price per gigabyte than other high speed offerings currently on the market. For the first time, OCZ is putting SSD technology within reach of the average consumer, and delivering on the promise of SSDs as an alternative to traditional hard drives in consumer targeted mobile applications.

"SSDs offer higher performance, reliability, and energy efficiency than conventional HDDs but the cost variance has limited adoption of vastly superior SSD technology, until now," said Ryan Petersen, CEO of OCZ Technology. "It is our mission to deliver the highest performance products to consumers at reasonable prices, and with the release of the Core Series SSDs we have done exactly that."

OCZ Core Series Solid State Drives enable enhanced productivity in everyday computing and intensive multi-tasking applications. Perfect for notebooks, the Core Series is ideal for energy-efficient mobile computing to extend battery life, increase access time, and provide a durable alternative to conventional hard disc drives with superior shock resistance. High capacities and low power consuming NAND flash technology provide the necessary performance and battery life boosts generated by the proliferation of mobile gaming and new ultra-thin laptops. With fast access and seek times combined with excellent reliability, the OCZ Core Series SSDs are the answer for consumers demanding this latest storage technology.

The drives feature a durable yet lightweight alloy housing, and because OCZ SSDs have no moving parts, the drives are not prone to damage from common mishandling. Designed for ultimate reliability, these SSDs have an excellent 1.5 million hour mean time before failure (MTBF) ensuring peace of mind over the long term. All Core Series SSD drives come backed a two year warranty and OCZ's legendary service and support.

Core series SSD drives are available in capacities of 32GB, 64GB, and 128GB and deliver incredible 120-143Mbs/ 80-93Mbs read/write speeds and seek times of less than 0.35ms, making the Core series up to 10x as fast on a seek-time basis and up to 40% faster on a R/W basis that the best performing 2.5" HDDs on the market, all while consuming 50% less power. MSRPs at time of launch are USD $169, $259 and $479 for 32GB, 64GB and 128GB models respectively.

Ridata Ramps Up 2.5" SATA SSD Read Speed to Sizzling 300MBPS

Read: Up to 170MB/per sec.; Write: Up to 105MB/per sec.

Available in Up to 128GB Capacity

Diamond Bar, Calif.—Jan. 07, 2008 —Advanced Media, Inc., manufacturer and marketer of the popular Ridata brand of recordable CD and DVD media, electronic storage products, and digital media accessories, announced the introduction of a non-volatile 2.5" SATA Solid State Disk (SSD) that truly burst reads at an amazing rate of 300MB per second. The faster speed Serial ATA (SATA) drive is available in 32GB, 64GB and 128GB capacities.

"SSD drives offer a host of benefits over traditional hard disk drives. Cool and silent running; fast data access times; dependability and resistance to harsh environments make SSD drives a serious contender for virtually replacing Hard Disc Drives," remarked Harvey Liu, Advanced Media President. "The read rate of our 2.5" SATA SSD drive provides users with a phenomenally fast speed. For instance, it reduces boot up and seek times to mere seconds, while installation of new software programs can be accomplished in seconds rather than minutes."

Data Integrity
The Ridata SSD drive is inherently resistant to vibration, shock, and temperature extremes. It is very reliable with more than 4,000,000 hours Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF). Data integrity is further supported by static wearing leveling and Reed-Solomon ECC(RS-ECC 6/8/10 symbols). With a SMART features and write endurance cycle (P/E) of more than 2,000,000 times, the Ridata SSD drive is built to securely write and store critical data.

NAND Flash Technology

The Ridata 2.5" SATA SSD drive is a cutting-edge solid-state flash disk, based on NAND flash technology. It has no moving parts, which allows it to be virtually silent, run cooler, and use less power than a traditional hard disk drive. It is NAND technology that provides the drive's data transfer rates of up to 170MB per second for maximum sequential read.

Using single-level-chip technology, the Ridata SSD drive provides consistent performance, handles operating temperature up to 85˚F, and has extremely low-power consumption in comparison to a traditional hard drive. The Ridata SSD is among the lightest-weight storage drives available. It is excellent for performance-driven and rugged environments, such as laptops, and industrial, professional, and military applications.

Performance

The drive requires only a five-volt power supply. Because of its low-power consumption, user time on a laptop or other mobile computing application is dramatically extended. Having no mechanical parts, low power consumption, and minimal heat generation, the Ridata SSD drive is a natural alternative for a greener environment.

Mechanical
Meeting bus interface industry standard Serial ATA (SATA) ensures there are no host compatibility or upgrading issues. The Ridata drive offers reliable temperature (0 to 70C) and humidity resistance, assuring long-lasting data storage. The 2.5" drives weighs 64.5 grams with dimensions of 101.85 x 69.85 x 9mm.

Availability

The Ridata burst read up to 300MB/ps and up to 170MB sequential read transfer rate 2.5" SATA - as well as its 1.8" IDE - based SSD cards are available through system integrators, selected retailers, and Ridata distributors. Visit www.ritekusa.com for more information.

About Advanced Media (RITEK USA)

Advanced Media, Inc. is a subsidiary of RITEK Corporation, the world's largest optical media manufacturer. Advanced Media is the sole North and South American marketer and distributor of the RIDATA brand of recordable CD and DVD media as well as other types of electronic storage media. , Since its formation in 2001, Advanced Media has experienced phenomenal annual growth and is already a leading marketer of electronic storage products in the American market.

The Ridata brand offers an extensive line of flash memory products including the cutting edge Solid State Drive (SSD) Series and up to 16GB 266X CF Cards. The brand also features USB EZ Drives including the award-winning Yego USB Hub drive and other USB drives such as the Twister USB drive. Ridata's cornerstone products include Blu-Ray DVD series, HD DVD series, DL DVD-R/+R, DVD+/-R/RW, and CD-R/RW

RITEK for years has been defining and redefining the optical storage market. Around the world, its name is synonymous with innovation, quality, and unparalleled consistency. Its ISO 14001, ISO 9001, ISO 9002, OHSAS 18001, and Green mark certification from the EPA prove RITEK's commitment to quality control.