ssd

SandForce just recently released the first next-generation controller, with their SF-2500 going into OCZ's latest and greatest SSD lineup, the Vertex 3 for consumers and Vertex 3 Pro for enterprise. Whilst SandForce was first to the party with SATA 6Gb/s (Crucial's RealSSD C300 has SATA III, but generally did not perform as well as SandForce's original SF-1200) and support for smaller NAND sizes. Now Intel, never one to be left behind, has followed with a quick counter in their 510 series SSDs, finally replacing their venerable X-25M series with a new lineup. ...read more

Now that we've had some time with the Vertex 3 Pro SSD carrying the new SandForce SF-2000 series controller, we can say that we're impressed with the performance. That comes with a bit of a caveat for those not on the Sandy Bridge P67 platform. Curious? Those interested in buying any next-gen SandForce drive might want to read what we found so you don't buy something you may regret.

Quote:     "In the end, we think the Vertex 3 line will live up to the expectations their predecessors set by being a high performance, quality drive and OCZ did well to retain the moniker. OCZ does manufacture their own PCB which is an extra peace of mind knowing they didn't source it to the lowest bidder as others may do. At speeds of 550MB/s & 500MB/s reads/writes, those that moved up to a Sandy Bridge platform should strongly consider holding out for these newer drives fueled by the SandForce SF-2000 series controllers...."

http://www.legitreviews.com/article/1547/1/

Everyone and their uncle is putting out solid state drives (SSDs) these days, even electronics vendors. Don't believe it? Check out Micro Center, which is letting the world know that it's the first brick and mortar store in the galaxy to sell its own branded SSD built around the SandForce 1200 controller.

In case that all sounds Greek to you, let us quickly explain. Micro Center is the brick and mortar equivalent of Newegg, though they also have an online presence. SSDs are the greatest thing since sliced bread (and run much faster than traditional hard drives), and the SandForce controller means you can expect blistering performance without those annoying stutttering issues that plagued first-run SSDs.

Micro Center's SSD comes in 64GB capacity and checks in at $100.

Here's the thing about solid state drives. Sure they're expensive, but they're also small enough to fit snugly in your significant other's Christmas stocking. Intel is hoping you'll take that route this holiday shopping season, and to help nudge you in the right direction, the chip maker has gone and lowered prices on its SSD lineup.

The X25-M 80GB now runs $199, while the 160GB derivative sells for $415. If neither of those floats your boat, Intel also released a new capacity X25-M, a 120GB version for $249.

As if SandForce's solid state drive controllers weren't sexy enough, the company this week released its fastest version yet, the SF-2000 series.

How fast is it? Try twice as peppy as the company's first-gen SF-1000, which was no slouch in its own right. Much of the credit goes to the mighty SATA 6Gb/s interface, which SandForce had the good sense to employ in its latest controllers. Tha means you can expect drives boasting up to 500MB/s read and write speeds.

Well played, SandForce. Now if only drive makers would do something about that price-per-gigabyte ratio, we'd ditch our hard drives faster than a prom date who refuses to...nevermind.

·    Innovative - Uses MLC NAND flash memory components.

·    Silent - Runs silent and cool with no moving mechanical parts.

·    Shock Resistant - No moving mechanical parts so the SSD handles rougher conditions.

·    Supports TRIM - TRIM notifies the SSD which data blocks are available to be written to.

·    Supports S.M.A.R.T. - Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology to help maintain a healthy drive.

In this review, we will be looking at Kingston's desktop upgrade kit for the second-generation 30 GB Kingston SSDNow V solid state drive. Let's find out how well this drive performs!

Link : http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=687

"OCZ Technology has once again brought cutting-edge high-speed SSDs into the value storage segment with their Agility 2 series. Based on the SandForce SF1200 controller, the OCZ Agility 2 SSD delivers up to 20,000 IOPS with incredible bandwidth speed. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the 120GB OCZ Agility 2 Extended OCZSSD2-2AGTE120G against some of the fastest storage solutions on the market. Just when PCs were starting to seem irrelevant in this fast-paced world of mobile gadgets and smart phones, along comes a new product that changes the entire landscape. SSDs, or more formally Solid State Drives, have finally lifted computers beyond the age of spinning metal magnetic platters. Delivering a boost in speed that no memory upgrade or new processor could ever dream of, solid state drive technology has sent hard disk drives packing. " READ MORE

"OCZ offers, like G.Skill, a new SSD with SandForce-Controller and higher capacity. We took a look at the 120 GByte model with 50K IOPS 4K Random Write Performance." READ MORE