PhotoFast GM-PowerDrive PCI Express SSD Sneak Peek
We're sure you realize we have an affinity for all things SSD around these parts. And you have to admit, any self-respecting computer geek can appreciate the blazing fast response times of the latest generation of SATA-based Solid State Drives. However, as we've said before, we think SATA some day will be a Dinosaur of sorts that we all remember and love but moved on from long ago in a galaxy far away. Still, we're not there yet obviously. There have been some interesting products to come to market based on native, system-level interfaces like PCI Express but we're just getting warmed up it seems.
That said, it's exciting to see where things are headed and the multitude of new products coming to market based on innovative new solutions in NAND Flash storage; like the PhotoFast PowerDrive PCIe SSD we have on display for you here today...
RAID-In-A-Box - The PowerDrive hooks it all up in a neat but rather large enclosure
This solution may look a bit kludgy but in reality it's fairly simple in its approach. Take an SLI MegaRAID SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) X8 PCI Express hardware-based RAID controller, drop in 4 standard SATA SSDs, wire it up with SATA data and a 4-pin Molex power connector and you're done, save perhaps for the flashy red blower-style housing. A pre-bundled SSD RAID kit mounted in one of your system's X8 PCIe slots? Yes, exactly and it takes up two slots mechanically, very much like a big, honkin' graphics card.
LSI's MegaRAID SAS RAID BIOS Shows Four 60GB SSDs On Board In RAID 0
SandForce' s SSD Controller and Intel NAND Flash, together again. People are going to talk.
That said, it's exciting to see where things are headed and the multitude of new products coming to market based on innovative new solutions in NAND Flash storage; like the PhotoFast PowerDrive PCIe SSD we have on display for you here today...
;)
;)
RAID-In-A-Box - The PowerDrive hooks it all up in a neat but rather large enclosure
This solution may look a bit kludgy but in reality it's fairly simple in its approach. Take an SLI MegaRAID SAS (Serial Attached SCSI) X8 PCI Express hardware-based RAID controller, drop in 4 standard SATA SSDs, wire it up with SATA data and a 4-pin Molex power connector and you're done, save perhaps for the flashy red blower-style housing. A pre-bundled SSD RAID kit mounted in one of your system's X8 PCIe slots? Yes, exactly and it takes up two slots mechanically, very much like a big, honkin' graphics card.
LSI's MegaRAID SAS RAID BIOS Shows Four 60GB SSDs On Board In RAID 0
;)
;)
SandForce' s SSD Controller and Intel NAND Flash, together again. People are going to talk.
It's pretty much universal that SandForce-based products offer some of the fastest, most reliable SSD performance on the market right now, along with Micron's C300 drive. And this is actually the second incarnation of a SandForce-based PCIe SSD to use Intel NAND Flash on board. Are we looking at a trend here? Could be. Either way, things continue to look up for SSD technology, with benchmark records being shattered at a regular clip. Incidentally, we're still poking and prodding at the PowerDrive, so we don't have any numbers for you on it yet. Stay tuned.
