Items tagged with SSD
The Data Center, HotHardware's new community for IT professionals, is sponsored by Dell's Future of Storage. This article is part of our ongoing series of topics and discussions related to IT, Enterprise Storage and related storage technologies. While other hard drive manufacturers have been busy churning out Solid State Drives (SSD), Seagate has been sitting on the SSD sidelines because it felt that the cost was still too high to produce and sell drives using this relatively new storage technology. The company has announced that it will finally be getting its SSD feet wet when it releases a its first SSD drive sometime in 2009. Before consumers get too excited about the prospect of another...
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Samsung Develops World's Fastest and Largest Capacity 2.5-inch, MLC-based (256GB) SSD with SATA II InterfaceSamsung Electronics, the world leader in advanced memory technology, announced today that it has developed the world's fastest, 2.5-inch, 256 Gigabyte (GB) multi-level cell (MLC) based solid state drive (SSD) using a SATA II interface, at the fifth annual Samsung Mobile Solution Forum held here today. Samsung's new 256GB SSD is also the thinnest drive with the largest capacity to be offered with a SATA II interface.With a sequential read speed of 200 megabytes per second (MB/s) and sequential write speed of 160MB/s, Samsung's MLC-based 2.5-inch 256GB SSD is about 2.4 times faster than a...
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It isn’t just a coincidence that Intel decided to start manufacturing solid state drives (SSDs), nor was it simply a sign that the devices might soon be in high demand. Intel is planning on manufacturing that demand by featuring them as part of a bundle with their upcoming Centrino 2 platform.“Initial shipments of Intel High Performance SSDs will come in two versions – Client X25-M and Client X18-M – the former having a physical size of 2.5-inch and later 1.8-inch. Both will feature 80GB capacity and a SATA interface.Intel plans to increase storage capacities up to 160GB by the end of the fourth quarter, and to 250GB and above in 2009, the sources added.”We are eager to see how many major players...
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Google is going to experiment with SSDs and they have chosen to go with Intel’s SSD technology. The move is said to be part of plan to help reduce electric bills, but it could potentially offer some performance gains too.“The more power efficient SSDs will be installed at severs at Google's US headquarters. Intel will supply flash chips and Marvell the corresponding controller ICs, the sources detailed. Shipments are slated for late second quarter, they added.With the increasing use of SSDs in server applications, a shortage for 16Gb and 32Gb NAND flash chips could become a possibility, the sources commented.”If Google’s experiment turns out to be a success, Intel may have found not only a...
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Super Talent Launches MLC SATA-II SSDs for NotebooksHigh-Speed MasterDrive SSDs Offer Unprecedented Performance & ReliabilitySan Jose, California – May 6, 2008 – Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today launched a new line of MasterDrive solid state drives (SSDs) that are 100% interchangeable with hard disk drives (HDDs), but are faster, lighter, use less power and are far more rugged and reliable.MasterDrive SSDs use NAND Flash rather than magnetic platters as the storage medium, giving them many advantages over HDDs. These drives have no moving parts, and therefore are completely silent, lighter weight and more reliable than...
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The President of Toshiba, Shozo Saito, delivered a fascinating look at near future of solid-state memory last week. He's in a position to know about NAND flash memory and Solid State Drives, and the future not only looks bright, it looks like the future is right now. He predicted one-quarter of notebook PCs will have a solid state drive within three years. Toshiba cited notebook PCs as the most likely market where demand for NAND flash memory will strengthen. The global market for SSD for notebook PCs will expand 313% every year from 2008 to 2011, the company said.Toshiba is planning to extend its SSD lineup, which currently ranges from 32 to 128 Gbytes, up to 512 Gbytes in the future....
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The distinctly different manufacturing expertise needed for success in the mechanical and the solid state storage markets means that few companies are prepared to play both sides of the fence. As faster and cheaper SSDs loom, it isn’t surprising that major players are doing everything they can to stop or stall the march of progress long enough to give them time to catch up.Enter Seagate’s CEO Bill Watkins who made good on his promise to sue SSD manufacturers if it looked like they were going to become a threat. Here’s what Bill had to say:"Unfortunately, others in our industry have taken shortcuts in the race to innovate, and in the process, we believe they are relying on intellectual property...
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Toshiba has announced that they are delaying the release of their Dynabook SS RX1 notebook which has been heavily advertised as featuring a 128GB SSD.Toshiba cited parts delays. It's not clear whether the delays are SSD-related, but Toshiba postponed the launch of a notebook last year with a 64GB SSD due to flash memory chip "procurement" delays.Originally due to ship this month, the SS RX1 is now due to ship to the Japanese market sometime in June....
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Avian Securities recently reported that a major systems player was experiencing an extremely high return rate of computer products shipped with solid state drives (SSDs). Shortly after the story broke it was widely rumored that the company in question was none other than Dell. Of course not all reports circulating the internet completely accurate, and some are simply bogus.Thankfully this seems like a case of the latter and Dell wants to set the record straight:"Here's the real story: the 20 - 30% failure and return rates cited by Avian Securities don't even vaguely resemble what's happening in our business. It's also true that Avian did not contact us while doing their research....
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Conventional wisdom says that solid state drives (SSDs) should have lower failure rates than their mechanical counterparts simply because SSDs lack moving parts. Sadly, it seems that theory and reality have clashed once again:“A large computer manufacturer is getting around 20 percent to 30 percent of the flash-based notebooks it is shipping sent back because of failure rates and performance that simply isn't meeting customer expectations, the firm stated in a report on Monday. Avian gathered this information on a recent swing through Asia.Approximately 10 percent to 20 percent of the flash notebooks shipping from the large manufacturer are coming back because of technical failure, (Avi)...
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They say that beggars can't be choosers, but apparently consumers can be. The choice that consumers are likely to be faced with in the near future is not whether to go down the SSD route, but which type of SSD do they want.“Faster drives and a falling cost-per-gigabyte should help bring drive costs down from the stratosphere and into a price bracket more consumers can afford, but the focus in the manufacturing world right now is on boosting storage capacities and performance, not reducing costs. It's very much a game right now where every 12 months, we're going to see considerable breakthroughs in performance.”With annual breakthroughs in performance come annual waves of 'obsolete' parts...
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OCZ Technology Introduces High-Speed SATA II Solid State Drive to their High-Performance Mobile SolutionsSave battery life, shed excess weight from your laptop, and experience superior read/write speeds with OCZ Technology’s Solid State Drives.Sunnyvale, CA—March 12, 2008—OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a worldwide leader in innovative, ultra-high performance and high reliability memory and computer components, today unveiled ultra-fast OCZ SATA II 2.5” Solid State Drives, a lightweight and efficient alternative to conventional hard disc drives. The OCZ SATA II drive is designed to stay abreast of the performance features of high-end notebooks, and is ideal for energy-efficient mobile computing....
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Intel plans on breaking into the SSD market and is setting its sites on the top position by the end of the year. That's pretty tough talk considering the incredible diversity of the existing hardware which ranges from cost effective solutions like those found in the Eee PC to drives so incredibly fast and expensive that more than one HH staffer is on a waiting list to donate our still beating hearts just so we can afford one. Intel hasn't talked prices just yet, but they are talking performance:"When Intel launches its...products, you'll see that not all SSDs are created equal," (Intel's NAND Marketing Director Troy) Winslow said. "The way the SSDs are architected, the way the controller...
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If you've been following the development of the Solid State Drive, you have likely been only marginally impressed versus dazzled. It's not hard to see the potential in SSDs, but they've been held back by size, price, and for a reason we're still trying to fathom, PATA to SATA converters that typically eat a fair amount of transfer capacity.A few firms have gotten rid of the converters, but Samsung is doing one better. They're going native SATA II and entering mass production."Due to the inclusion of the SATA II interface on the new refresh, transfer rates on the new 64GB SATA II SSD will increase 60 percent from SATA I versions of the same drive. Instead of the 65 MB/sec read and...
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Got 113,000 Japanese yen burning a hole in your pocket? That's 495 British Pounds. The money pound, not the weight pound. At any rate, if you've got about $1000 American, you can now afford 100 GB of flash storage, courtesy of Buffalo Japan. Awesome.The company's new SHD-UHRS series of SSDs goes on sale at the end of this month, starting with a 32GB model and culminating in that 100GB whopper. Anyone expecting an internal SATA interface for sticking the thing in a PC will, however, be disappointed as it's an external USB 2.0 only device.Still, that amount of fast, solid-state storage isn't to be sniffed at, which is why the largest model runs a cool ¥113,106 (£495). If the price doesn't...
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It seems as if Intel has decided to develop SSDs for the growing UMPC crowd:“The Z-P140 PATA solid-state storage drives (SSDs) will be provided as an optional module to OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to embed on motherboards made for the Menlow platform. The platform, designed for ultramobile PCs, also includes the Silverthorne processor and Poulsbo chipset. Menlow-based devices will ship in the first half of 2008, product line manager Don Larson said Friday at an event in San Francisco.”Initially only 2 GB and 4 GB parts will be available. Connect 4 of these to a PATA intereface and you could have either 8 GB or 16 GB. Perhaps the fact that will be most interesting the UMPC...
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To paraphrase an ancient Chinese proverb: Talk about an incredible new technology and we're interested, launch that amazing new technology and we'll be ecstatic. By this we don't mean launch blazingly fast products at prices we couldn't dream of affording, but launching products that are at least somewhat affordable.It looks like 2008 could very well be the year of the solid state drive, at least if Micron & Toshiba have anything to say about it:“The world's No. 2 maker of NAND-type flash memory said its solid state drives would range in capacity from 32 gigabytes to 128 gigabytes, and that it will mass produce the 1.8-inch and 2.5 inch drives in May 2008.”Not to be outdone, Micron...
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Super Talent Launches 256GB SATA SSD San Jose, California – December 4, 2007 -- Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today launched a pair of 256GB Serial ATA (SATA) solid state drives (SSDs). Super Talent’s new FSD56GC35M is 100% interchangeable with standard 3.5-inch SATA hard disk drives, but offers all the advantages of an SSD including greater resistance to shock and vibration, significantly lower power consumption and faster performance. FSD56GC35M supports a 0C to 70C operating temperature range. Super Talent also offers an industrial temperature (I-Temp) version of this drive, SS56GA6C35I, which supports an extended -40C to...
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Super Talent Introduces Industrial Temperature SSDs San Jose, California – November 27, 2007 -- Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today announced a new line of Solid State Drives (SSDs) that are rated to operate over a -40C to 85C industrial temperature (I-Temp) range. Super Talent SSDs are interchangeable with conventional hard drives but are significantly more resistant to shock and vibration. Moreover, these new I-Temp SSDs have considerably better tolerance of extreme temperatures than hard drives. Super Talent’s range of nineteen new I-Temp SSDs spans industry standard 1.8-inch, 2.5-inch and 3.5-inch form factor SATA SSDs,...
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For those who not only want to be on the bleeding edge, but want to be as fast as possible as well, Mtron has introduced the first SSD hard drive for consumers that, according to them, can reach data read rates of up to 100 MB/s. Based on their success in high performance SSD products for high-end servers and storages, Mtron has been able to develop high performance SSD for consumer purposes as well. With their new SSD MOBI, Mtron now offers variety of premium consumer SSD products in affordable price range.Mtron SSD MOBI (2.5inch, 32GB standard) will be priced around $650 (USD), which is 30% cheaper than current Mtron SSD products for industrial servers. It offers the best performance...
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As always we want to start out by telling you that this is a rumor and thus we begin this news post with our normal warning that this is a rumor until we can confirm it, but what a rumor: a new generation of Samsung SSDs that are capable of 120 MB/sec reads and 100 MB/sec writes.SSD isn't without its pitfalls, namely high price and, until now, typically lower transfer rates than traditional mechanical drives. It looks like we might be entering a brave new world:“These new drives come in 1.8 and 2.5-inch formats, and feature 960 Mbps sequential read and 800 Mbps sequential write speed respectively, corresponding to speeds of 120MB/s and 100MB/s.”There isn't any word on capacity at this time,...
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Alienware has extended its support of solid-state drives (SSDs) from its notebook line to its desktop line. If you are willing to pay the big bucks --- really big bucks --- you can add these to your desktop configuration.Alienware said Tuesday that it is now shipping solid-state-disks into selected desktop models as well as its notebook PCs. Alienware's Area-51 ALX and Aurora ALX systems are the market's first desktops to feature the 64-Gbyte SSD, the company said. Prices were not announced, but configuration screens on the company's Web site said that the company was charging a whopping $1,700 for two 64-Gbyte SSDs in a RAID 0 configuration, the only option available.Honestly, 64GB seems...
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