News

Corsair has just announced a new line up of SSDs. They will be using the SandForce SF-1200 SSD controller at the heart to provide 280MB/s read and 260MB/s write speeds. They support TRIM and will be available in capacities of 100GB and 200GB. This means that there will be a large chunk of extra storage for block relocation and wear leveling.

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Features

• Maximum sequential read speed 285MB/second
• Maximum sequential write speed 275 MB/second
• Latest generation Sandforce controller and MLC NAND flash for fast performance
• Internal SATA II connectivity
• TRIM support (O/S support required)
• No moving parts for increased durability and reliability and quieter operations over standard hard disk drives
• Decreased power usage for increased notebook or netbook battery life
• 2.5" form factor for your portable computer needs
• Included 2.5" to 3.5" bracket for installation on your desktop computer
• Two year warranty

Press Release: »http://www.aselabs.com/news.php?id=6353

Product Page: http://www.corsair.com/products/ssd_force/

Using SandForce SF-1200 SSD Processor, Force Series SSDs offer class-leading performance of up to 280MB/sec read and 260MB/sec write -

Hannover, Germany, March 4, 2010 - Corsair, a worldwide leader in high-performance computer and flash memory products, today announced the Force Series of SSDs, providing outstanding SATA II performance based on innovative SSD Processor technology from SandForce Inc.

By utilizing the state-of-the-art SandForce SF-1200 SSD processor combined with MLC flash memory, the Corsair Force Series of solid-state drives deliver outstanding performance figures of up to 280MB/sec read and 260MB/sec write. In addition, these drives feature class-leading random read/write performance. The highly innovative SandForce DuraClass Technology also delivers unparalleled write endurance and error correction features.

“The Force Series are the fastest SSDs that Corsair has launched to date,” stated Kevin Conley, Vice President of Engineering at Corsair. “We have been very impressed with the SandForce SSD Processor innovations in the months that we have been working with them, and we can’t wait to get these extraordinarily fast SSDs into the hands of our most demanding customers.”

The Force Series of SSDs are available in capacities of 100GB and 200GB and support the TRIM command in Windows 7, which helps to maintain optimal performance over the drive’s lifetime.

“The SandForce SF-1200 SSD Processor employs revolutionary flash management technology to create a new class of SSD with unparalleled performance and reliability,” stated Thad Omura, Vice President of Marketing at SandForce. “We have enjoyed working closely with Corsair to bring this exciting technology to market for Corsair’s large worldwide network of system builders, retailers, and computing enthusiasts.”

The Force Series of SSDs will be available within two weeks from Corsair’s worldwide network of authorized distributors and resellers. For more information on Corsair Force Series SSDs, please visit http://www.corsair.com/products/ssd_force/.

About Corsair
Founded in 1994, Corsair specializes in premium, high-performance peripherals and components for personal computers. Corsair’s award-winning products are the delight of the world’s most demanding hardware enthusiasts. For more information, visit http://www.corsair.com.

Copyright© 2010 Corsair. All rights reserved. All company and/or product names may be trade names, trademarks, and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they are associated. Features, pricing, availability, and specifications are subject to change without notice.

I've longed talked to Western Digital about their thoughts on the SSD market. The story has changed from something like "we are committed to magnetic storage" to "we're timing the market," after the purchase of SiliconSystems. SiliconSystems made SSDs in the form of Compact Flash for the industrial and business market. They didn't make true consumer SSD products, but they weren't traditional CF disks that you would find in a high end DSLR.

Today, Western Digital has announced the SiliconEdge Blue line of SSDs. They range in size from 64GB to 256GB and, based on reports, is using the newer JMicron controller. We like when companies break out of their niche when a newer (and better) technology comes around so we're glad to see WD step up to provide SSDs to the consumer market.

WD set some crazy pricing on these drives. The 128GB is suggested to be $529. We highly doubt that you will purchase this drive for that price. Expect it to be in-line with something like the V Series from Kingston, which uses similar parts.

Product Page: http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=789

SSDs are here to stay. What changes is the segment they can be used in. Kingston has a new approach to a new product in the SSDNow V Series line; The SSD is the boot drive while your spindle drive takes care of all the large amounts of data. You can get the best of both worlds.Next Page »

Kingston has waited a long time before entering the SSD market. Was it worth the wait? The SSDNow V Series shows what a low priced SSD can be given the proper time for the bugs to be worked out. Consumers should be thankful that Kingston waited until the SSD was mature enough to be brought to market with a low price controller. Kingston's brand name still stands strong unlike those of other companies that rushed out SSDs only to have problem after problem.Next Page »

Solid state disk technology is one of the best things to happen to computers and Intel hits a home run with the X25-M SSD. Next Page »

As much as I love to bash Windows in general, SanDisk seems to jump on the bandwagon when it serves its own purpose. They say that Windows Vista isn't optimized for solid state drives which is probably true. But they go on to say that this is causing a huge delay to work around the problems that Vista presents. That's the BS part. Provide the hardware, let the software maker work it into their system. This is another reason that shows the Linux method works better. Hell, the BSD side of things are working just as well. The Mac supports SSD with ease.

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This is due to Vista's design. "The next generation controllers need to basically compensate for Vista shortfalls," he said. "Unfortunately, (SSDs) performance in the Vista environment falls short of what the market really needs and that is why we need to develop the next generation, which we'll start sampling end of this year, early next year," Harari said. Harari said this challenge alone is putting SanDisk behind schedule. "We have very good internal controller technology, as you know...That said, I'd say that we are now behind because we did not fully understand, frankly, the limitations in the Vista environment," he added.

I'll translate for you: We didn't expect the market for SSDs to come so fast so we got caught with our pants down! Oops!

The new SSDs that will come out this year will be quickly replacing mechanical hard drives in notebooks. All that's left is pricing to come down. While mechanical drives offer more storage for less price, the benefits of SSD make it the eventual winner.

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Intel's 32Gb chip will enable more cost-effective SSDs, "instantly doubling the current storage volume of these devices and driving capacities to beyond 256GB in today's standard, smaller 1.8-inch form factor," Intel said in a statement. Intel SSDs will be "introduced and ramped" in the second half of this year, said Pete Hazen, director of marketing for Intel's NAND Products Group The 32Gb chip marks a big step up from the 16Gb technology Intel introduced about a year ago. At that time, Intel announced a 50nm process. "This product is essentially the same die (chip) size as our 50nm product but double the density," said Hazen.