A 7 year warranty on an SSD? Now we're talking enterprise class!

Subject: Storage | April 12, 2012 - 02:06 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: owc, Mercury Enterprise Pro 6G, sata 6Gbs, ssd, synchronous flash, LSI, sf-2582

The OWC Mercury Enterprise Pro 6G SSD comes in four sizes, 50GB, 100GB, 200GB and 400GB, with all models sharing the same impressive statistics.  Inside you will find Toshiba Enterprise Toggle Synchronous eMLC 24nm NAND and a new Sandforce controller from LSI, the SF-2582.  As well there is a proprietary power technology called Paratus to prevent data loss from power interruptions as well as capacitors designed to handle high heat.  SSD Review liked the performance, were impressed by the price and absolutely love the 7 year warranty, which is so far unique for SSDs.

"OWC has jumped feet first into the Enterprise space with the new OWC Mercury Enterprise Pro 6G SSD. Leveraging one of the fastest controllers on the planet, the LSI SF-2582 in tandem with Toshibas Enterprise Toggle Synchronous eMLC NAND, this SSD promises the absolute best in long term performance and endurance. OWC is also throwing in an outstanding industry-leading 7 Year Warranty with this product."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Storage

• Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SATA III SSD @ SSD News
• OCZ Octane 512GB SSD Review @ Hardware Canucks
• Crucial Adrenaline Solid State Cache Review @ HardwareHeaven
• Kingston HyperX 3K (240GB) @ AnandTech
• Crucial Adrenaline Solid State Cache Review @ TechwareLabs
• Micron RealSSD C400 128GB mSATA SSD @ SSD News
• Micron C400 mSATA (128GB) @ AnandTech
• Corsair 128 GB Performance Series Pro Solid State Drive @ Pro-Clockers
• Corsair Force Series GT 180GB Solid State Drive @ Tweaktown
• The Plextor M3 (256GB) @ AnandTech
• OCZ Vertex 4 SATA 3 SSD @ SSD News
• Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB SSD @ Kitguru
• Hitachi GST Deskstar 7K4000 4TB HDD Review @ NikKTech
• ioSafe SoloPRO: Disaster Proofing Your Storage Needs @ AnandTech
• Hard Disk Drive Myths Debunked @ TechARP
• Icy Dock 2.5"/3.5" Drive Accessories @ SPCR
• Kingston Wi-Drive @ LanOC Reviews
• Icy Dock MB971SP-B DuoSwap 2.5"/3.5" SATA Hot Swap Drive Caddy Review @ Hi Tech Legion
• Icy Dock MB994SP-4SB-1 Full Metal Quad Bay 2.5in HDD & SSD Backplane Cage Review @ Hi Tech Legion
• Kingston DataTraveler HyperX 3.0 64GB @ Legion Hardware

OCZ's brand new Vertex 4 arrives

Subject: Storage | April 4, 2012 - 03:37 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: ocz, ssd, sata 6Gbs, Vertex 4, Indilinx, vertex

There are quite a few changes in the 4^th version of OCZ's Vertex SSDs, not only the new Indilinx controller but the positioning of it right in the centre of the PCB.  You will also notice what looks like an mSATA interface, but The Tech Report is sad to say that it is only a connector for OCZ's internal testing machinery and is not a standard connector.  Of course, we may have to see what the modders do with it.  The performance is as good as you would expect in most circumstances though there were some tests the new prefetch mechanism had troubles with.  OCZ claims that the drive was intended to be partitioned and doing so could help the performance.  Also worth applauding is the move to a 5 year warranty, signalling OCZ's increased faith in reliability.

Our own Al Malventano took a look at not only the drive but also the difference between the 1.30 and 1.52 firmware revisions.

"Just a few months after its Indilinx Everest controller debuted in the OCZ Octane, a second-generation Everest chip has taken root in the Vertex 4 SSD. We take a closer look at the latest Vertex to see what's changed and how its performance measures up."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Storage

• OCZ Vertex 4 @ AnandTech
• OCZ Technology Vertex 4 (Indilinx Everest 2) 256GB and 512GB SSD @ Tweaktown
• OCZ Vertex 4 512GB @ Kitguru
• OCZ Vertex 4 Indilinx 256GB & 512GB SSD Reviews @ Legit Reviews
• OCZ Vertex 4 Solid State Drive 512GB/256GB Launch Review @ HardwareHeaven
• OCZ Vertex 4 512GB SSD Review @ Hardware Canucks
• OCZ Vertex 4 SSD 256GB and 512GB @ Guru 3D
• ndilinx Everest 2 SSD Controller Platform Overview @ Tweaktown
• SSDs from Mushkin: Chronos deluxe 240 GB and Chronos 240 GB @ X-bit Labs
• Micron RealSSD P400e 6Gbps 200GB Enterprise SSD @ SSD Review
• OCZ Synapse Cache 64GB Solid State Drive Review @ circuitREMIX
• ADATA XPG SX900 256GB SATA 3 SSD @ SSD Review

OCZ isn't the only one with a new drive today, Hitachi now offers a 4TB Ultrastar

Subject: General Tech | April 4, 2012 - 01:07 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: ultrastar, sata 6Gbs, hitachi, 7K4000, 4TB

There aren't any benchmarks yet to see what the new Hitachi Ultrastar 7K4000 4TB HDD but with the similarities to the 3TB model some assumptions can be made.  The 7200RPM drive contains five 800GB platters and a 466Gbits/in2 areal density with a 64MB cache and a rated sequential transfer rate of up to 171MB/sec.  They also managed to increase the energy efficiency of the drive somewhat, using 24% less watts per GB while offering 33% more storage.  The Register reported on both this drive as well as the 4TB Thunderbolt edition which was recently released.

"Hitachi GST has laid a nice Easter egg: a 4TB enterprise disk drive and a first at this capacity level. It's HGST's second 4TB product.

This 3.5-inch drive technology first surfaced in September when Hitachi GST launched its 4TB G-Drive external Thunderbolt product. Now it has updated its Ultrastar line, jumping from the 3TB 7K3000 to this 7K4000 product."

Here is some more Tech News from around the web:

Tech Talk

• New Intel flash hardness performs faster for less @ The Register
• Intel outlines open source development projects @ The Register
• Intel to move to DDR4 in early 2014 @ VR-Zone
• Cyberlink PhotoDirector 3 Software Review @ Hi Tech Legion

Three new drives from Corsair, a pair of SandForce and a single Marvell

Subject: Storage | January 2, 2012 - 03:12 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: corsair, Force GT, Performance Pro, sata 6Gbs, ssd, SF-2281 controller, synchronous NAND

When dealing with data that can be compressed there is nothing like the SandForce controller to get the job done.  Corsair went with the SF-2281 controller for both their 180GB and 240GB Force  GT SSDs, but they chose a Marvell controller for the 256GB Performance Pro model.  The difference in controllers shows up in Legit Reviews benchmarking, with tests involving compressible data putting the Sandforce drives well in the lead but with the Performance Pro drive providing much more consistent results and leading in real world applications.  Read on to see if your budget and storage desires can be met by one of Corsair's new SSDs.

"So, what have we learned from this little round up? First off, you can't go wrong with any of the drives here. All feature very fast SATA III performance and come with a standard three year warranty. The Force GT drives promise read and write specifications of up to 555MB/s reads and 525MB/s writes. This is something we observed on the ATTO benchmark where highly compressible data was used. On other benchmarks, the scores were a fair bit lower as the SandForce controllers rely on real time compression of data to optimize performance and the referenced benchmarks used already compressed data. The 240GB fared a little better than the 180GB drive as higher density NAND tends to be a little faster along with slightly different architecture..."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Storage

• OCZ Octane 128GB @ AnandTech
• RunCore Pro V 120GB SATA III Solid State Drive @ TweakTown
• Patriot Pyro 120GB SSD @ Funky Kit
• Crucial M4 256GB SSD @ Funky Kit
• Mach Xtreme MX-DS Turbo 120GB SSD @ kitguru
• Corsair Performance Pro Series 256 GB Review @ OCC
• Patriot Pyro SE SSD Review @ Bjorn3D
• GoldKey USB Data Security Token Review @ Legit Reviews
• Super Talent USB 3.0 Express ST4 32GB Flash Drive Review @ Madshrimps
• Kingston DataTraveler HyperX 3.0 64GB Flash Drive Review @ Techgage
• Kingston HyperX 3.0 64GB Flash Drive Review @ Legit Reviews
• Hitachi LifeStudio Desk Plus 2TB External Hard Drive @ eTeknix
• Hitachi Touro Mobile Pro 750GB Portable Hard Drive Review @ Legit Reviews
• Hitachi TOURO DESK PRO 3TB USB 3.0 External HDD Review @ Real World Labs
• Kingston DataTraveler HyperX 3.0 64GB @ Bjorn3D
• QNAP TS-419P II NAS @ X-bit Labs
• IOCELL NETDISK Hard Drive Enclosure Review @ ThinkComputers
• Zalman ZM-VE200 2.5” HDD Enclosure/Virtual Drive Review @ Tweaknews
• Synology DS212 2-bay NAS Server for Workgroups and Offices Review @ Madshrimps

OCZ Technology Petrol SATA 6Gbps SSDs Reduce SSD Deployment Costs by Thirty Percent

Subject: Storage | December 13, 2011 - 01:02 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: ssd, sata 6Gbs, petrol, ocz

SAN JOSE, CA - Dec. 13, 2011 - OCZ Technology Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:OCZ), a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs), today launched the Indilinx Everest-based Petrol SSD Series. The Petrol Series enables further adoption of SSDs in cost-sensitive applications, while taking advantage of real world performance and complete feature set of the Indilinx Everest platform.

"Until today, SSD adoption has been limited to high performance applications due to the high cost of SSDs in relation to slower rotating discs, and we are proud to once again close the gap in pricing without sacrificing durability," said Ryan Petersen, CEO of OCZ Technology. "The new Petrol Series showcases the flexibility of the Indilinx Everest platform and NDurance™ Technology, allowing OCZ to deliver the benefits of SSDs to a wide new set of applications while retaining the superior real world performance and reduced latency that separate Everest-based SSDs from our competitors."

The OCZ Petrol Series delivers bandwidth up to 400MB/s and 35,000 IOPS, and is optimized for the complete spectrum of file types and sizes. Additionally, advanced features unique to Indilinx, such as proprietary page mapping algorithms, allow for steady mixed-workload performance, and innovative latency reduction technology enables superior access times as low as 0.06ms. Petrol ensures the most consistent and reliable performance as well as minimized performance degradation even after the drive's storage capacity is highly utilized.

The OCZ Petrol SSD Series will be available in models ranging from 64GB-512GB capacities throughout OCZ's global channel in the coming weeks.

High Octane drives from OCZ

Subject: Storage | December 12, 2011 - 02:14 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: ocz, Octane, Octane 512GB, Indilinx Everest, Indilinx Barefoot, ssd, sata 6Gbs

As has been covered on the front page before, OCZ is making their new Octane lineup of SSDs a little confusing for the enthusiast.  If you are not careful you can end up with the non-SATA 6Gbs S2 model.  The new Octane series does offer an advantage to those using non-compressible data, the Indilinx controller does not do the same compression technique which SandForce uses which will make the performance of this drive consistent regardless of the data being manipulated.  As you might expect Legit Reviews testing does see the top speeds of the new Octane lagging behind SandForce based drives in some cases but the overall performance is neck and neck with Intel as they also do not compress data.  Check out the full review to see a return to Indilinx and a renewal of competition for SandForce controllers.

"It's interesting to see how OCZ is marketing these Octane new Solid State Drives. They are 'Indilinx infused' vesrus 'SandForce driven'. Indilinx drives have nDurance technology while SandForce has DuraClass technology. I can't help but be reminded of the movie Coming To America where Cleo McDowell comments on his feud with McDonald's: "Look... me and the McDonald's people got this little misunderstanding. See, they're McDonald's... I'm McDowell's. They got the Golden Arches, mine is the Golden Arcs. They got the Big Mac, I got the Big Mick. We both got two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions, but their buns have sesame seeds. My buns have no seeds..."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Storage

• Corsair Force GT Series 240 GB and Corsair Force 3 Series 240 GB Solid State Drives @ X-bit Labs
• Samsung 830 SATA III 6Gbps 128GB SSD @ XSReviews
• Silicon Power Velox V30 60 GB SSD @ techPowerUp
• Samsung 830 SATA3 SSD 256GB @ OC3D
• Patriot Pyro SE 120GB & 240GB Review @ OCC
• ADATA S510 120GB Solid State Drive @ kitguru
• Patriot Pyro SE Solid State Drive @ Benchmark Reviews
• SSD Components and Make Up - An SSD Primer @ The SSD Review
• Kingston Earth Angel USB Drive @ HardwareBistro
• SilverStone RVS02 SATA Enclosure @ Phoronix
• G-Technology G-DRIVE Mobile HDD @ Tweaktown
• QNAP TurboNAS TS-419P II NAS Server Review @ Real World Labs
• Synology DS212 NAS Review @ Tech-Reviews
• Cyberlink Power2Go Review @ Hi Tech Legion

Third time is the charm? Seagate releases the third generation of their hybrid drive

Subject: Storage | November 29, 2011 - 06:19 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: hybrid, momentus XT, hdd, ssd, Seagate, sata 6Gbs

Over the past few years Seagate has been trying to perfect a way to get the best of both storage worlds by combining an SSD as a semi-permanent cache for a large platter based hard drive.  The new Seagate Momentus XT is the third generation of this series, a 750GB HDD with a 8GB SLC SSD available to cache frequently used files and are calling it FAST (Flash-Assisted Storage Technology).  Legit Reviews investigated their performance claims, after repeatedly using the drive to fill the cache as this drive will perform exactly like the platter based drive it is until that cache has moved frequently accessed or slow to load files into the flash memory.  It did seem to reduce boot times and program loading to almost SSD levels, though it does not effect infrequently used programs.  It was significantly less expensive than an SSD so if you tend to do similar tasks on your PC every day and need the large storage space this drive might just be for you.

"Overall, we'd certainly recommend the Momentus XT and frankly wouldn't go back to a plain old hard drive unless we were forced to. The expediency of boot and application load times are something that, once you get used to it, you can't seem to live without. Keep in mind that it may take two or three times for the Adaptive Memory Technology to decide that it should be cached and speed things up. On the down side, every operation is not SSD fast, especially if you're performing it for the first time..."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Storage

• Seagate's Momentus XT 750GB hybrid hard drive @ The Tech Report
• Seagate Momentus XT ST750LX003 Hybrid 750GB Review @ OCC
• Seagate Momentus XT 750GB Hybrid Hard Drive Review @ Hardware Canucks
• Seagate Momentus XT Solid State Hybrid @ Benchmark Reviews
• Seagate Momentus 7200.5 750GB Hard Drive Review @ Legit Reviews
• Western Digital Scorpio Blue 1TB 5400RPM @ Tweaktown
• QNAP TS-879U-RP High Performance SMB NAS @ CoD
• Thecus N8900 8-Bay Rackmount NAS @ Tweaktown
• Synology DiskStation DS712+ NAS Review @ TechwareLabs
• QNAP TurboNAS TS-219P II NAS Server Review @ Real World Labs
• Corsair Performance Pro 256GB SSD Review @ HardwareHeaven
• OCZ Vertex 3 Max IOPS 120GB Review @ HCW
• Silicon Power Diamon D05 USB 3.0 External Drive @ Bjorn3D
• Patriot Pyro SE 6Gbps 240GB SSD Review @ The SSD Review
• Kingston HyperX 3.0 128GB 8-Channel USB Flash Drive Review @ Real World Labs

OCZ Technology Launches Talos 2 Enterprise SAS 6G Solid State Drive

Subject: Storage | November 29, 2011 - 11:52 AM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: ocz, talos 2, enterprise, ssd, sata 6Gbs

SAN JOSE, CA – November 29, 2011 - OCZ Technology Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:OCZ), a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, announces the Talos 2 Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) SSD Series, the follow-up to the high performance, high capacity Talos Series previously available only in a 3.5 inch form factor.

With capacities up to 1TB now available in a compact 2.5-inch form factor, Talos 2 offers increased I/O performance and scalability in enterprise storage environments. Talos 2 leverages OCZ Virtualized Controller Architecture 2.0 technology which implements an intelligent complex command queuing structure with unique queue balancing algorithms to provide exceptional performance. Talos 2 SSDs deliver superior random transactional performance at up to 70,000 4K IOPS and features improved mixed workload (75% read; 25% write) performance with up to 42,000 8K IOPS.

^{You can bet these SSDs will not be the least expensive per gigabyte on the market}

Unlike many SAS SSDs, the Talos Series is dual-ported to offer superior data integrity and increased performance, along with delivering a robust enterprise feature-set including DataWrite Assurance Protection in case of sudden power loss. Talos 2 also includes the option to enable T10-DIF (Data Integrity Field), allowing for the insertion of 8 bytes of additional data during transfers to ensure complete data integrity.

“The Talos 2 SAS solid state drives expand on the original series by offering enterprise customers superior performance, reliability, and density all in a compact footprint,” said Ryan Petersen, CEO of OCZ technology Group. “The Talos 2 enterprise SSDs are optimized for the most demanding storage systems and provide clients with an easy to deploy solution that vastly improves application performance over traditional SAS based HDDs.”

To address the complete spectrum of applications, Talos 2 SSDs are available in 100GB to 1TB capacities, in MLC, eMLC, and SLC NAND configurations. OCZ is now sampling Talos 2 to strategic customers and the drives will be made available to SMB and enterprise clients through OCZ's global business-to-business channel.