SanDisk's affordable Ultra Plus SSD family

Subject: Storage | January 7, 2013 - 06:57 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: ssd, sandisk ultra plus, 256GB, Marvell, 88SS9175

Using the Marvell 88SS9175 controller, the SanDisk Ultra Plus family of SSDs comes in 128GB, 256GB and 512GB models all of which come with a 3 year warranty.  As you can see below, the 256GB model that Legit Reviews recently received does not take up much space in the drives shell.  SanDisk's nCache technology is featured on these drives and helps boost the performance of 4k writes but does not fare so well on large files.  With decent performance and a price under $1/GB these drives are worth checking out ... unless you want to wait to see what comes out of CES.

"SanDisk is best known for their memory products and with that, they've been doing a number of SSDs on both consumer and enterprise fronts. Their latest offering that came across our desk is the Ultra Plus line being powered by the Marvell 88SS9175 controller and SanDisk's own 19nm NAND. The 6Gbps interfaced drives are marketed towards the both the desktop and mobile computing crowds with promises of strong performance, high reliability and power efficiency. It comes standard in the 7mm, 2.5" form factor so it should be good to go for most Ultrabooks as well..."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Storage

• SanDisk Ultra Plus SSD @ AnandTech
• KingFast F3 Series 2.5" SATAIII SSD 240GB KF2509MCF Review @ Madshrimps
• Understanding MTBF in SSD - What Does an SSD's MTBF Mean for You @ hardCOREware
• Mushkin Chronos DX 480GB @ Tweaktown
• Kingston SSDNow KC100 240GB SSD Upgrade Kit Review @ NikKTech
• Rosewill RDED-12001 External Slim Aluminum Blu-Ray Writer @ Hi Tech Legion
• LaCie 5big NAS Pro @ AnandTech
• Asustor AS-606T NAS @ techPowerUp
• Infortrend EonNAS Pro 200 2-Bay NAS @ Tweaktown
• LaCie 5big NAS Pro Preview: User-friendly hybrid cloud @ Hardware.info

CES 2013: Kingston Lets You Buy Big Expensive USB Drives

Subject: General Tech, Storage, Shows and Expos | January 7, 2013 - 06:26 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: CES, ces 2013, kingston, thumb drive

Typical USB and SD-style memory card storage scale pretty effectively to the $1 per GB except for the really small drives which cost proportionally more due to non-negligible packaging and distribution costs. This ratio puts 16 and 32GB removable memory in the hands of just about anyone who even remotely desires it. However, for your really large storage needs, a removal hard drive is pretty much your only choice.

If you were to extend the $1/GB ratio up to drive sizes of 512GB or a terabyte then you are looking at $500-1000 worth of silicon in your pocket. Still, Kingston believes that if you desire a full terabyte of storage that you should be able to give them money to provide it to you.

Unfortunately it does not quite scale at the $1/GB ratio.

The Kingston DataTraveler HyperX Predator 3.0 has four unique names and about a four-fold increase in price-per-Gigabyte compared to standard USB flash memory. The 512GB version is set to retail for $1750 per stick. For some reason Kingston would not comment on the expected retail price of the 1TB version? I guess it is a case of if you need to ask…

If you are still interested in purchasing this thumb-drive -- then for one it must mean something to you -- but it does have 240MB/s read speeds and 160MB/s write speeds over USB3.0. If you are looking to actually use your 512GB drive then you would be able to fill it up in about an hour. Then again, if it does mean that much to you, Kingston apparently is happy to provide.

PC Perspective's CES 2013 coverage is sponsored by AMD.

Follow all of our coverage of the show at http://pcper.com/ces!

CES 2013: SanDisk Launches Fast, Low Cost Ultra Plus / X110 SSD

Subject: Storage | January 7, 2013 - 09:55 AM | Tim Verry
Tagged: x110 ssd, ultra plus, ssd, sandisk, ces 2013, CES, 19nm

SanDisk has officially launched a new solid state drive that is slated to offer up a good balance of performance and price. Based on 19nm flash used in a 2.5” form factor drive acceptable for either notebook or desktop upgrades, the new drive is the Ultra Plus in retail channels and known as the X110 to OEM partners.

The basic specifications that SanDisk have released include a SATA 3.0 6Gbps connection, and respectable sequential read and write speeds of 530 MB/s and 445 MB/s respectively. Random read and write speeds and IOPS were not listed in the press release.

However, in an odd twist for CES news, the new SanDisk solid state drive is actually available now at Amazon, Microcenter, and Newegg. Amazom and Microcenter will have 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB SKUs while Newegg will carry the 128GB and 256GB models.

Interestingly, SanDisk has priced these drives fairly cheaply with MSRPs of $79.99 for the 64GB model, $109.99 for the 128GB model, and $219.99 for 256GB drive. Granted the 64GB model is not great on $/GB, but the higher tier models are under $1/GB. Unfortunately, the 128GB model is out of stock on Amazon, and the 64GB and 256GB models are all well above MSRP at $120 and $250 respectively. Here’s hoping the price comes down as more stock becomes available.

PC Perspective's CES 2013 coverage is sponsored by AMD.

Follow all of our coverage of the show at http://pcper.com/ces!

CES 2013: Seagate Wireless Plus - All the Mobiles!

Subject: General Tech, Storage, Mobile, Shows and Expos | January 6, 2013 - 10:11 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: Seagate, ces 2013, CES

Certain mobile device manufacturers do not include a standard powered USB type A port for your removable storage? There’s an app for a peripheral for that!

The Seagate Wireless Plus basically amounts to a 1TB external drive duct taped to a battery with a wireless dongle overly attached to it. The manufacturer claims that there is enough charge to power your storage for 10 hours to remain powered for as long as your mobile device. Seagate programmed compatibility with iOS, Android, and Kindle Fire HD as well as extra functionality for Airplay, SLNA, and a Samsung app for Smart TVs and BluRay players. In other words, at the very least this drive was designed for compatibility with a lot of devices.

The device is currently available online at Amazon and BestBuy. It is expected to cost $199.99 MSRP. Press blast after the break.

PC Perspective's CES 2013 coverage is sponsored by AMD.

Follow all of our coverage of the show at http://pcper.com/ces!

Storage Visions - The Panasonic DataArchiver - 108TB of Blu-Ray Archival Storage in a 6U Chassis

Subject: Storage, Shows and Expos | January 6, 2013 - 09:59 PM | Allyn Malventano
Tagged: Panasonic, ces 2013, CES, bluray

At Storage Visions I came across a clever device from Panasonic. The DataArchiver:

This is a 6U rack-mount chasses, capable of being filled with 108TB of Blu-Ray discs. Several stacks of 12-disc cartridges load into two drawers. A handler rides between the two drawers, fetching cartridges as needed, and loading the discs into the 12 installed Blu-Ray drives:

This system provides excellent long-term archival storage of Blu-Ray discs (when handled properly - as it does), and for the extra cautious, the system can even mount and access the discs as RAID-5 or 6 volumes, allowing for single or double protection from faulty discs / disc sectors. The DataArchiver also implements AES256 across all discs in the array. Certainly an interesting piece of archival technology.

PC Perspective's CES 2013 coverage is sponsored by AMD.

Follow all of our coverage of the show at http://pcper.com/ces!

Storage Visions - FusionIO shows off ioDrive II and ioFX

Subject: Storage, Shows and Expos | January 6, 2013 - 09:31 PM | Allyn Malventano
Tagged: storage visions, fusionio, ces 2013, CES

At Storage Visions, we checked out new products from FusionIO, namely the ioDrive II and ioFX:

There was a demo running with a pair of ioFX units paired together:

The pair were driving a demo which was streaming 12 uncompressed HD streams, playing back simultaneously, and drawing a continuous 3GB/sec from the storage:

More important was the conversation I had which hinted at bootability coming to these drives soon (albeit only with UEFI due to the demands the FusionIO device driver places on the host system). Also of interest was that ioSphere, the front end manager for FusionIO products, now has a HTTP / web-based interface, meaning administrators can now manage and push firmware updates to dozens or hundreds of ioDrive's simultaneously.

PC Perspective's CES 2013 coverage is sponsored by AMD.

Follow all of our coverage of the show at http://pcper.com/ces!

Brace Yourself: The PC Perspective CES 2013 Coverage is Coming!

Subject: Graphics Cards, Networking, Motherboards, Cases and Cooling, Processors, Systems, Storage, Mobile, Shows and Expos | January 5, 2013 - 10:47 AM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: CES, ces 2013, pcper

It's that time of year - the staff at PC Perspective is loaded up and either already here in Las Vegas, on their way to Las Vegas or studiously sitting at their desk at home - for the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show!  I know you are on our site looking for all the latest computer hardware news from the show and we will have it.  The best place to keep checking is our CES landing page at http://pcper.com/ces.  The home page will work too. 

We'll have stories covering companies like, Intel, AMD, NVIDIA, ASUS, MSI, Gigabyte, Zotac, Sapphire, Galaxy, EVGA, Lucid, OCZ, Western Digital, Corsair and many many more that I don't feel like listing here.  It all starts Sunday with CES Unveiled and then the NVIDIA Press Conference where they will announce...something.

Also, don't forget to subscribe to the PC Perspective Podcast as we will be bringing you daily podcasts wrapping up each day.  We are also going to try to LIVE stream them on our PC Perspective Live! page but times and bandwidth will vary.

PC Perspective's CES 2013 coverage is sponsored by AMD.

Follow all of our coverage of the show at http://pcper.com/ces!

Samsung 840 Series gives SSD fans a little TLC

Subject: Storage | January 3, 2013 - 03:22 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: tlc, Samsung 840, 500gb, ssd

As the lifespan of flash memory in SSDs has become a topic of concern for many users, it is nice to see that the Samsung 840 500GB has a lifespan of some 14 years assuming a daily write load of 10GB.  Since most users do not write 10GB to a drive day in and day out, that estimate is probably on the low end.  If that doesn't have you excited then consider the cost of the drive, at $350 it is much lower than the $1/GB mark most other SSDs are at.  There are some trade offs however, [H]ard|OCP saw comparatively slow extended write speeds though the read speeds were higher than the 256GB model.  When you consider this drive do keep in mind that it is still going to be faster than a platter drive even when it is working on a task that other SSDs might do slightly faster.

"Samsung has released the first TLC NAND equipped SSDs into the market, creating the lowest price points we have witnessed for SSDs bringing large capacity SSDs within reach for average users. Today we test the 500GB TLC Samsung 840 Series SSD to test the performance in steady state of a large capacity TLC Solid State Drive."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Storage

• OCZ Vector 256 GB @ techPowerUp
• OCZ Vertex 3 240GB SSD VTX3-25SAT3-240G Review @ PCSTATS
• OCZ Vector 512GB SSD @ Tweaktown
• OCZ Vector 256GB @ eTeknix
• Kingston SSDNow V300 120GB SSD Review @ Legit Reviews
• Silicon Power Slim S70 120GB 7mm SSD Review @ ModSynergy
• Western Digital Red 4TB HDD @ TechwareLabs
• Western Digital Red (WD30EFRX) 3 TB @ TechARP
• WD Black 4TB Hard Drive Review @ Techgage
• Western Digital Black 4TB @ Legion Hardware
• Western Digital Sentinel DX4000 NAS @ X-bit Labs
• Promise Pegasus J4: 4-bay, 2.5-inch Thunderbolt storage @ Hardware.info
• NETGEAR ReadyNAS Duo v2 NAS Server Review @ Techgage

Sumitomo Electric Green Lit for Infrared Light in Thunderbolt

Subject: General Tech, Systems, Storage | January 1, 2013 - 12:25 AM | Scott Michaud
Tagged:

Sumitomo Electric released a press statement to confirm their status as the first company to mass produce optical Thunderbolt cables.

Current implementations of Thunderbolt operate electronically which pose serious limitations on how far they can effectively transmit. The company currently offers metal-based cables up to a length of approximately 10 feet. With the transition to fibre, Sumitomo will begin manufacturing cables up to 100ft in length.

Monopriceless expression.

This all comes at the expense of an extra centimeter added in length to each end of the cable. Darn, how will I ever survive? All kidding aside, optical cables do have a serious drawback compared to their electric counterparts. Optical cables are currently unable to provide power to attached devices. This could prove highly annoying if your device requires somewhere below the rated 10W of bus power. This cable will not work in every situation.

There is currently no discussion of expected cost nor is there discussion of how cheap Monoprice will undercut them. Troll lol-lol… lol-lol. Okay, so not all kidding aside.

Samsung Acquires NVELO and SSD Caching Software Dataplex

Subject: Storage | December 16, 2012 - 09:59 PM | Ryan Shrout
Tagged: ssd, Samsung, Nvelo Dataplex, nvelo

Thanks to those of you that sent this in to us as it will likely be very big news to discuss during the upcoming CES in January.  Samsung Electronics announced it has acquired NVELO, a California based SSD technology company most popularly known for Dataplex, software used for storage caching.

Many of the most popular caching SSDs from companies like OCZ, Corsair, Crucial and Mushkin are currently licensing the Dataplex software to bundle with select lines of drives to enable SSD caching technology without using Intel's Smart Response Technology.  We tested the Dataplex software on the OCZ RevoDrive Hybrid back in December of last year and we found no issue with it compared to Intel's tech.

Simple Dataplex installation process

As of this writing though Samsung does not have a caching system of its own or a line of drives using anyone else's technology.  Samsung in general prefers to have a completely vertical product line in which it can control as many aspects as possible: NAND, design, sales, etc.  It would appear that they have decided that simply buying up the privately held NVELO would be the simplest and surest way to make a splash.

"The acquisition of NVELO will enable us to extend our ability to provide SSD related storage solutions to customers. We are pleased with this transaction as the employees of NVELO share our vision to take SSD storage into the next-generation of performance and reliability," said Young-Hyun Jun, executive vice president of Flash product & technology, Device Solutions, Samsung Electronics.

What we don't know of course is how this will affect the competing SSD vendors like OCZ and Corsair.  It seems unlikely that Samsung will kill the deal for currently selling SSDs but I wouldn't expect NVELO to be able to offer the software for license in the future.  Current sellers will need to be on the lookout for another software solution after the new year. 

On the other hand I am very interested to see what Samsung can do with NVELO's technology and what integration methods they'll devise for future products. 

AMD caches in on fast boot times with downloadable RAMDisks

Subject: Storage | December 12, 2012 - 02:50 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: radeon, cache, radeon ramdisk

We've heard mentions of AMD's downloadable RAMDisk software which will portion off a part of your system RAM to act as a cache drive to give you all the benefits of an SSD cache drive without the costs.  There are three levels, two free levels which will give you 4GB if you do not have Radeon branded memory and 6GB if you do.  For $18.99 you can get the Xtreme version which will allow you up to 64GB on any type of RAM and will get rid of the upgrade now pop up which you will see on the free versions.  This software should work with any modern CPU from AMD or Intel which is a great move on AMDs part to help make this software popular.  Hardware Canucks checked the boot time with a Super Anti-Spyware scan that is launched during boot which slowed the RAMDisk down a bit however the launch time of CS5 was significantly faster than even an SSD.  Check it out here, or just download it from here.

"With memory prices on the decline and Intel's RST caching offering a great solution for budget conscious buyers, AMD is reviving the idea of memory-based application acceleration. Called Radeon RAMDisk, it promises to reduce load times to mere seconds on even the most basic of systems."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Storage

• Samsung 840 Pro @ [H]ard|OCP
• Samsung 840 Pro SSD @ Guru3D
• OCZ Vector 128GB SSD @ Tweaktown
• OCZ Agility 4 - 256GB SSD @ Funky Kit
• Intel DC S3700 Data Center SSD @ SSD Review
• Crucial M4 256GB SATA III SSD Review @ PCSTATS
• Mushkin Atlas 480GB mSATA SSD @ Tweaktown
• Exploring the Relationship Between Spare Area and Performance Consistency in Modern SSDs @ AnandTech
• Kingston SSDNow V300 SSD @ SSD Review
• Plextor Updates The Firmware on M5 Pro @ AnandTech
• Sandisk Extreme SSD 120GB/240GB review: too little too late? @ Hardware.info
• WD Red 3TB NAS Hard Drive Review @ Legit Reviews
• Western Digital RE (WD4000FYYZ) 4 TB Hard Disk @ TechARP
• 25 3.5-inch hard disk round-up: battle of the terabytes @ Hardware.info
• Western Digital Black 4TB Hard Drive Review @ Hardware Canucks
• Silverstone FP37 SDXC USB 3.0 Card Reader @ Benchmark Reviews
• Synology DS713+ NAS and DX213 Expansion Unit @ Kitguru
• ioSafe Solo G3 Fireproof and Waterproof External Hard Drive @ Tweaktown
• Silicon Power Diamond Series D03 USB 3.0 Portable HDD Review @ Madshrimps
• Silicon Power Armor A80 1TB USB 3.0 Portable Hard Drive Review @ NikKTech
• Hitachi Touro Desk Pro 4TB USB 3.0 External HDD Review @ Madshrimps
• ADATA DashDrive Elite HE720 2.5" 500GB External Hard Drive @ eTeknix
• Synology DS-413 review: versatile 4-bay NAS @ Hardware.info
• Patriot Gauntlet Node Portable Wireless 2.5″ HDD Enclosure @ Kitguru

Kickstarter begins for Transporter: Internet Connected Private Storage

Subject: Storage | December 6, 2012 - 10:12 AM | Allyn Malventano
Tagged: transporter, storage, NAS, cloud

I was recently briefed on an interesting new product called the Transporter, a file sharing device engineered by the same folks that took part in the creation of the Drobo. Connected Data has launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund its production, so I am now free to talk about it. Here's what it looks like:

Transporter is basically a local area network share. It connects to your router via Gigabit Ethernet (and reportedly runs at close to HDD throughput). With the software installed to your local PCs or Macs, it enables folder sharing and real-time syncing to any other Transporter-equipped location (i.e. a family member). There will also be versions of Transporter with 1TB or 2TB internal hard drives, which shift the file storage burden off of the local computers, if desired.

This may sound a lot like other cloud-based sharing solutions out there, but there are some very significant differences:

• User data is only stored on local systems or shared with other user-invited locations (via their Transporter).
• The capacity shared is only limited by your local storage capacity (plus whatever internal storage is installed into the Transporter via its internal 2.5" drive bay).

To put it simply, Transporter is similar to Dropbox in functionality and convenience, but your data is *only* stored privately, and there are no subscription fees or storage limits (beyond that of your local storage capacity). The Kickstarter has only been going for a few hours, and the 'early adopter' pre-orders are more than half gone. Once the 'early' orders are used up, price for a bare Transporter goes from $149 to $179. 1TB models go for $269 and 2TB for $359. We're definitely keeping our eye on this one.

SSDs Might Just Get a Little More Solid: Write Wearing Fixed?

Subject: General Tech, Storage | December 5, 2012 - 10:01 PM | Scott Michaud
Tagged: Macronix, ssd, enterprise ssd

I have not been too worried about my SSD failing due to excessive write-erase wear and tear. Typical flash cells fail somewhere between a few thousand write cycles with high endurance drives creeping over the ten-thousand cycle border. It is quite rare for me, like many home users, to write to my SSD outside of application updates or profile changes on my web browser.

Enterprise customers tend to hammer on drives quite a bit more ferociously, however. It will primarily be those customers who are most interested in news recently published with the IEEE: modifications to the integrated circuit holding the flash cells can be made to recondition dead NAND cells.

SSDs have been able to be restored from write-erase degradation through excessive heating, think several hours at two-and-a-half times the sea-level boiling point of water. Clearly tossing SSDs in a range with your fries and chicken strips is not an ideal solution and would not be wise to recommend.

Macronix, the company who claims to have invented the technology based on research into competing Phase Change RAM (PCRAM), assert that their flash will survive at least ten-thousand times longer than enterprise NAND. Their integrated circuit has been designed to deliver extreme heat, 8-times the boiling point of water, local to the flash cell for a very brief time. The article boasts at least 100-million cycles because that was their point where their patience in testing the flash ended: the flash was still ready for more.

That said I do not claim to have too much knowledge about solid state flash so tune in for the December 5th PC Perspective Podcast for more discussion from smarter people. If you found this quick enough you could also tune in live just after this publishes!

Hitachi does external USB 3.0 drives well

Subject: Storage | December 3, 2012 - 05:14 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: usb 3.0, Touro Mobile Pro, hitachi, external drive

If you spot the Hitachi GST Touro Mobile Pro USB 3.0 external HDD for a reasonable price you really should consider picking it up.  Just looking at the speed charts on NikkTech shows you that this USB 3.0 drive can keep up with eSATA drives and other USB 3.0 drives.  At 80 x 126 x 15mm and weighing 155g it is extremely portable, though the cable only being 1' long is a pity.  If you are in the market for large portable storage that is quick enough your copying doesn't take all night this is worth checking out.

"Only 25 or so days before we go dark for our much anticipated Christmas vacations (which shouldn't last more than 10 days in total) and so we decided to mainly focus on reviews requested by some of you during the last 2 months. Needless to say we are already testing quite a few gaming peripherals for the past 2 weeks so there isn't really much time for anything else that requires time and effort to test, however since the primary concern of most of you have been 2.5" portable hard disk drives (much easier/faster to test) we gathered quite a few of the latest USB 3.0 models here to see which delivers the most bang for your buck. The first of those portable USB 3.0 HDDs is no other than the latest Touro Mobile Pro 500GB by HGST."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Storage

• Promise Pegasus J2: superfast external mini-storage @ Hardware.info
• Western Digital My Passport Edge 500GB review: external USB 3.0 hard disk @ Hardware.info
• Synology DS213+ and DS213air @ Legion Hardware
• Thecus N5550 5-Bay Home NAS @ Tweaktown
• GIGABYTE GR-EZI04H 4-Bay NAS @ Tweaktown
• Plextor PlexEasy PX-650US Versatile DVD/CD Burner Review @ NikKTech
• KingFast F3 Series 120GB KF2509MCF MLC Async SATA3 SSD Review @ ModSynergy
• Kingston SSDNow V+200 480GB SSD @ Kitguru
• Samsung 840 250GB SSD @ Tweaktown
• Intel 335 Series 240GB SSD @ Tweaktown
• Samsung SSD 840 / 840 Pro @ Tweaktown
• ADATA XPG SX900 128GB SATA III SSD @ Hi Tech Legion
• Verbatim 2.5" SATA-II SSD 128GB @ Rbmods
• Samsung 840 512GB SSD @ Tweaktown
• TRIM & RAID-0 SSD Arrays Work With Intel 6-Series Motherboards Too @ AnandTech

Intel Pushes New SSD Toolbox, Updates 335 Series Firmware MWI Bug

Subject: Storage | November 28, 2012 - 10:32 PM | Allyn Malventano
Tagged: ssd toolbox, Intel, firmware, 335

A quick note to users of Intel SSDs - specifically for owners of the 335 Series. Intel has updated their SSD Toolbox app to v3.1.2. This app is used for various tasks on Intel SSDs, such as secure erasure, performance optimization under Windows, and TRIM through RAID-0 under Intel RST / ICH / PCH motherboard SATA controllers. This update is significant in that it can in turn update the firmware of the Intel 335 Series SSDs to correct a bug in how those drives report wear. This bug was initially discovered by Kristian Vättö, over at Anandtech.

If you have a newer version of the SSD Toolbox, F9 will be listed as "Total NAND Writes", and list that value in MB. The issue with the original 335 firmware was that it incorrectly calculated the wear (the Wearout Indicator - E9 above) such that it would list the drive as worn out after ~1,000 total flash cell erase cycles (i.e. 1,000 x the capacity of the SSD). The firmware update corrects this value to ~3,000 cycles, which is more appropriate for the rating of IMFT 20nm flash. Updating should be non-destructive, but you should backup just in case. The update is not urgent, in that it only corrects how the drive does the math to calculate E9. The Wearout Indicator will change to the correct value after the update, regardless of when it is applied. Additionally, if the MWI reaches 0 prematurely, it should have no impact on operation of the SSD.

Grab the update here.

OCZ interrupts your viewing of the legal battle to introduce a new product; the Vector

Subject: Storage | November 27, 2012 - 04:47 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: vector, ssd, sata, ocz, mlc, barefoot 3

There are three members of the OCZ Vector SSD, the 128GB and 256GB models will have 512MB cache and the 512GB model 1GB of cache, each costing a bit over $1/GB.  Inside is the brand new Barefoot 3 controller which features 8 channels and both an ARM cortex processor and OCZ's secret sauce, the Aragon co-processor.  On paper, the 256GB and 512GB models have the same performance specs with the 128GB model having slightly slower sequential writes and 4k reads, though still the speeds are impressive enough that you won't suffer unduly.  [H]ard|OCP takes you through their torture test here and of course if you haven't seen what Allyn did to them, get reading!

"OCZ soft launches the 256GB Vector SSD with its first OCZ-proprietary controller, the Barefoot 3. Geared for steady state performance, the OCZ Vector SSD is designed with the end user in mind. Today we take a look at the Vector and the new controller architecture and see how these fare in our steady state testing."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Storage

• OCZ's Vector SSD @ The Tech Report
• OCZ Vector SSD Review - Indilinx Barefoot 3 Becomes Reality @ SSD Review
• OCZ Vector 256GB @ TechSpot
• OCZ Vector 256GB @ Kitguru
• OCZ Vector SSD Launch @ Hardwareheaven
• OCZ Vector 256GB @ Tweaktown
• OCZ Vector 256GB SSD @ Hardware.info
• OCZ Vector SSD @ Guru of 3D
• OCZ Vector 256GB SSD Review @ Hardware Canucks
• OCZ Vector 256GB Indilinx Barefoot 3 SSD Review @ Legit Reviews
• Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD @ DVHardware

OCZ Launches Vector SSD Series and Proprietary Barefoot 3 Controller

Subject: Storage | November 27, 2012 - 03:48 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: vector, ssd, sata, ocz, mlc, barefoot 3

SAN JOSE, CA – November 27, 2012 - OCZ Technology Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:OCZ), a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced the availability of its new SATA III-based Vector SSD Series featuring the company’s next-generation Indilinx Barefoot 3 controller. OCZ’s worldwide technology hardware and firmware teams developed the new controller silicon and firmware completely in-house to enable full design control over the Vector SSD Series roadmap, while delivering exceptional I/O performance, enhanced reliability and endurance, and a host of differentiated features to empower high performance laptops, desktops, and workstations with superior storage capabilities.

OCZ Vector SSDs provide exceptional input/output operations per second (IOPS) performance and the cutting-edge Barefoot 3 controller consistently delivers superior sustained performance over time regardless of whether the data streams are in compressed or uncompressed formats. As a result, this groundbreaking SSD series provides faster file transfers and boot-ups, and a quicker, more responsive storage experience.

“The development of the Indilinx Barefoot 3 controller architecture is a crowning achievement in our company’s history, being our first controller silicon and firmware completely designed in-house from start to finish using all of the OCZ technology development teams,” said Ralph Schmitt, CEO for OCZ Technology. “These are the first SSD products delivered under the new OCZ and leverages cutting-edge controller technology to deliver a groundbreaking level of sustained performance and reliability for customers seeking a superior SSD for their high performance computing applications.”

The Vector SSD Series is available in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB capacities, and delivers read bandwidth of up to 550 MB/s, write bandwidth of up to 530 MB/s, random read performance of up to 100,000 IOPS. The Vector’s ultra-slim, 7mm sleek alloy housing supports a wide spectrum of computers including the latest thin form factor notebooks, and each Vector SSD is also bundled with a 3.5-inch desktop adapter bracket and Acronis® True Image™ cloning software to enable quick and easy data transfer from legacy hard disk drive (HDD) storage to high performance Vector SSD storage.\

Endurance was a major priority in the design of the Vector Series, and the highly intelligent Barefoot 3 controller includes an advanced suite of flash management tools that can analyze and dynamically adapt to increasing NAND vulnerabilities as flash cells wear or process geometries get smaller. In this way, the Barefoot 3 controller overcomes the shortcomings associated with MLC NAND flash memory and is specified to deliver 20GB host writes per day for 5 years. This 5-year warranty ensures that Vector SSDs can be reliably used in a wide range of high performance computing environments over an extended lifetime.

Plextor's Marvell powered 256GB M5 Pro SSD

Subject: Storage | November 26, 2012 - 05:59 PM | Jeremy Hellstrom
Tagged: plextor, m5 pro, ssd, marvell 88SS9187, toggle NAND

Hopefully at some point NewEgg will refresh their stock of Plextor's 256GB and 512GB M5 Pro SSDs, as both offer the same rated speed and a price just under $1/GB.  The Marvell controller they are using is one we have seen before, the Indilinx Everest 2 controller found in the OCZ Vertex 4.  The Guru of 3D pitted the 256GB model against numerous MLC SSDs and it trended towards the top of the results, not the fastest but consistent in being among the best performers in all tests.  Another benefit to the drive is the 5 year warranty, something which is becoming all too rare in storage devices.

"In this article we test, benchmark and review the Plextor M5 Pro series SSD. Plextor has developed this product alongside a marvel controller tied to 256GB of NAND flash memory it is amongst the fastest drives we have ever tested. We sure have lots to talk about alright. The 256GB models have sutained read/write levels of 540 MB/sec and 450 MB/sec respectively.

And with 4K random write performance estimated at 86,000 IOPS (input/output operations per second) it's dressed to impress alright. Have a peek, after which we'll dive into the technology behind it and obviously we'll present you a nice phat performance overview."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Storage

• Samsung 840 Series 250GB SSD Review @ Legit Reviews
• SandForce TRIM Issue & Corsair Force Series GS (240GB) @ AnandTech
• Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 7mm 240 GB @ LanOC Reviews
• Crucial v4 (256GB) @ AnandTech
• Intel SSD 335 240GB @ Hardware.info
• ADATA SP300 24GB mSATA @ eTeknix
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