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Storage

Speedy and secure; the best of the encrypted thumb drives

Subject: Storage | April 21, 2011 - 05:56 PM |
Tagged: secure, encryption, usb, thumb drive

If you haven't heard of the FIPS 140 Publication Series it is the Federal Information Processing Standard which accredits encrypted flash drives to one of four levels, with 1 being relatively secure and 4 representing encryption that is almost able to defend its self from penetration.  Adding that level of security can slow things down, which is why Legit Reviews bought a few drives off of NewEgg to test.

TN_usb-flash-drives.jpg

"On paper it looks like the IronKey solutions should be faster, but you can't believe everything a company tells you when they are marketing a product they are trying to sell you. Since security is such a big deal to corporations these days we decided to order in these Flash drives and do some testing of our own. We've heard rumors and have experienced ourselves that review sites often get 'cherry picked' samples, so we ordered in as many drives as our $1000 self-prescribed budget would allow. You can look at our receipts from Amazon.com, TigerDirect.com and PConnection if you'd like..."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Storage

Source: Legit Reviews

SSD and HDD transfer speeds over a 1Gbit/s LAN

Subject: Storage | April 14, 2011 - 06:36 PM |
Tagged:

Armed with a LAN that can theoretically handle 1Gb per second, Techgage set out to see what effect storage drive technology would have on the speed at which files are transferred.  They paired Corsair's F160 SSD and Seagate's Barracuda 7200.11 1TB to see how an SSD to SSD transfer varies from an SSD to HDD or HDD to HDD.  Read on to find out the fastest way to transfer an 11GB folder and a 22.2GB file over your network.

Source: TECHGAGE

Intel, Micron jointly release 20nm flash memory

Subject: Storage | April 14, 2011 - 11:30 AM |
Tagged:

Just over a year ago, PC Perspective witnessed IMFT production of 25nm flash memory. Today Intel and Micron have announced that IMFT will be cranking out 20nm flash!
Source: Intel Press Room

The Indilinx powered OCZ Enyo 64GB USB 3.0 drive

Subject: Storage | April 11, 2011 - 02:19 PM |
Tagged:

With the rise of flash memory and more importantly the improvements made to the controllers to make SSDs as spectacular as they are we are seeing a new breed of removable drives hit the market.  They do not have an integral plug as a typical thumb drive sports, nor are they in the familiar rectangular shape, but they do share the hardiness of that type of drive.  Instead you must suffer the need to carry around a USB 3.0 cable and a drive that is slightly smaller than your average smartphone but gain not only increased storage space but also significantly increased transfer speeds.  TechARP's testing showed the Enyo hitting 130.60 MB/s read and 99.59 MB/s write during one IO Meter test, not too shabby for an external drive.

"The OCZ Enyo is a unique device that blurs the definition of portable drives as we know them. It is a solid state drive that looks like a portable hard disk drive but works more like a USB flash drive. As such, we will be comparing it not only to portable hard disk drives but also USB flash drives. Let’s take a look."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

  Storage

Source: Tech ARP

Fastest Spindle in its class, the 3TB Seagate Barracuda

Subject: Storage | April 5, 2011 - 05:50 PM |
Tagged:

If you have a new motherboard with UFEI BIOS so it can boot off of a 3TB drive, you might have already sprung for an SSD and you don't have to worry about booting off of your storage drive.  Others will not have purchased the new SSD will want to boot from this drive as Bjorn3D has called it the fastest mechanical drive they've seen.  Sure it can't compete with SSDs for speed, but SSDs aren't available at $0.08/GB!

"The Seagate Barracuda XT 3TB is the fastest mechanical drive that we have tested. The drive has excellent sequential read and write up to 150MB/s. While SSDs may grab the market headlines, they are still relatively expensive at $1.5 per gigabyte and with capacity limited to a few hundred gigabytes. At 0.08 cents per gigabyte, the Seagate Barracuda XT offers an excellent pricing as a secondary drive to complement the limited storage capacity of the SSD. With 3TB of space, 64MB Cache, 7200 RPM and SATA 6Gb/s interface, the Barracuda XT 3TB definitely won’t bog down a system. It is also hard to say no to the drive considering that it comes with a 5 year warranty, while most mainstream hard drives now only carry 3 year warranty."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

  Storage

Source: Bjorn3D

OCZ's new X2 100GB PCI-E SSD is so fast its REVOlting

Subject: Storage | March 31, 2011 - 06:42 PM |
Tagged:

If you need fast, not SATA 6Gb/s fast but PCIe 4x fast and don't mind spending a lot of money, say $4/GB or so to start, then check the OCZ RevoDrive X2 out.  In the tests where this RAIDed SSD drive doesn't win it is arguable that the benchmark its self is just unable to handle the ridiculous read and write speeds this drive can reach. The only drawback, as Think Computers is quick to point out, is no TRIM support.

 

"OCZ is no stranger to creating some of the fastest solid state drives available. We know this from our reviews of the original RevoDrive and the Vertex 3 drive. Today OCZ has sent us their X2 version of the RevoDrive, which is to be faster and available in larger capacities. It boasts max speeds of 740MB/s read and 720MB/s write and capacities of up to 960GB. If you are a person that always needs to have some of the fastest components available in your system then the RevoDrive X2 is for you. Let’s see if it will become the fastest solid state drive we have tested to date!"

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

Storage

Source: Think Computers

Honey I shrunk the Flash ... Intel's new 25nm 320 series of SSDs

Subject: Storage | March 28, 2011 - 12:25 PM |
Tagged:

Not too long ago we saw the performance of Intel's new 510 lineup of SSDs, intended to be their faster SATA 6Gbs series in comparison to the soon to be released SATA 3GBs 320 series.  Al was not overly impressed with the performance of the 256GB 510 model he tested, not so much because it was not fast but because it didn't destroy the competitions like the previous generation of Intel SSDs did.  The Tech Report examines the SSD intended as a mid-range product, with brand new 25nm flash and the Intel controller we have become familiar with. 

Take a look to see where its performance sits in the SSD environment

 

Take a look at Al's coverage of the the drive here as well!

"Intel has another new solid-state drive, and this time it's an all in-house affair with 25-nano flash. Keep reading for the skinny on the Intel 320 Series SSD."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

  Storage

Source: The Tech Report

Supersize your mobile storage with WD's 750GB HDD

Subject: Storage | March 25, 2011 - 12:45 PM |
Tagged:

Western Digital Scorpio Black 750 GB.  It is not a normal Scorpio Black, in that it is a 5400RPM 2.5" drive, not the larger faster form it is usually in.  The power draw is mitigated by using only two platters and the use Advanced Format Technology helps speed sequential reading.  For random reads and writes however, Tech ARP's testing showed the older 500GB model to be faster.

"Today, we will look at the ultimate drive from the Scorpio Black family - the 750 GB WD Scorpio Black (WD7500BPKT) hard disk drive. With 750 GB of storage capacity packed into just two platters, this drive promises to provide the best combination of performance and storage capacity."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

  Storage

Source: Tech ARP

Intel's 510 is Marvell powered

Subject: Storage | March 22, 2011 - 03:01 PM |
Tagged:

Not too long ago Al finished up his review of Intel's new series of SSDs and he was not terribly impressed although he has hopes this new SSD was rushed out for SATA 6Gb/s and that we will see another series that tops the 510 in the near future.  The Tech Report also had a go at this new SSD with it's new controller and saw the drive as an example of compromises, with increased performance in some areas at the cost of other types of performance.  They are withholding their final judgment until more companies release their next generation drives.

 

"Intel's latest 510 Series SSD combines custom firmware with a 6Gbps Marvell controller. We take a closer look at the drive's performance to see how it stacks up."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

  Storage

Source: The Tech Report

Just because Hitachi was bought doesn't mean they don't have new Deskstars

Subject: Storage | March 17, 2011 - 02:17 PM |
Tagged:

If your storage needs are more about quantity that quality or speed, the growing density of platter based drives is more important to you than the newest generation of SSDs.  That would make The Tech Report's review of the 7,200 RPM Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 3TB hard drive a rather interesting read.  5 platters with a 411 Gb/in² areal density reside inside this drive ought to beat the 5,400 RPM Caviar Green for performance.  Read on to find out.

"Hard drive makers have been slow to release new models with three-terabyte capacities. Hitachi was the first to reach 3TB with a 7,200-RPM desktop model, and we've tested it against a full house of over 30 different drives to see how the 7K3000 compares."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

  Storage

Source: The Tech Report

OCZ Technology to Acquire Indilinx Co., Ltd!

Subject: Storage | March 14, 2011 - 06:58 PM |
Tagged:

The purchase of Indilinx by OCZ caught us by surprise here at PC Perspective; not because it makes no sense but because we hadn't heard any news 'behind the scenes' as it were.   A different way of looking at it is that Indilinx now owns about 10% of OCZ, but either way this spells some interesting changes to the already interesting (to enthusiasts) SSD market.  We are getting in touch with OCZ and awaiting the web cast which will occur shortly so keep your eyes on this page for updates as we get them.

 
** Update **
 
Our Storage Editor, Allyn Malventano, listened in on their web cast earlier this evening. Some points of interest that may answer some of our reader's questions:
  • OCZ does not plan to drop other controller technology from their lineup (i.e. SandForce and Vertex are not going anywhere).
  • Indilinx will continue to supply their controllers to other SSD makers.
  • Indilinx has new(er) controllers in their pipeline.
  • The acquisition will enable OCZ to implement Indilinx chips at close to the cost of the die, which is significantly cheaper than presently available. This will increase OCZ's margin on those SSD's as well as help to drop prices in the future.

Obviously this acquisition creates an interesting dynamic with SSD makers, and we will be seeing ripples from this in the coming months. Even if OCZ's competitors were to all drop Indilinx, there are many Indilinx+OEM relationships that would continue, as they have no connection to OCZ.

 
** Update Part Deux **
 
Ryan pointed out that the 240GB Vertex 2's have dropped to a whopping $1.58/GB over at Amazon. This may be a move to clear out stock, making way for the Vertex 3's.

SAN JOSE, Calif., March 14, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OCZ Technology Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:OCZ - News), a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Indilinx Co., Ltd, a privately held fabless provider of flash controller silicon and software for SSDs.

Indilinx is headquartered in South Korea and currently sells its line of flash controllers to SSD manufacturers and Tier One OEMs for use in a broad array of products addressing multiple markets, including embedded and industrial as well as laptops and PCs. Indilinx controllers have been deployed within OCZ's SSD products since December 2008, and are currently featured in the Z-Drive series of PCIe-based SSDs. Indilinx's technology is expected to enable OCZ to expand its presence into the embedded, hybrid storage, and industrial markets.

OCZ will gain substantial intellectual property from Indilinx including approximately 20 patents and patent applications related exclusively to the business as part of the transaction. For example, the acquisition is expected to extend OCZ's capabilities with advanced controller technology including Tinkerbell(TM), a high performance eMMC 4.4 x controller that replaces SSDs in consumer electronic devices such as smartphones, tablet PCs, GPS units, and netbooks. Tinkerbell improves the user experience in consumer mobile devices for applications such as internet browsing, gaming, social networking applications, emails, and multimedia play.

Following its acquisition by OCZ, Indilinx will continue to produce and supply its line of controller products to SSD manufacturers and OEMs on a global basis. The Indilinx controller business, and its 45 employees, will remain intact under the leadership of Bumsoo Kim, the founder and President of Indilinx, and Hyunmo Chung, Indilinx's Chief Technology Officer. OCZ will continue its own R&D program to develop new proprietary technologies and products to expand its own solid state drive offerings.

The Indilinx acquisition notwithstanding, OCZ plans to continue utilizing controllers from other manufacturers including long-term partner SandForce, who currently supplies SSD processors for a wide range of the Company's SSD products including the Vertex 2, Agility 2, RevoDrive, customizable Deneva enterprise drives, and the upcoming Vertex 3 family of SSDs.

"This transaction is an important step in OCZ's strategy and significantly enhances our ability to capitalize on the worldwide demand for Solid State Drives," said Ryan Petersen, CEO of OCZ Technology Group. "This combination brings together two organizations that are committed to advancing solid state drive design, and provides a unique opportunity for OCZ to increase both customer and shareholder value as well as expand our reach into embedded markets."

Under the terms of the agreement, OCZ will acquire Indilinx for approximately $32 million of OCZ common stock. Indilinx shareholders will own approximately 9.5% of the OCZ shares outstanding after issuance of the shares. The transaction has been approved by the board of directors of each company, and is expected to close within 30 days, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. OCZ expects the transaction to become accretive to its earnings per share toward the end of this fiscal year on a non-GAAP basis, excluding acquisition-related expenses, restructuring charges, and amortization of intangibles.

Ryan Petersen, CEO, will be a featured speaker at the Roth Capital 23rd Annual Orange County Growth Stock Conference today at 5:30 pm pacific time. To listen to the presentation and view the accompanying slides, please visit the investor relations events section of OCZ website at www.ocztechnology.com and click on the link provided for the web cast.

Source: OCZ Technology

1TB of USB 3.0 powered storage in a deck of cards with WD's My Passport

Subject: Storage | March 10, 2011 - 03:18 PM |
Tagged:

At just $100, the Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1TB USB 3.0offers you serious portable storage in a package roughly the size of a deck of cards.  Thanks to the transfer speeds of USB 3.0, reads and writes between 60 - 70 MB/s according to Think Computers' testing, you won't be waiting hours to transfer your data. 

"Portable storage has always been very popular, it is nice having a hard drive that you can easily take with you anywhere on the go. Western Digital is no stranger to portable storage solutions, they have been marking portable solutions for a while now. With technology advancing and USB 3.0 becoming very popular Western Digital has released versions of its My Passport drives that support USB 3.0. Today we will be looking at the 1TB USB 3.0 My Passport Essential SE drive."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

  Storage

 

Source: Think Computers

Intel's new 510 series is not quite as hot as their first shot

Subject: Storage | March 3, 2011 - 05:26 PM |
Tagged:

Not to imply that Intel's new 510 series of SSDs, which use a Marvel controller, do not improve upon the previous generation at all; instead it is more that they did not reach the lofty goals we had hoped for.  Moving the SATA 6G is a great step but considering the incredible performance we saw from their initial (well Rev. 2) drives when compared to the competitors, the bar was set pretty high.  Al takes the drive through its paces in his latest article, found here.

 

"While we were glad to see Intel step up and release this 6Gb/sec part, I can't help but feel this was a bit of a rush job. While the drive performed decently and reliably, I certainly didn't get that same feeling of performance awesomeness present with each of their previous releases. I believe this 510 was pushed out as a stop gap measure, with speedier offerings coming down the road. Sure you could argue this is meant to be a consumer drive only and should be 'good enough' for most people, but the competition is upgrading the definition of 'consumer grade' on a daily basis."

Here are some more Storage reviews from around the web:

  Storage

Source: PC Perspective

Intel Releases 6Gb/sec 510 Series Solid State Drives

Subject: Storage | February 28, 2011 - 12:20 PM |
Tagged:

Today Intel announced their SSD 510 Series of solid state drives. This is the first SATA 6Gb/sec offering to come from Intel, and has been eagerly awaited by the industry. These units come in the standard 2.5" x 9.5mm form factor, in capacities of 120 and 250GB.

Source: Intel Press Room

OCZ and the Vertex 3

Subject: Storage | February 24, 2011 - 02:13 PM |
Tagged:

Those of you who caught the live podcast last night had a preview of the performance of the brand new Sandforce controller and the OCZ Vertex 3 240GB drive.  For the full story you need to read Al's review, where he puts the new drive to every test he could think of.  Go on and click through!


Source: PC Perspective

Corsair to Preview Force Series GT SSDs at CeBIT

Subject: Storage | February 24, 2011 - 11:51 AM |
Tagged:

Fremont, California — February 24th, 2011 — Corsair, a worldwide designer and supplier of high-performance components to the PC gaming hardware market, today announced it will preview its new Force Series™ GT line of solid-state drives at its booth at CeBIT.

The new Force GT SSDs will use the new SandForce SF-2000 SSD Processor with native support for SATA 6Gb/s (SATA 3) to deliver incredible perf

Source: Corsair Memory

OCZ Technology Unveils the Vertex 3 and Vertex 3 Pro SATA 6Gbps SSDs

Subject: Storage | February 24, 2011 - 11:47 AM |
Tagged:

SAN JOSE, Calif., Feb. 24, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OCZ Technology
Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:OCZ), a leading provider of high-performance
solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today
unveiled its next generation Vertex 3 SATA III SSD product family, a
lineup that caters to both client and enterprise applications.
Harnessing the 6Gbps speed of the SATA III interface, the new series
delivers double the performance of the previous generation.

Source: OCZ Technology

SuperTalent Introduces Fastest & Smallest Gen 2 SSD

Subject: Storage | February 21, 2011 - 02:42 PM |
Tagged:

San Jose, California - February 21th, 2011 - Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today announced their CoreStore TMline of SSD solutions designed to bring a new level of performance to the SSD market.

By combining the very latest Marvel controller (88NV9143), new DDR ONFi 2 flash and plugging directly to the PCIe bus, Super Talent is now able to create two solutions t

Source: Super Talent Technology

Corsair address the 25nm transition for SSDs, shows performance delta

Subject: Storage | February 18, 2011 - 04:45 PM |
Tagged:

Corsair sent out an email and posted some information on their website some of the implied criticism that is surrounding the transition from 34nm flash memory to 25nm flash memory on SandForce based SSDs.  Now, you might at first think that moving from 34nm flash to 25nm flash should be straight forward and any price benefits we get would be passed to the consumer with lower prices.  All good right?  Well, there is a catch:

Source: PC Perspective

Write 7GB a day and your 25nm SSD will be dead in a millennium

Subject: Storage | February 18, 2011 - 04:23 PM |
Tagged:

AnandTech went straight after the rumour mongers with a bit of math, showing that even though the number of times you can program/erase one flash block is cut almost in half compared to previous generations you are not going to see the drive die because of flash exhaustion.  You may see controllers fail or even see the flash memory's charge drain but the read/write error won't be the likely cause.  Check out his review of the OCZ Vertex 3 Pro with the new SandForce 2582 controll

Source: AnandTech

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