By: Julio Urquidi

The whirring hum of the platter-based hard disk drive may soon be a thing of the past, thanks to the up and coming solid-state technology built into today's solid state disk (SSD) drives. SSD drives are lighter, quieter and more durable than their moving platter-based predecessors. One shining standout this year in this arena has been the SuperTalent SATA25 SSD.

On looks alone, the SuperTalent 128 GB SSD appears just like any 2.5" disk; the price tag is another story...

Using industrial strength NAND flash technology, the 2.5 inch SuperTalent SATA 25 SSD work with most, if not all, OSes and fits just about anywhere a similar disk-based drive can go. Measuring at 69.9 mm x 100.2 mm x 9.5 mm, this notebook sized drive is very portable. And with no moving parts, the SuperTalent SATA25 SSD drive is rugged enough to withstand shock levels better than hard disks of similar size and capacity. In addition, Mean Time Between Failure on these drives is rated at more than a million hours, delivering a longer lasting medium for everyday storage needs.

Using the same 3 GB SATA interface as today's conventional disk based drives, the Super Talent SATA25 SSD works with any standard PC. That said, you'll want to confirm that the motherboard you decide to use is included in the SuperTalent SSD's compatibility guide. When connected to a supported board, the drive works very well, and guarantees that you'll get what you expect from this great flash-based drive.

The price range for the SuperTalent SATA25 starts at around $290 for the 8 GB model, up to $3,800 for the 128 GB model. Solid-state drives may not be cheap, but as a fast, durable, and extremely portable alternative to conventional hard disks, the SATA25 series could be a great investment.