Transcend's New SSDs: Up To 192 GB
Transcend announces the release of its new 2.5-inch SSDs, offered with either MLC or SLC NAND memory.
The SLC-equipped SSDs are offered in capacities from 8 GB to 64 GB, while the MLC-equipped SSDs are offered in capacities ranging from 32 GB to 192 GB. Transcend recommends the SLC-versions for OS installations.
Features of the new SSDs include a built-in Error Correction Code (ECC), a wear-leveling algorithm, a 2-year warranty and a mean time before failure (MTBF) rating of 1-million hours. The drives come with either a SATA-II or IDE interface.
The sequential read and write speeds of the new Transcend SSDs are as follows,
| NAND Type | Capacity | Max Read Speed | Max Write Speed |
| SLC | 8 GB | 136 MB/sec. | 96 MB/sec. |
| Row 2 - Cell 0 | 16 - 32 GB | 135 MB/sec. | 105 MB/sec. |
| Row 3 - Cell 0 | 64 GB | 163 MB/sec. | 142 MB/sec. |
| MLC | 32 GB | 123 MB/sec. | 60 MB/sec. |
| Row 5 - Cell 0 | 64 GB | 148 MB/sec. | 92 MB/sec. |
| Row 6 - Cell 0 | 128 - 192 GB | 163 MB/sec. | 92 MB/sec. |
Compared to currently available SSDs from other manufactures, the rated sequential speeds of Transcends new SSDs seem to be about average. In regards to the performance consumer SSD market, Transcend will be up against Intel's popular X-25M MLC-based SSDs, which have sequential read and write speeds of 250 MB/sec. and 70 MB/sec., respectively.
According to Transcend's Online store, the 192 GB, 128 GB, 64 GB and 32 GB MLC-based SATA-II SSDs are available for $614, $421, $224 and $131, respectively. The 64 GB SLC-based SATA-II SSD is available for $936. Intel's 80 GB X-25M SSD is available from newegg.com for $399.
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Tindytim Um, big whoop?Reply
Other companies have announced larger capacities, and they have better performance. -
KITH I could live with the lower performance figures for a cheap 8GB SLC drive.Reply
Would be good for serving small files quickly. -
antiacid KITHI could live with the lower performance figures for a cheap 8GB SLC drive.Would be good for serving small files quickly.You would still be bottlenecked by your network connection in most cases. SSDs really shine in I/O per second such as in the server market. At that price point, Transcend is basically telling us "this is for enthusiasts, business users and people with money to burn".Reply -
Tindytim KITHI could live with the lower performance figures for a cheap 8GB SLC drive.Would be good for serving small files quickly.I would love to get a couple cheap 8GBs in a Raid 0Reply -
I wonder why they released an 8GB version.Reply
It's barely enough to host Linux and some files...
For XP 12GB +files is pretty sufficient, 24GB preferably.
Vista at least 16GB,32GB preferably. -
nihility For a drive that's supposed to be more robust and resistant to damage than a HDD, they're really skimping on the warranty.Reply
2 years warranty for a data storage device? Not for me... -
descendency antiacid At that price point, Transcend is basically telling us "this is for enthusiasts, business users and people with money to burn".Someone should tell them the x 25-e 32gb sells for less than half (making raid look extremely attractive if you have the money) and is faster than their 64gb slc drive.Reply -
tmc $600 for an ssd drive?!? Are you crazy?Reply
All of these prices should be only 1/3 of that price NOW, not in 2-6 years, and that is for a 512gb ssd drive (state of the art today). A comparable hdd is only $40-65 at retail for 500gb, so an SSD should only be a small multiple, not 10x. -
davidgbailey We're almost there, can't wait until these get to mainstream prices. 2x would be reasonable at this point. It's just glorified memory.Reply