OCZ Offers 1.8'' Versions of Vertex, Onyx SSDs

Thursday OCZ launched a new pair of 1.8-inch SSDs as an upgrade option for the "thin and light" market. According to the company, these two new drives will deliver the reliability and performance expected from high-end enthusiasts while meeting the small form factor requirements of ultra-thin notebooks, netbooks, nettops, and tablet PCs.

The 1.8-inch Vertex 2 was engineered for maximum production, delivering the same performance as the larger 2.5-inch version. Driven by SandForce, the new drive excels in 4 KB random writes up to 50,000 IOPS and features transfer rates up to 285 MB/s read and 275 MB/s write. The SSD will also come in three capacities: 60 GB, 120 GB, and 240 GB.

As for the other SSD, the 1.8-inch Onyx, OCZ said that it's more suited for the mainstream consumer, offering an "aggressive price point" for those looking to increase performance and the overall lifespan of their current system. Using an Indilinx controller, this SSD delivers transfer rates up to 135 MB/s read and 70 MB/s write. It also features 64 MB of cache, and consumes only one watt of power--even during intensive computing. Storage capacities come in 32 GB and 64 GB flavors.

OCZ said that both drives use an SATA II interface and provides support for TRIM. Prices start at $243.99 for the Vertex 2, and $107.99 for the Onyx (currently sold out on Amazon).