SSDs are one of the best things you can do for your rig if you're looking to add that extra bit of speed. If you've already done that, and you're looking for even more speed, then a single SSD may not be good enough for you. In fact, maybe it's that SATA 3 6Gb/s standard holding you back.
If you want more speed, then you will have to look to PCI-Express for the answer. Austrian-based Angelbird has opened its online storefront with its Wings add-in card and SSDs.
Essentially, Wings is a PCIe SSD RAID card that can support up to four SSDs working together to deliver read speeds of 800 MB/s and writes at 750 MB/s. Those figures are achieved using Angelbird's own SandForce-powered Crest SSDs. The Wings card itself may have 16 GB or 32 GB onboard, depending on model.
Of course, users don't need to use the Crest SSDs from Angelbird, as long as they can fit their 2.5-inch drives onto the board. Angelbird tells us that even HDDs will work, though they may be a bit too power hungry for the PCIe bus.
Davide Rutigliano, founder and chairman of Angelbird, explained to Tom's Hardware, "Actually, the PCIe bus would not provide enough power even for SSD, but we developed a power section on the card (on the far right) that manages to accumulate enough amperage to feed the vast majority of SSDs on the market."
Wings also features an onboard distro of Linux called Virtue, which users can use to create RAID arrays from within the built in OS or via a software utility.
Angelbird is now shipping its products worldwide via DHL. Its Wings x4 PCIe SSD RAID card is now available starting at €166 or $249.
