A Closer Look At Silicon Motion's SM2256
SSD vendors who partner with Silicon Motion have the option to use its reference design or build their own configuration.
At this year's CES, we saw three SM2256-based R&D boards first-hand. At this time, Silicon Motion is preparing three TLC flash types for use with its controller. Again, today we have one with Samsung's 19nm TLC. The company has also demonstrated the SM2256 with Toshiba A19 TLC and SK Hynix's second-gen 1xnm flash.
Today marks the second time I've tested an early sample with the SM2256. At Flash Memory Summit last year Paul Alcorn, Jon Coulter and I had 24 hours with this controller paired with Toshiba A19 TLC. Samsung's 19nm TLC is a little faster, and the controller is more mature this time around.
I was a bit surprised when Silicon Motion displayed the first early sample at CES with Samsung TLC flash. With its own successful line of SSDs, Samsung doesn't just hand flash out to competitors. I’ve tested many client SSDs over