New OWC SSDs Do 285 MB/s Sustained
Four new Sandforce-tainted SSDs have sustained rates up to 285 MB/s.
OWC (aka Other World Computing) said that it added four new "prosumer" SSDs to its Mercury Extreme Pro SSD line. The drives will come in four capacities--60 GB, 120 GB, 240 GB, and 480 GB. They also promise sustained read rates up to 285 MB/s with no speed degradation thanks to the tasty SandForce processor, write speeds of up to 275 MB/s, and sustained random 4KB write performance of 10,000 IOPS (with a burst of up to 30,000 IOPS).
The drives also feature a 7-percent over-provisioning to ensure a high level of data reliability. OWC said that SandForce DuraClass with ultra-efficient Block Management & Wear Leveling technologies eliminate the reduction in data transfer speeds over heavy long-term usage of the drive without the need for depending on external TRIM management.
"Utilizing SandForce DuraClass technology, the OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD is able to provide up to 100X higher data protection than provided by ordinary SSDs as well as leading enterprise class hard disk drives," the company said. "By combining the highest level of Error Correction Code (ECC) and SandForce RAISE (Redundant Array of Independent Silicon Elements) technology, the OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD provides RAID like data protection and reliability without loss of transfer speed due to parity."
Although the drives aren't on the market just yet, consumers can head here to pre-order. Unfortunately, the SSDs aren't cheap, ranging from a meaty $219.99 for the 60 GB version to a crazy $1,579.99 for the 480 GB model. Although OWC didn't specify, the new small form factor SSDs are built for laptops, however the company also offers a separate adapter for desktop use.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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foscooter I've read about this new SandForce controller..good things to come! But for $220 for 60GB, Intel X25-M 80Gb are $229. How bad do you want it??? I'm gonna wait until Gen 3 comes out from Intel!Reply
P.S. Is that close to SATA II bandwidth of 3.0Gbps. I don't want to do the math....285MBps = 2,280Mbps = 2.23Gpbs < 3.0Gbps SATA II...Am I right? I'll settle for close. -
oxxfatelostxxo and by time i can afford a good sized one... maybe sustained 500mb/s ?Reply
the longer i hold out the better -
Duesouth wait a few years an it will be the standards for computers to have SSD and the rest will just be slowly eliminated from the market.Reply
remember the very first drive being 5.25 for the computer in 1988 and cost 4000.00 for a 100 meg hard drive. good old brick drive.
Hard drive market will only advances in technology mechanical drives to non movement drives. hence Solid State Drives. anyways that is my 2 cents on it. -
tipoo The amazing thing here is that a startup company (Sandforce) is the ONLY one to be able to make a controller that even comes close to the Intel one. I love it when startups shake shit up.Reply -
tipoo foscooterP.S. Is that close to SATA II bandwidth of 3.0Gbps. I don't want to do the math....285MBps = 2,280Mbps = 2.23Gpbs < 3.0Gbps SATA II...Am I right? I'll settle for close.Reply
Yup, the SATA II speed limit has been hit by SSD's already. Keep in mind there is some overhead, so I doubt drives will ever go over 285MB/s on SATA II. Bring on SATA III!
Heck, as fast as their performance shot up, even SATA III will be saturated by SSD's soon. -
mlcloud tipooThe amazing thing here is that a startup company (Sandforce) is the ONLY one to be able to make a controller that even comes close to the Intel one. I love it when startups shake shit up.Reply
Always best to look at stuff outside the box. Imagine if you gave the people with the creative minds at Sandforce the workforce and R&D budget of Intel.... -
tipoo mlcloudImagine if you gave the people with the creative minds at Sandforce the workforce and R&D budget of Intel....Reply
nerdgasm -
twisted politiks tipooYup, the SATA II speed limit has been hit by SSD's already. Keep in mind there is some overhead, so I doubt drives will ever go over 285MB/s on SATA II. Bring on SATA III! Heck, as fast as their performance shot up, even SATA III will be saturated by SSD's soon.Reply
lol forget SATA III, bring on Intel's Light Peak :D