The rumor that AMD is working on a branded solid state drive shouldn't be all that surprising. After all, the company's line of memory was all just a rumor until AMD revealed its Radeon-branded memory modules back in 2011. Producing an SSD seems like the logical next step.
The latest AMD rumor is that the branded SSD will feature an OCZ controller -- possibly from the Barefoot series -- and Toshiba's own 19 nm NAND memory. Unnamed sources claim that AMD provided the specifications, and that the drive is specially tailored to fit AMD's needs.
AMD is expected to announce the SSD soon, including pricing and the specification for a 120 GB drive and a 240 GB drive. There's speculation that the company isn't trying to compete with Samsung and Intel in the SSD space, but to provide a more attractive, branded bundle. AMD may be focused on value rather than high capacity and high performance.
Toshiba purchased OCZ Technology Group and launched OCZ Storage Solution back in January. The acquisition provides Toshiba with OCZ's enterprise and client SSD businesses, allowing Toshiba to continue manufacturing SSDs using the established OCZ brand. In turn, OCZ Storage Solutions has access to Toshiba's NAND and combines it with the OCZ's proprietary controllers, firmware and software.
"We are very excited to be part of the Toshiba family where we will continue to develop new and unique solid-state storage technologies that position the new entity as a market leader," said Ralph Schmitt, CEO for OCZ Storage Solutions. "With Toshiba's financial strength and portfolio of leading-edge NAND flash memory, OCZ is now in an advantageous position."
For now, take all this branded SSD talk with a grain of salt. We reached out to AMD for more information, but the company will not comment on rumored products. Honestly, it wouldn't be surprising if the rumor was true. A Radeon SSD would make a great addition to any AMD-based bundle.
