On Thursday Toshiba said it is launching a new Q Series Pro line of internal SSDs at the end of the month that are supposedly ideal for PC gamers, graphics professionals and multi-taskers who need a little boost in system performance. Unfortunately, the company didn't provide any hardware specifics in its announcement, but did manage to reveal that these drives will sport a 7 mm, lightweight form factor.
"Toshiba’s comprehensive ecosystem of devices positions the company at an advantage when understanding consumer needs for storage," said Maciek Brzeski, vice president of product marketing and development of branded storage products, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "The Q Series Pro PC Internal Solid State Drive offers industry-proven caliber and authenticity with leading performance, speeds and capabilities."
Strangely enough, Best Buy already has the Toshiba Q Series Pro 128 GB model listed on its website, as well as the 256 GB model for $309.99 -- the company also plans to release a 512 GB model for $739. The good news is that the two listings shed more light on the new SSD lineup, but the information is still somewhat limited. Both SSDs are promoted as hard drive replacements for laptops and Ultrabooks, and even ship with a mounting spacer so the drives can fit within 9.5 mm bays.
According to the brief specs, both models connect via a SATA 3 interface (6 Gb/s) interface with average sequential read speeds of 554 MB/s. Both are supposedly resistant to vibrations and shocks, and of course are more energy efficient and less noisy than standard laptop hard drives. Downloadable NTI Echo migration software supposedly makes the backup and transfer of files from the previous drive to the new SSD a snap.
"Toshiba’s Q Series Pro PC Internal Solid State drive is an efficient storage solution that offers faster boot-up and operation for the PC," reads the company's press release. "Users will discover they have more time to work and play on their laptop and will have to spend less time worrying about finding the next power outlet."
The new Toshiba Q Series Pro SSDs are backed by a 3-year limited warranty, and are compatible with Windows XP and later. Check back with Toshiba later this month to get an accurate story regarding each SSD's read/write performance.
