SanDisk bumps 1.8- and 2.5-inch SSD to 64GB

While not nearly as capacious as PQI's 256GB behemoth of an SSD, SanDisk is creeping ever closer by bumping its 1.8- and 2.5-inch SSD to 64GB. Previously capped at 32GB, the SATA 5000 and UATA 5000 series are now doubling in capacity and ready to become your next drop-in hard drive replacement. The devices reportedly sport a sustained read rate of around 67Mbps, a random read rate of 7,000 IOPS, and consume about half as much energy as its traditional HDD counterparts. No word just yet on pricing, but SanDisk is reportedly planning to offer up 64GB engineering samples in Q3, while mass production is scheduled to commence by the year's end.

[anon @ Jun 4th 2007 7:49PM]

just wondering, which interface does the 1.8" drive use?

There doesn't seem to be a standard interface for the 1.8" drivers. Hitachi just uses the normal ATA interface, while Toshiba has it's own interface (likely pin-compatible but still requires some sort of adaptor) that seem to have undergone a couple of generations.

The form-factor here suggest it's the Toshiba interface, can anyone confirm this?

[MBubba @ Jun 4th 2007 10:27PM]

These guys should stop trying to outdo each other on the size announcements and actually ship one to resellers.

[schlomo @ Jun 4th 2007 11:19PM]

all 1.8in drives use a form of ATA, it's just a pin-converter that's required, if at all. I've never heard of different connectors, though in 1.8in drives - I think this might just look different than the others because of the physical dimensions (thickness) of the drive having something to do with the placement of the interface.

[Kiwi616 @ Jun 5th 2007 12:16AM]

If I am not mistaken the iPod's 60 and 80GB version use a 1.8in drive, so I think this could be a replaced for the flash version of the next video iPod. My 2 cents.

[Ethan Duffy @ Jun 4th 2007 7:58PM]

Well, SSDs just surpassed anything I need, I'd be happy with the 32GB version (here's hoping the price drops a bit more on that one), most hopefully on that tiny mini macbook that hopefully exists somewhere. And that's a lot of hope.

[dudeInAmerica @ Jun 4th 2007 8:08PM]

Will these things go on sale already. Lots of stories, no "add to cart"s

[Aaron @ Jun 4th 2007 8:26PM]

Yeah, they keep teasing us but never offering any firm prices or availability dates.

32 gigs is fine for my UMPC.

[Russ @ Jun 4th 2007 8:32PM]

Agreed dudeinAmerica. When can I buy it all ready?

One quick question: What's the compatibility like with existing devices? Can I buy an SATA variant and shove it in my Thinkpad?

[xrmb @ Jun 4th 2007 8:41PM]

as many said before me... tell me one online store where to buy it, or one that has at least 2-3 out of the 20 we heard about in the last few month.

[anon @ Jun 4th 2007 8:57PM]

buy an UMPC with one side, pull it out and replace with HDD. Then you have a functioning UMPC and a spare SSD drive!

of course it'd cost close to $2000, or maybe more.

[booomups @ Jun 4th 2007 9:58PM]

i wonder why there arent any S-ATA oder P-ATA devices that can be equipped with microSD/SDHC cards, in a 2.5" disk equivalent should be enough space for 10-20 cards and the neded controllerchip, adding maybe different sorts of raid ability and one has a very futureproof, versatile and expandable device with a hungry market to sell it to.

[Jitty @ Jun 4th 2007 10:00PM]

Wow, the psp2 better have one of these inside it (the next gen psp, not upgrade psp)

[Mr. Vage @ Jun 4th 2007 10:26PM]

This would be a nice thing to have in a PSP2 but let's hope for a brighter screen that doesn't ghost and a longer battery life first.

[strider_mt2k @ Jun 5th 2007 12:00AM]

Yep, clear those 32GB drives out folks.

WE'LL take 'em! :D

[sdwells @ Jun 5th 2007 12:47AM]

i can defiantly see the 1.8 inch coming quickly to a new ipod sooner rather than later. the price doesn't even matter that much because it will double battery life increase the lifetime of the player (at least shock resistant wise), and with the amount of new "ipod video flash's" that they'd sell it'd quickly drop the price of these down to a reasonable price.

i'm not expecting these to become popular in laptops until the price lowers for the 128GB or 256GB variety, I'd expect top of the line mac, sony, etc... to easily sell their laptops with flash drives that size no matter the slight pro price bump (if there'd even be one)

[Macinjosh @ Jun 5th 2007 1:08AM]

"No word just yet on pricing"

If I have to hear this statement again, im gonna off myself. Seriously, just freakin' release the god damn things already. I dont care if it is only 32GB. Thats PLENTY of space for all your OS stuff + apps.

Most of the users of these would keep all their big media on external drives or server shares.

[Somedude @ Jun 5th 2007 2:25AM]

I'll take two 32gb SSD HDs and raid them over a single 64gb SSD HD. Not THAT would be speed :)

[RB @ Jun 5th 2007 2:25AM]

The "surge" of SSD makers is great but what good is the announcement of these products with out accurate specs and prices? Sure a 32GB or 64GB SSD will add another 6months to a years worth or extra usage but if the cost of the SSD is more than a new notebook why would we buy it? The manufactures need to stop tickling our butts with feathers and start giving us some info we can use like specs, a price and an availability date.

[Overstim @ Jun 5th 2007 2:49AM]

How about you guys stop posting stories about products that dont have prices yet? What is this, the 10th SSD drive that I cant frickin buy?

[anonymouspimp @ Jun 5th 2007 11:26AM]

See, THIS is where Sandisk can grab a lot more market share with their mp3 players...

They have a crazy advantage over everyone else as they can use these drives at cost. Why they don't have a 64GB Sansa Connect available is mind boggling.

Or why didn't they just put this in the Sansa View? It would sell based on the 64GB capacity alone.

[Sean O @ Jun 5th 2007 1:46PM]

Why do so many of you keep relating this to iPods and other MP3 players. What makes you think these would ever end up in those this decade?

Please explain why you think a person would need a super-fast disk for playing 128kbps music files. A 4200RPM hard drive is already at least 50 times faster than that.

The only thing these are good for now at 1.8" is UMPCs. Maybe down the road PDAs/iPhone type devices. But if you think this is going to end up in a regular MP3 player, think again.

[Jules @ Jun 6th 2007 11:53AM]

That is the dumbest thing I ever heard. 5400RPM drives become painfully slow when running OSX or XP. There is a major difference in how your environment runs between 5400 and 7200....and you are talking about 4200. Who uses a computer just for mp3s?

[Sean O @ Jun 6th 2007 12:05PM]

Your post is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Do you even know how to read? I said "iPods and MP3 Players". Last time I checked, those don't run XP or OSX. They boot up instantly. Learn how to read before you insult someone.

[Geoff F @ Aug 14th 2007 1:36PM]

That is the stupidest comment I've had the misfortune of reading and the stupidest reply as well. As to why they would put it in an MP3 player ummm can you say less power strain, less heat, more shock resistance... Ect. The increase in battery life alone would be enough to get alot of people to buy one.

[Geoff F @ Aug 14th 2007 10:35PM]

oh by the way ipods can run OSX/XP since they can act as an external HDD they are bootable and if you have a copy of an OS on one you can boot it

[Quacktastic @ Jun 5th 2007 2:16PM]

If you can live with a mere 8 gigs, Newegg has had the transcend SSD drive for quite a while:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820208063

The price is still a bit steep, IMO, for that capacity though. But, the speeds people are reporting are great.

[Kolby Manning @ Jun 5th 2007 9:57PM]

@Sean O
Umm...miss the point much?
Stop trying to show off how much about HDDs. You can speak better when your foot isn't shoved down your throat.

Two words, idiot: Battery Life.

[Matt @ Jun 6th 2007 4:46AM]

Boy, am I ever getting sick of articles about new SSD's brandishing the sentence, "No word on pricing yet, but you can bet your ass you can't afford it!"

I appreciat the announcement, and these things are certainly popping up more frequently, but price is the important metric here. Is the cost per GB coming down? I can only gauge that if you include a damned price.

[Matt @ Jun 6th 2007 4:46AM]

Boy, am I ever getting sick of articles about new SSD's brandishing the sentence, "No word on pricing yet, but you can bet your ass you can't afford it!"

I appreciate the announcement, and these things are certainly popping up more frequently, but price is the important metric here. Is the cost per GB coming down? I can only gauge that if you include a damned price.

[Jules @ Jun 6th 2007 12:29PM]

Damn it! My apologies, you are right. Nothing makes me more mad then when MAC and DELL still sell laptops with 5400rpm drives and then have the nerve to put Vista on it. Again I apologise.

[eremenow @ Jun 6th 2007 9:31PM]

I saw the 32gb samsung for sale on eBay in 2.5" PATA format. The guy is asking around $600. Not bad, but I just bought a dell precision desktop with a 15k sas drive - I just couldn't wait for ssd's any longer. Now I'm just gonna wait for ssd prices to come down before I upgrade my laptop. The ssd guys missed me by about a week. Serves them right to be talking about all these drives and delivering nothing.

There is a good demo on the speed of these things here: http://www.samsung.com/Products/Semiconductor/FlashSSD/movie_play.htm

[iamdigitalman @ Jun 10th 2007 3:04AM]

question: will they be producing the 2.5" model in a UATA variant? because the hard drive just died in my Pismo (powerbook G3), and it only has UATA, and this would make the perfect replacement.

Would probibly be cheaper than a IDE to dual CF adapter and a couple 64gb high speed CF cards.

[Jerry Brand @ Jun 20th 2007 3:52PM]

If anyone is interested here is a link to a 32GB SSD Drive.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147021