OWC debuts uber-capacious 480GB 2.5-inch Mercury Extreme Pro SSD
By Darren Murph 
posted May 12th 2010 1:34PM
posted May 12th 2010 1:34PM
OWC ANNOUNCES NEW 'PROSUMER' DESKTOP/NOTEBOOK CLASS MERCURY
EXTREME PRO SOLID STATE DRIVE WITH UP TO 480GB CAPACITY
SandForce® processor based SSD line offers up to 285MB/s sustained data rates, up to 28% Enterprise level over-provisioning, RAID readiness, and industry leading five year warranty available now from $219.99
May 11, 2010, Woodstock, IL -- Other World Computing (OWC®) http://www.macsales.com, a leading zero emissions Mac® and PC technology company, announced today it has added four new 'prosumer' desktop/notebook user class Solid State Drives to its award-winning OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD™ line. Designed and made in the U.S. from imported parts, the new models offer the largest capacity of any current OWC SSD – up to 480GB – along with three key features not commonly found in affordable consumer class SSDs:
* Up to 285MB/s sustained data rates with no speed degradation
* 7% over-provisioning to ensure the highest level of data reliability
* Up to 1/7 less active power use for longer notebook battery runtime
The OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD is available for immediate ordering in four Macintosh® and PC compatible configurations that install easily in notebooks as well as in desktop/towers with an adapter:
* 60GB OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD $219.99
* 120GB OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD $379.99
* 240GB OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD $699.99
* 480GB OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD $1,579.99
For more information on the OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD, including Reseller inquiries, visit: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/internal_storage/Mercury_Extreme_SSD_Sandforce/Solid_State_Pro
Dramatically Decreases Boot & App Load Times
The new OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD models are an ideal way for typical Mac or PC desktop and/or notebook computer users to dramatically increase the performance of their machine. In a side-by-side comparison test (http://eshop.macsales.com/Customized_Pages/Framework.cfm?page=ssd-speed-test-feb-10.html) the OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD was able to boot the OS and load six apps in just over 30 seconds while the factory standard hard drive took nearly two minutes.
Doesn't Slow Down With Use Like Ordinary SSDs
Ordinary SSDs offer fast read/write performance during first initial uses, but then experience significant write speed degradation over repeated usage. Independent simulation tests by leading Mac performance experts (http://macperformanceguide.com/SSD-RealWorld.html) confirm the OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD's ultra-efficient Block Management & Wear Leveling technologies are able to eliminate virtually any reduction in data transfer speeds over heavy long term usage of the drive and without dependency on external TRIM management.
Up To 100X Greater Data Protection
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. 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.
Longer Notebook Battery Runtime
Because the OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD uses as little as 1/3 the power compared to the most power efficient 2.5" hard drives and up to 1/7 less power than other leading brand SSDs without any performance sacrifice, notebook users can now maximize their "unplugged" mobile use time while desktop/tower users can enjoy the benefits of a more energy efficient system.
"The four new OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD models give consumers the most affordable options for adding the pinnacle of internal drive performance to their Mac or PC," said Larry O'Connor, CEO, Other World Computing. "With category leading performance and technology features not found in other brands, these new models are ideal for everyday users seeking near instantaneous and reliable data access."
For information on the complete OWC Mercury Extreme Pro SSD line, visit:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/internal_storage/Mercury_Extreme_SSD_Sandforce
so the benefit is what? Lower power consumption, less noise...?
@rhackin Faster load times, no mechanical parts that are subject to moving or vibrations leading to failure.
You just hearing about these miraculous new SSD drives?
@rhackin
Metal Gear Solid 4 with Snake not even able to start smoking a cigarette before the game loads?
@rhackin
from the article...
"But Other World Computing just threw a monkey wrench into the norm"
yet... weve had 512gb drives for a while now (looked at them around a year ago)... speed is on the upper end, but not anything new... and the prices are in line with everything else... .so i guess im failing to see this proverbial monkey wrench. its about as "norm" as it gets. there is nothing new here...
so what am i missing?
Damn. OWC is a freakin' cheap-ass website.
.
Wow, prices are really coming down. I remember looking at a Dell laptop just two years ago where a 2.5-inch 64GB SSD option was $1000.
@Jjoseph I'm glad to see someone appreciate the trend that's going on, rather than just coming in and complaining about the price, which we all should already know is going to be a little high for most of us.
People, the prices ARE coming down. It's exciting. Soon we will all be laughing remembering these prices while we hover around the hand-sanitizer dispenser at work, wearing our jetpacks.
@hey buddy
You don't have hand-sanitizer dispensers at work yet?
@hey buddy Yeah but the Jet Packs will still be expensive :-)
Is SSD really that much faster than a nice, 7200 RPM, 1 TB HDD............for under $200.
I mean $1,600 is a car down payment, 1 month of rent, half a monthly mortgage, 8 hookers (so i've heard)
@Sea Urchin
Wow, those are some basement bottom hookers. You'd be looking at a severe lack of teeth and perhaps even an amputation or two. That comes out to $200 per unit...not good, Sir. Not good attall.
@Sea Urchin
Or 2 really good hookers (so I've heard).
Or 1 really REALLY good hooker (so I've heard).
@Sea Urchin
Actually yes. This SSD is about 3 times fast than your average HDD when it comes to reading and almost 100 times faster when you simply look at the time for accessing data. But for an ordinary guy like me no reason at all to spit out that kind of money.
still so 'spensive. damn my low wages.
@Bruce Banner Expensive, what are you talking about? Haven't you heard? HDDs are SO dead now just like Flash! "Final nail in the coffin" BAM! Who would want to buy HDDs when you can store your torrents on multiple 480GB SSDs!!
@Bruce Banner If you want one buy yourself a small SSD like the x25-m value which is pretty cheap and just have your OS games and apps on it. Then your normal HDD for media.
I could have a 2nd computer for the price of one of these. Can't wait until they are equal price of platters. I'll be waiting quite awhile I'm sure.
Explain to me why the 480gb price is more then twice as much as the 240gb's? Seeing as the 120gb is less then twice the 60gb's price and the and 240 is less then twice the cost of the 120gb, I don't think it makes much sense.
Enlighten me.
@AWBrisebois ...it doesn't make sense. It's called a "Premium".
@AWBrisebois Maybe whatever chips it takes to fit 480GB into that enclosure are more expensive to produce and more rare than the chips that allow the company to have 60, 120, or 240GB in the same enclosure. That's the way RAM sticks are, maybe these are like that too.
I wish video cards in crossfire/sli scaled like ssd's do in price.
Once you use an SSD on your boot drive, you'll never want to go back. I have a Crucial C300 and find it to be the best offering at the moment. It's 256Gb, SATA 3 and goes up to 360MB/sec on my system. Plus you can get it for $614...faster and cheaper than this or the mushkin shown earlier on engadget. Don't have a sata 3 mobo? Buy the asus PCI-E card for $20.
Honestly, thanks for the speed but these prices are way too much. Need to lower them so we the poor gamers can afford these SSD
surely the Kingston SSDnow V+ 512GB is already er... bigger?
@noodles2k
Exactly.. I must be missing something because the last time i checked the Kingston V series was 512gb and $80 less.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820139111
@noodles2k, how about 1TB from OCZ:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227515&cm_re=OCZ_SSD-_-20-227-515-_-Product
I have a couple of laptops with 128GB SSDs, and I love them. The fast booting is great, and they run silently. I'd like to stick at 200+ GB SSD in one of them, but the price is still pretty steep relative to my means. I'm glad to see the large capacities, though. One day, they will be mine.
Ow. My wallet.
I look forward to an Engadget review of these SSDs. I am very close to getting an SSD for my OS boot drive, so I'd need at least the 120GB.
Of course, if I wait another 12 months prices will probably half once again.
@DigDug
I'm thinking not to wait, get a 120GB one and then proudly exclaim that I brought the prices down. Win-Win, performance and cred-wise, but a little lose on the pocket...
I have an Intel X-25MG2 80GB on my MacBook, I don't know if its the SSD drives fault but I've had to re-install OSX like 3 times already because the OS would just get corrupted and wouldn't boot up.
@rgarjr, I would assume it's the SSD's fault. There are specific drives available that are optimized for OSX.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=OCZ+Vertex+Mac+Edition+SSD&x=10&y=19
I just paid Apple $650 to get the 256GB SSD option in my Macbook Pro.
It is a good drive, but I only have my old 7200 rpm from 6 years ago to compare it to (and the much slower system that it's in)
At least we're making progress. A 64GB SSD used to be the same price as this 480GB one just two years ago. I'll give it two or three more years before SSD's make sense in the mainstream segment.
480 gigs will sell for less than $300 in the not so distant future. All laptops and most desktops will have ssd's in a couple of years. Of course by then most of us will be using our mobile phones as our computers (dual cpu's running at 1.4ghz+). Gamers won't be able to get good performance out of their mobiles for at least 3 to 4 years.
things were looking good for my wallet until that 4 figure price tag appeared at the end.
OWC = ouch
A gift to the server gods!
It's 180$ cheaper to buy 2 x 240GB and Raid them. Than buying the 480 unit.
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.