solidstate
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A Chinese startup may have cracked solid-state batteries
Solid-state batteries have long been heralded as The Next Big Thing after lithium-ion, with companies from all quarters racing to get them into high-volume production. Dyson, BMW and car manufacturer Fisker are just a few names that have been working on the tech for the last few years, but now, reports suggest a Chinese start-up might be the first to have cracked it.
Researchers create safer lithium-ion batteries that harden on impact
Lithium-ion batteries have a world of important applications (smartphones, electric vehicles and the Mars Curiosity Rover, to name a few), but they're also notoriously unstable, and if damaged can result in burns, house fires and even plane crashes. Now, researchers think they've found a way to eliminate these dangers, by creating a lithium-ion battery that hardens on impact.
Apple Watch rumor suggests 'solid state' buttons are coming
Now that the Apple Watch has built-in LTE, what could change in the next version? A rumor from Fast Company suggests that the Watch could follow Apple's "Force Touch" equipped laptops or iPhone 7 (and higher) models by making the button and digital crown "solid state" parts that don't actually move when clicked. While the crown is still said to rotate freely, a click would be simulated by vibrations from the Apple Watch's Taptic Engine. Like the laptops and phones, removing a moving part could make the device more reliable, easier to build, increase space for important things like extra battery, and more. The other part of the rumor is that these buttons could also host sensors capable of health tracking, and push the device toward a future where it doesn't have any buttons at all. But first, the moving parts have to go.
Seagate will launch the 'fastest-ever' SSD this summer
Geeks of all stripes agree: there's no such thing as being able to move data too fast. Luckily for them, Seagate will soon show off a "production-ready" solid-state drive that push those bits like no one's business. That SSD -- which is expected to officially launch this summer -- can move data at up to 10GB per second, making the Samsung drive that last held the record seem pokey by comparison.
US Navy to deploy ship-mounted laser in 2014, blasts drones in the meantime (video)
Lasers have been flaunted by the US Navy before, but now it's announced that 2014 will see the very first solid-state laser deployed aboard a ship, two years ahead of schedule. The USS Ponce, a vessel used as an amphibious transport dock stationed in the Persian Gulf, will get the honor of hosting the prototype Laser Weapon System (LaWS). Not only can the hardware set boats and airborne drones ablaze, but it can also emit a burst to "dazzle" an opponent's sensors without inflicting physical harm. Sure, it cost roughly $32 million to construct, but the price is expected to fall when it hits wider production, and Chief of Naval Research Rear Admiral Matthew Klunder estimates that it each shot rings up at under $1. It may not be the missile-obliterating free-electron laser that the Navy's been lusting for, but we're sure it doesn't matter much to drones at the end of the beam. Hit the jump to for a video of the contraption in action.
Modbook Pro to launch with SSD storage, up for pre-order October 3rd
It wasn't all that long ago that Modbook Inc's CEO, Andreas Haas, made the mac-in-tablet Modbook Pro official, now we're learning that the super-slate will launch with high performance SSD storage. So, as you wield your MacBook Pro come tablet, you'll be free from spinning disks. Great, but what impact will this have on capacity? Well, according to the firm, storage will start at 64GB as standard, with upgrades possible all the way up to a, not-unreasonable, 480GB. Pre-orders go live on October 3rd, along with the all important reveal on price. Regardless of cost, if that void between the iPad and full-fat Windows 8 slates had been irking you, here's your answer.
SanDisk announces 32GB ReadyCache for Windows: $55 at Amazon, keep your existing HDD
SanDisk has built itself a decent reputation in the SSD game, and a cheap cache-only drive is a logical addition to its line. Unlike regular SSD or hybrid upgrades, you don't have to transfer your system to the new drive -- the 2.5-inch, 32GB add-on simply hooks up to a spare SATA III port alongside your spinning storage and then you run SanDisk's ExpressCache software to do the rest. The program, which is currently Windows 7-only, monitors which files you access most frequently and then automatically caches them on the SSD, promising up to 12x faster application launches and also faster boot times compared to your HDD working on its lonesome. Importantly, the ReadyCache works with multiple hard drives too, rather than just boosting your primary drive -- a feature that SanDisk claims gives it a one-up over most other caching solutions. The list price is $100 but Amazon has it up right now for $55.
Crucial ships mSATA-based m4 SSD upgrade, your Ultrabook never felt better
Crucial has already managed to stuff its m4 SSD into Ultrabook sizes, but the 7mm thick design may still be too portly for the thinner laptops in the pack. With that in mind, the flash memory guru has just started shipping the m4 mSATA, a barebones card that sits cozily next to the motherboard either as a cache for a rotating disk or as a main drive. It's still as speedy as many of its bigger cousins, with read speeds of up to 500MB/s per second. We suspect most buyers will be lured in by the low prices: at just $53 for a cache-friendly 32GB SSD and no more than $226 for a 256GB example, it's entirely feasible to give that spinning-drive Ultrabook a shot in the arm.
Corsair Force GT SSDs put through their paces, have graphs to prove it
Instead of singling out one of Corsair's latest SandForce-equipped SSDs, the folks at StorageReview sussed out performance differences by putting each drive through the wringer. Though read / write specs are relatively uniform across the line, barring some slight dips in speed, they dug up a few juicy morsels of info that could benefit both frugal and performance-minded shoppers. In a read intensive gaming test, the 60GB entry drive performed similarly to the 480GB behemoth. Another notable result was a 60% jump in throughput between the 120GB and 180GB models. Keen on eking out the most performance-bang for your buck? Hop over to the source for the full skinny and a bevy of charts.
OWC's Mercury Accelsior PCIe SSD is Mac bootable, strictly neutral
If you've ever tried to jam a regular SSD into your Mac, then you'll know that many off-the-shelf drives feel like they're tailored and tested for, ahem, someone else. Not so with OWC's Mercury Accelsior, which claims to be the only Mac bootable and Mac supported PCIe SSD on the market. Regardless of which platform you use it with, however, the dual-SandForce card promises some neat tricks with its 24nm Toshiba Toggle NAND. Sequential read and write speeds are around 50 percent higher than what you'd get from a regular SATA III drive, with the cheapest 120GB model ($360) offering 758MB/s reads and 743MB/s writes. Random performance is notched up too, with around 100K IOPS in both directions. The 960GB version costs a coldly precise $2,096, but still -- a potential side order for when the Mac Pro line finally gets another refresh?
OCZ says its Indilinx controller is actually built by Marvell, but has custom firmware
OCZ received stacks of praise following its brave switch to in-house Indilinx-branded controllers, which have delivered solid performance in both the Octane and Vertex 4 SSDs. However, the company has now confirmed to AnandTech that its Indilinx Everest 1 and 2 controllers are actually still based on Marvell products, with a little overclocking on the side, and it hasn't yet implemented its own hardware. That would explain why the latest SSDs are so closely on a par with other Marvell-powered drives, like the Crucial's m4 and Intel's 520. But if it sounds like the brightest kid in the class just admitted to copying some other student's homework, then we should probably all chill out: after all, OCZ never made any precise claims about Everest's provenance in the first place. Besides, one of the most important aspects of a solid state drive is its firmware and OCZ insists that's totally home-cooked. The news here is that we still haven't seen what OCZ is fully capable of following its Indilinx acquisition.
Intel 313 SSDs bring improved caching to ultrabooks, desktops, life in general
Just like Intel's older 311 batch of small cache SSDs, the new 313 series is designed to sit alongside a traditional spinning HDD in order provide a tasty blend of speed and capacity. These newer drives are still SATA II, so there's no 6Gbps action here, but they use superior 25nm SLC flash, offer faster speeds for the same price (starting at $120 for 20GB) and are explicitly approved for use in the coming wave of Ultrabooks -- so don't be surprised if that's where you meet 'em next.
SanDisk Extreme SSD has 'mighty' mix of performance and support
SanDisk's new Extreme SSD sounded nice enough when it launched recently, but we weren't expecting anything too crazy -- just another 6Gbps SandForce-based drive that would compete on $-per-GB more than performance. As it turns out, that doesn't do it justice. StorageReview has shown that the unit actually beats the Intel 520 in some key real-world tests and delivers a "chart-topping" 4K random write speed of 88,324 IOPS. With the bonus of the low price-point -- starting at $190 for 120GB -- and the level of support from SanDisk, the Extreme SSD can now boast an Editor's Choice trophy. Click the source link for the full report.
Plextor announces M3 Pro SSD with 24nm flash and 7mm form factor
Bored by Plextor's safe and steady M3S? Then ponder on its new performance model, the 2.5-inch, SATAIII-sporting M3 Pro. It notches up random read/write speeds by around seven percent to 75,000/69,000 IOPs, while sequential read/writes have also had a marginal bump to 540MB/s and 450MB/s. It's not yet clear how much the new drives will cost when they reach stores in 128GB, 256GB and 512GB varieties next month, but the use of 24nm toggle flash -- which squeezes more storage onto less silicon -- should help to keep pricing relatively sane. Oh, and the 7mm height also means that the M3 Pro will slide happily into the compressed bowels of your Ultrabook -- unless that slot has already been reserved for a Crucial. Read on for the press release.
Crucial outs Adrenalin Solid State Cache Solution, less long-winded m4 SSDs
Until the cost of flash storage comes down to the same plane of existence as most human wallets, hybrid solutions -- which pair an HDD with an SSD cache -- remain a smart way forward. OCZ scored some attention with its Synapse products, so now Crucial has to wave its arms in our faces and point to its own offering: the Adrenalin Solid State Cache Solution, which pairs a 50GB m4 SSD with proprietary caching software, and which will be out sometime this quarter for an undisclosed but surely rivalrous price. In the meantime, a fresh range of pure-breed m4 drives is already available, looking much like their predecessors but now whittled down to a mere 7mm in thickness so they can be squeezed into ever-narrower crevices. Pricing starts at $119 for 64GB and tops out at $795 for 512GB -- like we said, not your average plane of existence.
OCZ Octane SSD benchmarked, new Indilinx controller holds its ground
Maybe it's just interference from our seasonal goggles, but isn't there something quite cheery about SSD reviews? In the case of OCZ's Octane drive, our good spirits derive from the sturdy performance of its freshly-conceived Indilinx Everest controller, which ought to keep big players like SandForce and Samsung on their toes. HotHardware just reviewed the $369 $879 512GB variant and found that it delivered fast boot-up times, strong read speeds and writes that were just shy of enthusiast-class drives. Follow the source link for the full and possibly festive benchmarks. Update: Sorry about the optimistic price error. Guess we got carried away with all the holiday discounts. As many of y'all spotted, it's the 256GB version that goes for $369. Update: We just added links to reviews from AnandTech and Storage Review, which both arrived at similarly positive conclusions.
TRIM or RAID 0? SSD owners will no longer have to choose
Owners of multiple SSDs will be familiar with this dilemma: do you opt for RAID 0 to put all those precious GBs to use, or do you go for AHCI mode in order to gain TRIM support and maintain performance over time? Well, the next release of Intel's RST should support TRIM for RAID 0, so switching to solid state storage will become an even smarter decision than it is right now. [Thanks, Brian]
OCZ expects to ship cheap TLC solid state drives in early 2012
It's about time triple-level-cell NAND came to life in consumer products and it looks like OCZ is blazing that trail. The company expects to release its first TLC drive early next year, with a vaunted 30 percent price reduction compared to current MLC drives, which are themselves much cheaper than SLC. The downside is shorter life expectancy, which will be as low as four years, but more durable forms of the technology are due to arrive later in 2012.
Corsair adds 90GB SSDs to Force 3 / GT lines
Been thinking Corsair's Force SSD lineup was too small at 60GB, but too darn capacious at 120GB? Well Goldilocks, we've got good news, as the company's unveiled two middling models that might be just right. We begin with the 90GB Force 3, which wields 550MB/s reads and 500MB/s writes at a $159 price point. For an additional $40, you can bump speeds up by 5MB/s on both counts with the identically sized Force GT. Just like their smaller and larger brethren, the two additions tote SandForce SF-228x controllers as they haul bits over SATA 6Gbps. They're supposedly available "immediately," but, like AnandTech, we couldn't find either in stock. If middle of the road is your thing, then Godspeed, but we'll stick with the big one.
Intel's 710 'Lyndonville' and 720 'Ramsdale' SSDs see full spec leak well ahead of release
You may recall Intel's 710 "Lyndonville" and 720 "Ramsdale" enterprise SSDs outted by a leaked roadmap back in April, but details were as thin as high mountain air. Luckily, German site Computer Base has obtained what appears to be a full spec sheet for the aforementioned drives. Starting with the 710, this 25nm HET MLC -- a more durable variant of MLC -- device will come in 100GB, 200GB, and 300GB flavors, and it claims to have read and write speeds at up to 270 MB/s and 210 MB/s, respectively, along with a 3Gbps SATA connection. Things are a bit wild with the 720: not only does it have 34nm SLC chips making up the 200GB and 400GB versions, but it also boasts some truly insane read and write speeds of up to 2200 MB/s and 1800 MB/s, respectively. Yes, 2200 MB/s and 1800 MB/s, garnished by the fast 4K IOPs as well. We had our doubts initially, but looking at the previously stated 6Gbps PCIe interface and the much higher power draw, we think there's a good chance for this to come into reality. Well, only time will tell if these numbers will stick around for the Q3 launch this year -- not that our wallets will want to know, mind you. Hit the source link for the full lowdown. Update: As pointed out by our readers, it looks like the 720 will need more than 6Gbps at the PCIe bus to accommodate its maximum read and write speeds. At this point, we can only assume that there is indeed a typo somewhere -- either on the roadmap or on this table.
