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Corsair's blistering P256 SSD reviewed: look out, X25-M
While just about any SSD will make your average computing experience a fair bit more awesome, it takes a really unique device to make said experience Animal-Style-Triple-From-In-N-Out special. Up until now, the general consensus was that Intel's X-25M was the crème de la crème, but it seems that Corsair's recently launched P256 may just be giving that very drive a real run for its money. After seeing a pre-production unit deliver some respectable early results, we figured it prudent to pass along bit-tech's full-on review. In most cases, the 256GB P256 either topped or fell just behind Intel's 80GB unit, though the drive did seem to suffer a bit in the random read / write tests. Still, critics felt comfortable recommending the drive, and while pricey, noted that it offered better value per gigabyte in comparison to similar 256GB units on the market.
Corsair's speedy P256 256GB solid state drive now shipping
Remember that then-named S256 we saw sneak out right around a month ago? Yeah, that bad boy's finally on sale, and it's shipping as we speak from a number of trustworthy e-tailers. Said SSD -- which now goes formally by P256 -- packs specially selected Samsung MLC flash memory and a sophisticated Samsung Controller IC, coupled with 128MB of cache memory and Native Command Queuing (NCQ) support for stutter-free performance. By the books, this one can reach speeds of up to 220MB/sec (read) and 200MB/sec (write), though you can bet you'll be paying for the haste. We're seeing it on sale for around $658 online, though Dell's listing shows a wicked steep $851.99. Either way, ouch. Full release is after the break.
Corsair's ultra speedy 256GB SSD sneaks out, hits the bench
My, how fast the cutting edge becomes dull. Nary four months ago, we were introduced to Corsair's first SSD: a 2.5-inch 128GB slab of MLC NAND goodness that promised 90MB/sec read and 70MB/sec write speeds. Needless to say, those numbers weren't about to shatter any records, so the company went out and produced something that just might. The benchmarking fiends over at HotHardware managed to scoop up a 256GB S256 from the company and put it through the first of many tests. As for results? Early reports show average read speeds nailing the 200MB/sec mark, while average write rates hovered just under 170MB/sec. The only issue is the breathtaking $749 price tag (expected, anyway), but at least you've apparently got a few months to save up.
