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SanDisk launches Extreme SSDs: $190 for 120GB, $400 for 240GB
SanDisk is hauling its consumer SSD range into the SATAIII era, offering a pair of Extreme branded drives that deliver performance broadly on-par with other 6Gbps rivals. The 120GB and 240GB variants are available now priced at $190 and $400, while a 480GB version will ship "later this year" with a $750 asking price. Random reads / writes are claimed to reach 83,000 / 44,000 IOPS, with 550MB/s and 520MB/s sequential speeds. The PR after the break also mentions a new X100 OEM drive for PC manufacturers, just any of them happen to read it.
Eurocom Panther 4.0 is the mirror universe's version of an Ultrabook
Eurocom, like its chassis-brethren Maingear and Clevo, just lives to jam over-sized Sandy Bridge E hardware into mumpsy laptops. Find yourself in front of the Panther 4.0 and you'll be staring into a 17.3-inch 1920 x 1080 display (you can choose between matte, glossy and 3D) as you work or game away on a choice of GeForce GTX 580M, Quadro 5010M or Radeon HD 6990M graphics kit. There's space for four terabytes of SATA 3.0 storage and 32GB of RAM. It's weighing in at 12.1lbs, so a quick warning to anyone whose muscles have atrophied with excessive Ultrabook usage: it's wise to do some reps down at the gym. When it arrives in March, it'll cost you $2649 for the base model -- from there, you can upgrade as far as your wallet / procurement budget will allow.
Kingston launches new family of high performance SSDs, doesn't care if you're a business or a consumer
Kingston's turning its SSD solutions up to eleven on its new SSDNow family of products. The SSDNow V+200 is a solid state drive toting SATA 3.0 SandForce SF-2281, capable of up to 535 MB/s read speeds and 480 MB/s writing speeds. Regardless of whether it's for your office or home rig, Kingston reckons it's got your storage needs covered, offering up the V+200 in 60GB, 90GB, 120GB, 240GB and 480GB sizes. The 2.5-inch drives arrive with self-encryption as standard, alongside a three-year warranty with support -- something that's getting increasingly rare. The full press release is waiting below. Update: Prices, alongside the upgrade kit, range from $156 to $985 -- depending on exactly how many photo albums you need on solid state storage.
pureSilicon announces Kage K1 SATA and USB SSDs, up for pre-order now
It seems like only yesterday that pureSilicon released its new Nitro N2 and Renegade S4 SSDs. Today, the company followed up on that announcement with the Kage K1 USB SSD, and the Kage K1 SATA SSD. The former is a USB 3.0-based SSD drive that measures around 4.5mm in thickness and offers up to 240GB of MLC space. It's available for pre-order now, at a price of $230, with shipments expected to start up sometime during Q1 of this year. As for the Kage K1 SATA SSD, it's more in line with what you'll find with the aforementioned Nitro N2 and Renegade S4 varieties. Capable of delivering up to 6Gb/s, the eMLC NAND flash memory-based SATA SSD promises reading speeds of up to 540 MB / sec, writing speeds of 520 MB / sec, and boasts up to 400 GB of usable eMLC. That'll cost you a bit more, though, with a price tag of $975. It too, is available for pre-order now, with shipments slated for early this year.
RunCore outs new storage solutions for CES, Marvell-based Falcon series included
If you're looking to quell your inner storage enthusiast after the holidays, RunCore may have something to satisfy your appetite. The company announced that it has two products intended for launch at CES. The Falcon series is a Marvell-based storage solution that boasts R / W IOPS speeds that best the outfit's Pro V SATA 6Gb/s SSDs. Speaking of the Pro V series, RunCore is looking to set up shop in Ultrabooks with a 7mm model of its 2.5-inch SATA 6Gb/s SSD with 540 MB/s read and 500 MB/s write speeds. Looking for a bit more info? Hit the full PR after the break.
ASUS U32U with Fusion innards surfaces online, likely coming to the US for $449 and up
No, it's not a Zenbook, but for those of you not in the mood to spend $1,000-plus on your next laptop, it looks like ASUS will soon be selling something at a more... palatable price point. The U32U's been popping up on the interwebs lately, and it would seem the outfit's been cooking up a 13.3-incher powered by AMD's E-4 Fusion APU. Other specs include ATI's Radeon HD 6320 GPU, 2GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, three USB ports (two of the 3.0 variety) and an 8-cell, 5,600mAh battery promising up to 12 hours of runtime. Unlike the ASUS U24e, the U32U seems likely to make it to the U.S. given the poster, which lists the price in US dollars: $509 for the Windows 7 Home Basic model, and $449 for the DOS version. More details at the source link, though we suspect you'll want to bide your time until next week's Black Friday scramble anyway.
OCZ debuts Synapse Cache Series SSDs to compensate for your HDD's shortcomings
This really shouldn't come as much of a surprise, given some of OCZ's other offerings, but the company has outed its Synapse Cache SSDs so you don't have to suffer the speed limitations inherent in spinning disk storage. These 2.5-inch, 6 GB/s SATA drives come in 64 and 128GB flavors, and do the dual drive dance with your HDD of choice using the firms' Dataplex caching software. That nifty bit of code hastens data retrieval by dynamically managing your data, placing frequently used info on the speedy SSD, and shoving the rest on your capacious, cheap-as-chips HDD. When can you up your storage speed limit and how much will it cost? OCZ's not telling, but the drive's full performance specs can be found in the PR and source below.
Kingston's high-performance KC100 SSD is S.M.A.R.Ter than yours
Good news for secure data fans who aren't fond of moving parts: Kingston's shipping a new line of security-focused solid state drives for all your info-hiding needs. Despite being touted as an enterprise product, the new line will happily sit in any SATA-capable machine you wish, smoothly chugging along thanks to its beloved SandForce DuraClass technology. It's not often you find a veritable plethora of features tucked between slabs of NAND, but these guys do have some smarts. Literally. S.M.A.R.T (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology -- don'tcha know) is firmly onboard, as well as self-encrypting tech to keep any schadenfreude at bay. Beyond that, you can look forward to 6Gb/s throughput, backwards-compatibility with current SATA 2 systems, plus a pretty darn generous five years of warranty. For your cut of the action you'll be shelling out $337 (120GB), $650 (240GB) or $1,270 (480GB), depending on how much data you just can't walk away from. A not-at-all pushy infomercial is embedded after the break -- for laughs, or learning.
Satechi will LockDown your SATA hard drive, boasts USB 3.0 too
If you keep close watch over your digital belongings like we do, security is an utmost concern for external storage devices. Now you can keep your valuables under lock-and-key with Satechi's LockDown -- a SATA HDD enclosure that guards data via an encrypted 256 bit protection and allows lightning fast USB 3.0 transfer speeds. Utilizing a touch keypad on an OLED display, the device is only accessible through a 4 to 8 digit passcode -- even if it's connected to a PC or another device. This gives you the ability to keep "your backup data as secure as the data on your personal computer." Pretty sweet, right? The LockDown plays nice with both Mac and PC and is shipping now for $90. Hit that PR link just past the break if you're looking to lock down those precious research papers... see what we did there?
SanDisk working to push SSD power consumption lower, squeeze more juice out of your battery
First things first: we really need to sit down with the tech industry and have a conversation about effectively naming things. Which brings us to our next order of business: SATA DEVSLP. SanDisk is working with other companies, like Intel, Microsoft and Samsung, to develop this new standard which will drive SSD power consumption much lower than current levels. Some drives already support the cornerstone of the standard -- a new super low-power mode that draws only 5mW of juice. SATA DEVSLP would keep the storage in that energy-sipping state the majority of the time, extending battery life for Ultabooks, tablets, or whatever other gadgets may come along. Guess we know one trick Intel plans to use to reach that promised 10-days of connected standby time. Check out the PR after the break. Update: The original PR erroneously reported the low-power state as 50mW, the correct draw is 5mW.
OWC Mercury Electra 6G SSD lineup updated with smaller 60GB option for $130
Looking for a peppy SSD to turbo charge your workflow and don't need a whole lot of storage capacity? Back in June, Other World Computing introduced its speedy SandForce-endowed Mercury Electra 6G SSDs with a base model priced at $230 $200 for 120GB. Now the company's added a cheaper option to keep things fast and your wallet happy. Those wanting a taste of its 556MB/s read and 523MB/s write speeds can now opt for a 60GB variation, priced at just $130. Sure, it may not be ideal for saving your entire Queen back catalog, but it could be a nifty route for faster boot-up and load times, right? It's available now from OWC. Zip past the break for the full PR.
Acer unveils TravelMate 8481T laptop for the all-business crowd
Globetrotting financiers have a new companion to slot into their briefcases, now that Acer has taken the wraps off its TravelMate Timeline 8481T notebook. Powered by an Intel Core i5 processor and weighing in at 3.7 pounds, this little guy boasts a 14-inch, 1366 x 768 LCD that's been engineered to fit within a 13-inch footprint, thanks to a frameless, bezel-trimming design. The latest addition to the TravelMate 8481 family also boasts 4GB of DDR3 memory (or 8GB, if you upgrade) and a 320GB SATA hard drive, along with the usual collection of WiFi, Bluetooth and USB 3.0 capabilities -- all packed within a slim, 0.87-inch thick frame. The laptop is expected to start shipping in "early September" for $1,000, but you can find more details in the full PR that's sitting after the break.
Samsung's 6Gbps SSD gets a consumer label, October release date
Many SSDs could easily blow away that legacy spinning drive in your notebook, but there's always room for a performance boost when it comes to tech. Announced last week, Samsung's 830-series SSD packs up to 512GB of storage, and full support for SATA's 6Gbps max throughput -- a 100 percent boost over Samsung's previous gen drive. There's only one problem with last week's version: it's only available to OEMs, leaving a DIY upgrade out of the question. Well, today Samsung announced consumer availability for the same drive, letting any Joe Bag O' PC Upgrades pick one up at retail come October. Drives will be available in 64, 128, 256, and 512GB capacities, with pricing details coming at the official launch this fall. Jump past the break for the full PR, should you care to read all about the drive's "precision engineered" brushed metal enclosure, with "deep black" highlights and a "stylish and chic exterior" -- exactly the features you should be looking for in an SSD.
SATA-IO outs new SATA Express and Embedded SSD standards, acronyms abound
It's a big day for SATA-IO, as the organization has just announced not one, but two new SATA standards. The first of these, the SATA Express specification, gets the latter half of its name from the 'e' in PCIe, as it will allow current SATA standards to piggyback on the PCIe interface, boosting speeds to 8Gbps and 16Gbps, up from the current 6Gbps. SATA Express is expected to make its official debut later this year. SATA µSSD, on the other hand, is currently ready to go, and already implemented in SanDisk's iSSD embedded drive. It ditches the module connector from the old interface, allowing OEMs to stack single-chip drives right on the motherboard. A plethora of SATA-related press releases awaits you after the break -- if you're into that sort of thing.
Toshiba unveils MQ01ABD HDD series, packs 1TB on a 9.5mm frame
It's been barely four months since Toshiba introduced its MK7559GSXP -- a tightly-packed, 750GB hard drive that, believe it or not, has already been eclipsed by the MQ01ABD series. Unveiled yesterday, the company's new lineup of 2.5-inch HDDs offers up to 1TB of storage capacity, thanks to an architecture that squeezes 500GB out of every platter. Standing at 9.5mm tall, the 5,400RPM drives also boast an areal density of 744Gb per square inch, and are designed to maximize energy efficiency, burning just 0.55 watts in idle mode. Gamers and entertainment gurus, meanwhile, would benefit from the MQ01ABD's enhanced acoustics, which max out at 19dB in idle, and 24dB while seeking. No word yet on pricing, but the beasts are scheduled to go into mass production by the middle of this month. For more of the nitty gritty, gallop past the break for the full press release.
OWC Mercury Electra 6G SSDs boast big speeds, price to match
Other World Computing may specialize in upgrading aging Macs, but you don't have to own one to jam one of its new Mercury Electra 6G SSDs in your computer. The high-end SandForce Driven line of NAND drives range in size from 120GB to a far more impressive 480GB and, with the aide of 6Gb/sec SATA 3.0, can sustain write speeds of 523MB/sec and read speeds of 556MB/sec. Of course, this sort performance doesn't come cheap -- the smallest of the trio will set you back $230, while the massive 480GB model weighs in at a wallet-sapping $930. You can pick them up now from OWC if you've got a serious need for speed, and plenty of disposable income. Check out the PR after the break.
Buffalo's 256GB SSD comes with 6GBps SATA interface, silly price tag
The SSD market is about to get a little more crowded, now that Buffalo has unveiled a new, 256GB fatty. The company's SSD-N256S/MC400 has a SATA 6Gbps interface, supports multi-level cell NAND Flash memory and boasts read and write speeds of up to 405 MB/s and 223 MB/s, respectively. If you're interested in grabbing one, you'll have to shell out a cool ¥72,200 ($882). Or, you could get an even faster SSD for less money. The choice is yours.
Corsair Force Series 3 SSDs: SandForce speed for modest money
Solid-state storage aficionados are well-versed in the virtues of SandForce controllers, and Corsair's new Force Series 3 drives pack a fresh version of the technology. Like the firm's Force GT, Series 3 delivers data using SATA III 6Gbps connections, but uses a newfangled SandForce SF-2281 controller to shoot your info to and fro at up to 550 MBps read and 520 MBps write speeds. The SSDs also perform 85,000 IOPS, which makes the 60,000 IOPS from similarly-priced offerings from OCZ look downright dilatory in comparison. Prices are $139 for 60GB, $219 for 120GB, and $499 for the 240GB version, so they still aren't cheap, but it's a small price to pay to dodge the dangers of disk-based storage.
iMac frees you from the tyranny (and convenience) of servicing your own hard drives (update: not exactly a new problem)
Letting Apple control most facets of your computing experience is just a fact of life for the Mac faithful, but if you want to swap out the hard drive for a bigger or faster one with the most recent iMac refresh, well, you have somewhat limited options. Rather than a 4-wire SATA configuration Apple uses a 7-wire configuration that keeps you from hooking up just any old hard drive, lest a temperature sensor go batty and your system refuse to cooperate. There are ways around it, but your warranty may not apply afterward... Update: We've revised this post to clarify that this isn't exactly a new issue. The same problem existed in previous revisions, but the big issue now is that the separate thermal cable has been integrated into the SATA cable. It's similar to what was done before, just a little harder to get around now. But, you can get around it. Update 2: Hardmac has a detailed analysis of the situation which we'd recommend you check out. It verifies OWC's findings, and recommends you short pins 2 and 7 to basically circumvent the issue. Why does Apple do this? The separate temperature monitor enables OS X to more regularly check the temperature of the system's drives without compromising overall bandwidth provided by SATA. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
OCZ unveils Agility 3 and Solid 3 SSDs for thrifty speedsters
Now that OCZ has shifted its corporate focus away from the DRAM market, the company has begun deepening its lineup of solid state drives with two new additions: the Agility 3 and Solid 3. The pair of 2.5-inch SSDs, announced today, run on the SATA III 6Gbps interface (unlike their SATA II predecessors) and come strapped with a SandForce SF-2200 processor that allows for some pretty speedy performance. The Agility 3 boasts a maximum read rate of 525MBps, a write speed of 500MBps and can crank it up to 60,000 IOPS. The Solid 3 ain't no slouch, either, with a 500MBps read rate, 450MBps writing capabilities and a max IOPS of 20,000. Granted, they won't deliver quite the same punch as the Vertex 3 Pro, but they also won't cost you quite as much. On the high end of the price spectrum is the 240GB Agility 3, at $480, with the 60GB and 120GB versions priced at $135 and $240, respectively. The Solid 3, meanwhile, is available in both 60GB ($130) and 120GB ($230). Not exactly chump change, but still cheaper than OCZ's heavier hitters. Hit the source links for more details.
