Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Friday, 19 December 2008 13:26
Opinion and Analysis
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Solid state drives (SSDs) keep on challenging regular mechanical hard
drives in storage capacity, with the industry’s first 512GB SSD set to
be showcased at January 2009’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Although no pricing has yet been announced, 512GB 2.5-inch solid state drives (SSDs) are now a reality and will be sold in high end notebooks and home entertainment systems in 2009.
Toshiba also states they’ll be seen in gaming systems, although unless you’re made of cash, you probably won’t be upgrading your PS3 hard drive with one of these 512GB models until prices fall to affordable levels.
The SSD’s use 43nm (nanometer) “Multi-Level Cell NAND”, which lets Toshiba pack more storage space into the same 2.5-inch enclose, and promises fast read/write times, too.
64GB, 128GB and 256GB drives in 2.5-inch or 1.8-inch sizes using the 43nm NAND technology will also be available, although the 512GB capacity is limited to 2.5-inches only.
Toshiba says that samples will be available from January to March 2009 (Q1, 2009), with mass production expected in April to June, 2009 (Q2, 2009), so start saving up your pennies if you’re planning an upgrade!
Some technical information from Toshiba:
“Toshiba’s second-generation SSDs bring increased capacity and performance for notebook computers, utilising an advanced MLC controller which is also compatible with further advanced process, that achieves higher read/write speeds, parallel data transfers and wear levelling to optimise performance, reliability and endurance.”
Continued on page 2, please read on.
