SSD - Solid State Drive Technology Discussion Thread

[dominick32]

A few thread updates.

10/23/07

Mtron is working on a new Professional series, one model up from its predocessor, with better firmware, and even more performance. In excess of 100 MB/s read, 100 MB/s write. Access time will obviously remain the same < .1 ms. Exact performance specs and pricing is not yet revealed but expect performance to be increased significantly. Expected to see a November to December of 2007 Launch.

Supertalent is working on an upgraded drive as well, with better firmware, and they hope to achieve speeds of no worse than 90 MB/s read and 70 MB/s write which is an increase of 30 MB/s throughput over its predocesser. They also hope to decrease there maximum access time from .3ms to <.1ms to be on par with the Mtron unit. The product line will be known as the Supertalen "Elite" solid state drive. Looking at a November to December 2007 launch. Expect launch pricing to be slightly higher than current Newegg offerings.

FusionIO. As previously stated, I will be talking directly with Fusion IO before years end and hopefully get a hand on an IO Drive for you guys. I will hopefully get the hardware and produce a nice article on this technology for everyone around January of 2008. Expect my usual benchmarks to be thorough and rigorous in the Storage realm.

Ciao.

 

[aja]

Thanks for the update dominick!

interesting stuff...

Any news on samsung and sandisk? weren't they also working on SSD's?

 

[dominick32]

Thanks for the update dominick!

interesting stuff...

Any news on samsung and sandisk? weren't they also working on SSD's?

As far as my reading and communication with the DVN guys, I do not have any updates on Samsung or Sandisk at the moment. Although I heard Samsung was focusing more attention on hybrid drives, rather than straight solid state components. But do not quote me on that.

 

[VinnyTAMU]

Apart from going out and replacing all the cables in your area with fibre optics ....

Yea I think Fiber and IPv6 coupled with enterprise versions of these new storage devices would greatly improve the speed of the internet.

 

[Max0r]

Dom you using solid state for your main system?

 

[dominick32]

Dom you using solid state for your main system?

I am going to wait just a tad longer for stronger tech on these SSD's plus I am not going to jump into anything until I get my hands on a new IO Drive from Fusion. This piece of hardware may be the "end all elite" for anything drive related. Keep posted.

 

[dominick32]

Thread Update *11/4/07*

Just got word about a few new updates from Mtron.
The end of this month we will have a new product from called the MSP7000 "Pro Series" SSD. Sustained Read will increase 20MB/s over the original unit to 120 MB/s read, and write will gain an additional 10MB/s over the original bringing the final figures to 120 MB/s sustained read, 90 MB/s sustained write. Access Time will still remain below .1ms. Upgraded firmware will make all of the bugs and tech support requests from the original drives obsolete. SATA availability is slated for the end of this month. Currently no information on pricing. Initial capacity offerings are looking to be 16GB and 32GB.

There is also an Ultra Rugged model titled the MSX series which is being R&D'ed currently with production next year. They are offering enhanced durability as well as extreme temperature operation in rugged enviroments (below freezing) and above 100*F . It looks as though the MSX series will be more tailored toward military and aviational grade applications. But also look for enhanced transfer rates and updated firmware.

 

[bing]

Thanks for the update Dom, so are we going to see some benchies soon from "you" ?

 

[dominick32]

Thanks for the update Dom, so are we going to see some benchies soon from "you" ?

Hey bing,
I still cant fatham spending $1000 for 16GB of flash capacity. And I am truly holding off until the IO Drive, as I said previously this drive will have 80GB of storage and staggering IOPS, access times, and transfer rates not to mention Direct Memory Access straight to the heart of the mobo. Put a $2000price tag on that, and it doesnt seem too high anymore with the ultra enthusiast in mind.

Believe me, its very hard to hold off on this technology especially when its right out there in the market. A simple click of the mouse on the BUY IT NOW button and a VISA card is all it takes. So far, my will power has been doing rather well in the storage market. hehe

 

[bing]

Since you're on X-fire, do you still have enough slot for that IO Drive ?

 

[dominick32]

Since you're on X-fire, do you still have enough slot for that IO Drive ?

Very true. This is something I am going to have to discuss with them, but I am assuming unless another mobo is released around that time with proper spacing for PCIe 4x + 16X + 16X is available the odds are I may have to get rid of my CF setup.

 

[ps2cho]

Hi guys,
I am looking into this new Asus Eee ultra portable 7" laptop for school and it has a 4GB SSD HDD (its super cheap and I am only looking to use it for school), but I am curious about the lifespan...

Does anybody here know the lifespan of the SSD's? I read somewhere that 51 years is an estimated lifespan...but I'm not too sure about that...

Anybody here understand it and explain?

Thanks!

 

[David_N]

I'm also going to jump onboard with an eee, I'm just waiting for the black one to become available.

I'm not worried about lifespan of the drive. I haven't heard any reasons that it should be deficients though, so I'm not concerned whatsoever.

 

[ps2cho]

I'm also going to jump onboard with an eee, I'm just waiting for the black one to become available.

I'm not worried about lifespan of the drive. I haven't heard any reasons that it should be deficients though, so I'm not concerned whatsoever.

I will be fine with 10 years lifespan...but any less and I would be worried about 24/7 use. I wouldn't want the worry of backing up my data every week once I have had the drive a few years.

 

[dominick32]

As far as direct reports from the DVN guys, as well as Mtron direct they are rating the lifespan of Solid State NAND material at 140 years of 50GB read/write per day. So, unless you are constantly using the drive in a server 365 days, 24/7 I can honestly say these drives will probably outlast most rotating mechanical drives for the average desktop user.

 

[ps2cho]

As far as direct reports from the DVN guys, as well as Mtron direct they are rating the lifespan of Solid State NAND material at 140 years of 50GB read/write per day. So, unless you are constantly using the drive in a server 365 days, 24/7 I can honestly say these drives will probably outlast most rotating mechanical drives for the average desktop user.

That's what I wanted to hear Sweet. Thanks Dom.

 

[ratbuddy]

Hope this question fits the thread, anyone know what the name of the SSD that uses standard DDR backed up by flash with enough battery for when the DDR loses power to back it up to the flash? I was looking into one a while back but got sidetracked, and now I can't find the darn thing again..

 

[dominick32]

Hope this question fits the thread, anyone know what the name of the SSD that uses standard DDR backed up by flash with enough battery for when the DDR loses power to back it up to the flash? I was looking into one a while back but got sidetracked, and now I can't find the darn thing again..

You are thinking of the Gigabyte I-Ram. This unit will soon be obsolete when high capacity SSD NAND comes down in price. All of the examples in this thread are just a taste of whats to come.

 

[Evilsizer]

my big thought that just hit me.... if we ran Fusion IO's in raid 0 would we really see 1.6GB/S read, 1.2GB/S write. if that is possible then i think 2 of them are in my future. not all at once but it would be money well spent imo. last set of "drives" for games for at least the next 4-5years...

 

[ratbuddy]

You are thinking of the Gigabyte I-Ram. This unit will soon be obsolete when high capacity SSD NAND comes down in price. All of the examples in this thread are just a taste of whats to come.

No, it was something a bit more complicated - it was 5.25" drive format, and included both DDR, and flash memory as a backup, along with a battery providing enough juice for the DDR to offload all data to the flash in the event of power failure. When powering down the system IIRC it would copy all the DDR's info to the flash as part of windows' shutdown procedure, and reload it into the DDR automatically upon booting..