Samsung to Launch 256 GB SSD this Year
Samsung Electronics plans to unveil a flash memory-based solid-state disk within this year (Sept. 08) that boasts a 256G byte capacity using a SATA II interface, it said Monday. The 256GB edition reads sequential data at 200MB per second, twice the rate of the original model, while also seeing an even greater increase in write speeds: where the earlier drive writes at 70MB per second, the new SSD writes at 160MB per second. This comes in a chassis that is also described as one of Samsung’s thinnest at 9.5mm (0.37in).
More important still is the cost of the technology behind the drive, Samsung says. Rather than use costly single-level cell (SLC) technology, the company has managed to develop a multi-level cell (MLC) storage drive that transfers as quickly as the best SLC storage while costing much less to produce than past SSDs. Improvements to the storage controller have also extended the longevity to as long as SLC drives, giving the 256GB drive longevity as good or better than some rotating hard disks.
In laptops especially, these drives with no moving parts unlike conventional ones, have the potential to save power and boost battery life along with operating system responsiveness. The drive isn’t the first SSD launched at this capacity. Last month a competitor, U.S.-based Super Talent, began sales of a 256G byte SSD but that drive is thicker than Samsung’s at 12.5 millimeters. It has a SATA I interface, which means read speeds of 65M bytes per second and write speeds of 50M bytes per second.
Source: PC WOrld
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