Samsung refreshes 64GB SSD with faster SATA II interface

Solid-state drives (SSDs) are the new hype in high-speed storage solutions and with each new launch comes improvements over the last. Currently, storage space is what many manufacturers are focusing on due to the demand by consumers.

There are still a few details that certain manufacturers are bringing up to speed. Many of the key players in the SSD game are still implementing a PATA interface on their solid-state products which is holding these devices back from performing at the highest levels. This is the reason for Samsung Electronics' most recent launch announcement.

Samsung announced in a press release that its 1.8-inch and 2.5-inch 64GB SSD with a SATA II interface is now in the mass production stage. The new SATA II version of the drive was announced in Q4 2007 and is said to remove the bottlenecks of the PATA interface used in the previous version of the drive.

According to the director of Samsung Semiconductor's flash marketing department, “While there will always be a market for HDDs, we see growing demand for our new SSDs, especially now that they are available with the SATA II interface.”

Due to the inclusion of the SATA II interface on the new refresh, transfer rates on the new 64GB SATA II SSD will increase 60 percent from SATA I versions of the same drive. Instead of the 65 MB/sec read and 45 MB/sec write speeds of the previous PATA SSD drive, the SATA II flavor will produce a maximum write speed of 120 MB/sec read and 100 MB/sec write speeds.

Additionally, because the drive is based on solid-state memory technology, the 64GB SATA II SSD will be able to withstand 1500Gs of shock within a 1/2 ms span, roughly 3 times the amount of shock a traditional hard disk drive would be able to withstand in 2 ms.

Pricing information on the 1.8-inch 64GB SSD is not officially available since these drives are currently an OEM-only option, however, it seems that PC makers such as Dell and Alienware are providing solid-state drives as a $1,000+ option in certain high-end notebook systems.

Recently, Samsung also announced a 128GB SSD using multi-level cell NAND flash which is scheduled for a mid-2008 launch with costs speculated to be around the $2,000 mark. With prices this high, only the super-enthusiasts will opt for these products.

That said, drives such as BitMICROs 832GB SSD that is scheduled for a H2 2008 launch will be completely out of reach for anyone but the mildly wealthy under current price schedules.