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Today is a big day in the world of solid state drives. As you know (or are just now learning), SSD performance primarily hinges on the controller, which is one of the reasons why SSDs went through such growing pains early on. Stuttering, or lag, was a common problem that plagued early generation SSDs, and SandForce was one of the first to figure out how to avoid it. When scoping out a high performance SSD, there's a good chance it's sporting a SandForce controller. Well, baby, you ain't seen nothing yet. SandForce just announced its second generation SF-2200 and SF-2100 SSD processors, and boy do they pack a punch.
"As with our first-generation product, the new SF-2200 and SF-2100 client SSD processors break new ground in terms of reliability, performance, and affordability by optimizing access to the most advanced NAND flash technologies," said Michael Raam, President and CEO for SandForce. "Manufacturers building client SSDs can now introduce even higher performance products that further optimize the computing user experience and enhance overall productivity which will continue to accelerate mainstream laptop and PC market adoption of SSDs."
Yeah, yeah, yeah, but what about the numbers? They don't disappoint, at least not on paper. The SF-2200 processor is built for 6Gb/s SATA and scorches along at up to 500MB/s for both read and write transfers. Meanwhile, the SF-2100 kicks it old school with a 3GB/s SATA interface and is rated at up to 250MB/s for read and write transfers, which is on par with today's high-performing SSDs. But it's not just about read and write ratings.
Both new controllers support 30nm and 20nm class NAND flash with Asynch/ONFi1/ONFi2/Toggle interfaces, meaning that SSD makers can implement the controller without major design changes. Other feature enhancements include improved encryption with support for AES-256, a beefed up ECC engine for better data integrity, and various power and performance optimizations to improve battery life in mobile devices.
On paper it's an impressive upgrade over SandForce's first-generation controllers, but how is it in practice? We'll let you know. Maximum PC has received a pre-production version of OCZ’s Vertex 3 drive, which uses the SF-2200 controller, and we'll be posting a first look and initial benchmarks early next week. Stay tuned!
Comments are closed on this article
Keith E. Whisman
February 24, 2011 at 12:01pm
Okay, before the other guy starts getting nutty I'll ask you guys to do that transfer of a noncompressible file from one part of the drive to another part of the drive from within WinXP and then do the same thing with Windows 7 and report if there is any difference. Besides the fact that WinXP has limited support SSD technology.
someuid
February 24, 2011 at 8:27am
"Maximum PC has received a pre-production version of OCZ’s Vertex 3 drive, which uses the SF-2200 controller, and we'll be posting a first look and initial benchmarks early next week. Stay tuned!"
I__c-a-n-'-t__w-a-i-t-!
This would also be an awesome time to get Gordon, the photographer, and the graphics team togther for another memorable photo/graphic (like the motherboard ninja-star one).
Unrelated note: hey, the "Is Steam killing the retail biz" link is not showing up under the section "Most Commented Articles". It should be in there right next to the Fox News Video Game Rape one based on the number of comments it has. What gives?
someuid
February 24, 2011 at 8:21am
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, but what about the numbers?"
Bwhahahaha. I agree!
Richiej75
February 24, 2011 at 7:54am
Now only if the prices would drop so most of us can afford an SSD.
Khaotic
February 24, 2011 at 7:51am
Now if only i could score a winning lottery ticket so i could outfit my rigs with them....
