Super Talent sticks DDR flash chips onto a PCI Express SSD

STORAGE MAKER Super Talent has released PCI-Express solid state disk (SSDs) claiming they deliver "unforeseen performance".

Super Talent has been making SSDs for some time now, producing consumer oriented multi-layer cell (MLC) and enterprise grade single-layer cell (SLC) SSD drives. Now it has ditched the SATA interface and produced the Core Store MP and Core Store MV SLC and MLC SSDs that connect directly to the PCI Express and mini-PCI Express bus respectively.

The drives come in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities and there's a 128GB version for MLC drives. Super Talent claims the drives are good for 350MB/sec read speed with write speed on the MLC drives at 80MB/sec. Write speed on the SLC drives is much more impressive at 220MB/sec.

Super Talent claims the speed comes from the Marvel 88NV9143 controller and new DDR ONFI 2 flash chips. While the SLC drives' read and write speeds are respectable, the MLC's write speed of 80MB/sec is a little behind the curve with firms like OCZ managing in the region of 250-300MB/sec write speeds with MLC chips and a Sandforce controller.

Plugging SSDs into the PCI-Express bus is not particularly new, with OCZ flogging a set of PCI-Express cards laden with anything from 50GB to 2TB of MLC flash memory. Those drives have read and write speeds all the way up to an eyewatering 1400MB/sec. Perhaps Super Talent's description of "unforeseen performance" was meant with negative connotations.

Write performance aside, the mini-PCI Express version of the Core Store SSD could find uses in small computers such as netbooks and mini-ITX machines. And while the write speed is low compared to some of the current crop of SSDs, it's still faster than that of Intel's highly regarded X25 line of SSDs.

Super Talent did not include pricing or availability information for its Core Store drives, though did suggest it will be targeting customers that make industrial PCs along with consumer oriented outfits to flog the SSDs. µ