Zalman to Make Its Own Line of SSD Drives

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Zalman is jumping into the SSD market.

We received a tip from Zalman HQ today that the company will make a formal entry into the solid state drive market, adding to its current line of PC-related products including power supplies, case fans, hard drive docking stations and more.

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The new line will consist of the S Series and N Series, both featuring a 2.5-inch form factor and billed as shock-proof, vibration-proof, energy efficient and literally noise free. The drives will also utilize an anodized brushed aluminum housing for improved heat dissipation and weight.

According to the company, the S Series will be optimized for AHCI Mode, support Windows 7 TRIM command and use JMicron controllers. The series will consist of three capacities--32 GB, 64 GB and 128 GB--with sequential read speeds up to 260 MB/s. Additionally, the 32 GB model will have write speeds up to 60 MB/s, up to 120 MB/s for the 64 GB model, and up to 210 MB/s for the 128 GB model.

The N Series will only comprise of two capacities--64 GB and 128 GB, both of which offer up to 280 MB/s sequential read speeds and up to 270 MB/s write speeds. Like the S Series, the N Series will be optimized for AHCI Mode and also support TRIM, however this particular line will utilize SandForce controllers instead--which so happens to be the particular controller that rules the SSD roosts at the moment.

Although Zalman didn't provide a release date, the pricing is as follows:

S Series

  • SSD0032S1 - 32GB - $99.99
  • SSD0064S1 - 64GB - $149.99
  • SSD0128S1 - 128GB - $249.99

N Series

  • SSD0064N1 - 64GB - $169.99
  • SSD0128N1 - 128GB - $289.99

More information as it comes.

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Kevin Parrish
22 Comments Comment from the forums
  • hellwig
    Wow, up to 60MB/s on the 32GB drive? Way to release an SSD more expensive and slower than many 2.5" HDDs. Other than low-power applications, whats the point of that drive?

    Now the N-series, those look pretty good, and with minimal price increase over the slower S-series.
    Reply
  • icepick314
    why call Sandforce-controlled model "N"?

    shouldn't Sandforce controller model be "S" while J-Micron be called "J" or even "N"?
    Reply
  • thejerk
    Hellwig... access times and read performance (up to 260MB/sec) are more important on what, at only 32GB, is almost certainly a boot drive.
    Reply
  • foscooter
    Why even bother with the JMicron controllers? The Sandforce controllers rule!!!
    Reply
  • TeKEffect
    Zalman gets less relevant every year. They used to rule the heatsink market but now there are plenty of good ones. Their cases are overpriced and customer service is terrible. Intel and ocz have dads under control. Zalman need not apply
    Reply
  • TeKEffect
    Dads - ssds
    Reply
  • ares1214
    Look pretty nice, but i dont care if they dont bring some nice feature to the table. Every company has SF drivers within $10 of each other generally, they wont stand out if its just another.
    Reply
  • Darkerson
    At least they are getting into the game and accepting that SSD's are becoming more mainstream, unlike Seagate, which seems to have their head up their asses...
    Reply
  • HavoCnMe
    Damn,
    darkersonAt least they are getting into the game and accepting that SSD's are becoming more mainstream, unlike Seagate, which seems to have their head up their asses...
    You said exactly what i wanted to say.... +10 thumbs
    Reply
  • tsnor
    darkersonAt least they are getting into the game and accepting that SSD's are becoming more mainstream, unlike Seagate, which seems to have their head up their asses...
    I'd like a mix of SSD and Spinning disk (I get this on my thinkpad, but need to use two 2.5 inch drives to get it). Seagate is playing with drives that combine SSDs and spinning. So far, maybe3 not a winner. But much better than "head up their... "

    The Seagate® Momentus® XT drive is a solid state hybrid with Adaptive Memory™ technology, enabling the drive to deliver SSD-like performance along with higher capacity.
    Reply