Yesterday afternoon Corsair announced the 256 GB edition of its Storage Solutions SSDs. Entitled the P256, Corsair has implemented Samsung's multi-level cell (MLC) flash memory and Controller IC technologies in addition to 128 MB of cache memory and Native Command Queuing (NCQ) support. As a result, the overall package is capable of read speeds up to 200 MB/sec, and write speeds up to 200 MB/sec.
Thanks to inherent SSD technologies, users can expect both speed, durability, and efficiency. SSD users can receive roughly 25 percent more battery life when using the P256 in a laptop, said Corsair. With no moving parts, the drive will not only have a quicker response time (doesn't access a moving disk), it will last longer than the standard hard drive; 114+ years (1 million hours) according to the company.
“The Corsair Storage Solutions P256 delivers the best computing experience of any single storage drive available today,” said John Beekley, VP of Applications Engineering at Corsair, “Using the P256 results in immediate and dramatic improvements in system startup and shutdown, game level loading, application startup, and many other everyday tasks. Additionally, the P256 is more durable and reliable than hard disk drives, and has been shown in the Corsair Labs to provide up to 25% longer battery life in portable computers.”
The primary issue with SSDs is its performance-over-time, and how badly it becomes affected from white-space fragmentation. Additionally, the controller a manufacturer uses makes a huge impact on the drive's real-world performance. SSDs using JMicron controllers for example, should be avoided. Telltale signs of a JMicron drives are their prices--you get what you pay for. Judging that a 160 GB Intel X25-M costs twice as much as Corsair's 256 GB drive, one should approach with caution.
The Corsair Storage Solutions P256 SSD--along with the 128 GB and 64 GB versions--is currently available at resellers and authorized dealers (newegg.com) for $669.00.
