Two product lines, based on SLC and MLC NAND

Feb 25, 2010 13:19 GMT  ·  By

With solid state drives (SSDs) so rapidly growing in popularity, it is no longer a surprise to see new models and new companies developing more storage solutions. Eager to implement the high-speed data transfer advantages that flash memory has over the storage technology used by hard drives, the Japanese company Green House has released a number of new SSDs. The products are divided into two lines, known as the GS-2SB and the GS-2MB, and are based on single-level cell (SLC) and multi-level cell (MLC) NAND Flash chips, respectively.

All the new storage units make use of the 2.5-inch form factor and are designed to be compatible with the SATA 3.0 Gbps interface. In addition, they all have a buffer memory of 64MB and reach read and write speeds that drastically surpass those achievable by hard disk drives. More specifically, all the devices have a maximum read speed of no less than 220MB/s. As for their writing speed, the MLC GS-2MB drives can achieve 170MB/s, whereas the more potent SLC-based units can even boast of being able to reach 215MB/s.

The reliability, lifespan, stability and performance of the single-level cell drives will obviously exceed those of the MLC, but, even so, all devices can show off a mean time before failure of one million hours. In addition, all units feature support for SMART, are RoHS compliant (through the use of lower quantities of toxic materials, such as lead) and integrate the ECC technology, which enhances reliability and product life.

The GS-2SB family currently features SLC drives in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities, whereas the MLC GS-2MB drives come with a storage space of 16GB, 32GB, 64GB, 128GB and even 256GB. The company has not yet disclosed the official prices that its SSDs will carry, but the units are expected to make their appearance by next week. All models will be accompanied by a one-year warranty.