14 DAY TRIAL // We reported here on OCZ’s new Vector drive and here about the Argon processor that powers it, but most important is that the company’s CEO says that the new device will change the SSD world. We know that NAND prices will fall quite a bit as Toshiba gets its production back on track, and we reported that here.
OCZ has flashed its new drive at this year’s IDF event in San Francisco, California, but that’s not the only good news coming from Intel.
SK Hynix was also reportedly displaying its new SSDs, but most importantly, the company was showing a NAND wafer that was manufactured in 1Xnm technology.
The company did not say what “X” stands for, but clearly what we’re seeing is a lot denser than 25nm, 22nm or 20nm NAND and that hints at a future price reduction.
Sure, the technology will not enter the market right now, but if Toshiba’s move will start a price fall this autumn, we’re sure to see a continued downward spiral next spring as newer and denser technologies enter mass production.
There is the possibility that, at least in the beginning, the new drives won’t be much cheaper than the models that will launch in winter. Small NAND has serious durability problems and companies have been forced to invest in technologies to alleviate this issue.
Once the initial batches will pay off for the initial durability research and associated costs, the price is only set to fall even further.
SK Hynix was also displaying DDR4 server memory modules and this means that now Samsung has at least one competitor that will offer compatible alternatives when systems requiring such DRAM will finally become available.
The company also has SSDs on display and, surprisingly, all are powered by SandForce controllers, despite the fact that SK Hynix has also acquired Linkamedia chip designer.
When asked about the drives, SK Hynix said that a whole product line powered by LAMD controllers is incoming.
