14 DAY TRIAL // Though solid state drives have, so far, mostly stuck to the SATA 3.0 Gbps connection, which already lets them run at speeds of almost 300 MB/s, PhotoFast is apparently intent on moving the stakes higher with its G-Monster3 XV1 SATA 6.0 Gbps models.
Solid state drives have grown in popularity so quickly because of their high data transfer rates, reliability and compactness, though their prices are still not mainstream-friendly.
Nevertheless, so far, they have been mostly faithful to the SATA 3.0 Gbps connection, since the available controllers weren't actually able to truly exploit what SATA 6.0 Gbps can do.
Now, however, it seems that makers of NAND storage are seriously considering raising the stakes one step higher.
Apparently, PhotoFast is already working on one such device, the so-called G-Monster3 XV1 series, composed of, so far, three units.
The series includes models with capacities of 64 GB, 128 GB and 256 GB, all of which employ 128 MB of DDR3 memory as cache.
This cache, coupled with the SSD controller used, are expected to push read and write speeds well beyond what existing solutions allow.
To be more specific, the 64 GB model has read and write speeds of 370 MB/s and 120 MB/s respectively, while the 128 GB one goes all the way to 410 MB/s and 190 MB/s.
Finally, the 256 GB G-Monster3 XV1 is, as one would expect, the fastest, at 430 MB/s when reading and a full 300 MB/s when writing.
As for the actual chip set to be used, there is no mention of exactly what controller will be chosen, the possible options being Thunderbolt, Indilinx, Jet Stream or one from JMicron.
Unfortunately, no sort of information was given on the prices of these solid state drives that use the 2.5-inch form factor, not on the exact date when they will show up in stores.