Storage

Intel to Deliver Paperclip-Sized Solid State Drive

The new Z-P140 PATA disk will be part of the company's future mobile platform

By Bogdan Botezatu, Hardware Editor

17th of December 2007, 10:19 GMT

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Intel has unveiled their miniature solid state drive that will play an essential role in the development of next-generation mobile, digital entertainment and embedded applications. The new thumb-sized drive has been developed especially for the company's future mobile platform, code-named "Menlow".

The Z-P140 PATA (Parallel Advanced Technology Attachment) is a miniature, low-power, high-performance NAND flash-based storage drive that can hold 2 GB and 4GB of data. "It used to be that NAND flash memory was just used to run the BIOS in computers and to store data in thumb drives", said Intel NAND Products Group Product Line Manager Don Larson. "It's come a long way, and we expect to do even more with it in the future. The Z-P140 is a great example of that."

According to Larson, the new storage device form Intel weighs less than a paper clip and uses a PATA interface for computer connection. The disk can act like a system-on-a-chip to hold a standard operating system, as well as other applications.

The disc will start shipping in the first quarter of 2008 in 2GB and 4GB versions, while the larger 8GB and 16GB versions will arrive in early 2009. The drives are especially designed for Intel's future "Menlow" platform that will include the "Silverthorne" processor and the "Poulsbo" chipset.

The Z-P140 will also be used in PDAs, GPS devices, digital phones and portable gaming stations, due to its minimal power requirements. "We project that we'll be producing 64GB versions of this by 2010", Larson said. "NAND is really at the gates to replace disk hard drives, although this will still take some time."

The disc will reach 40MB per second read and 30MB per second write and tests show that it is 30 times faster than the current disks in the mobile class, while using up to 75 percent less power to perform. "It has faster random access because it's all pure memory with no mechanical latency", Larson said. "No spinning platters means lower power consumption, and there's little or no heat produced, so no fans are needed."

Intel is going to display the new Z-P140 solid state drive at the International Consumer Electronics Show to take place in Las Vegas in January next year.

TAGS:

Intel | Solid State Drive | PATA | system-on-Chip | Menlow

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