14 DAY TRIAL // Kingmax may be better known for its random access memory (RAM), but its collection of solid-state drives is always growing at a steady trot as well. In fact, a new pair of SSDs has just appeared.
The new line of SSDs is called SME Xvalue. Well, that's not perfectly accurate, since the SME Xvalue line isn't new itself.
The new products are the SME 32/35 and have capacities of 60 GB, 120 GB and 240 GB. The SMA32 drives are made for laptops, while the SME 35 are for desktop PCs.
One of their greatest assets is the data read speed of 540 MB/s, which is almost on par with that of the best SandForce-enabled SSDs on the market.
Kingmax doesn't actually say what controller it used here, but it can't be SandForce, because, sadly, the writing speed is much lower than the reading rate, at 300 MB/s.
The Kingmax SME 32/35 have other assets though, like AES 256-bit encryption, high level of BCH ECC (error correcting code), S.M.A.R.T. (self-monitoring and reporting technology), and a MTBF of 1-1.2 million hours.
Beyond that, the newcomers possess all the standard perks of solid-state technology: high shock and vibration resistance (1500G/1.0ms), noiseless operation, low power consumption, operating temperature support of 0~70 degrees Celsius, storage temperature of -40 to 85 degrees Celsius, etc.
Finally, Kingmax included advanced wear leveling algorithm and ensured compliance with CE, FCC, BSMI and RoHS environmental specifications.
Kingmax says that the newcomers offer “an exceptionally attractive cost-performance ratio” that “justifies SME as a bargain” for whoever wants to have their OS boot really fast. Alas, the press release doesn't include the prices of the six new SSDs, so we can't confirm whether or not that claim is valid. Online stores should list them soon though, so that dilemma won't last for very long.