14 DAY TRIAL // The SandForce controller chip has once again struck and it appears that more may be lying in wait on the horizon than just a boost in transfer speeds. So far, solid state drives haven't really come close to matching hard disk drives in terms of capacity, though models of over 200GB aren't that hard to come by anymore. OWC (Other World Computing) decided it was time to take things up a notch, which is why it developed the Mercury Extreme Pro.
Essentially, the Mercury Extreme Pro stands out through its full 480 GB of storage space. This capacity is practically higher than that of most other SATA solutions on the market. Not only that, but the SF-1232 controller chip makes sure to enable transfer rates that are more than just decent. In fact, when connected via the SATA 3.0 Gbps interface, the upper speed limits almost reach 300MB/s.
To be more specific, the SSD runs at 285 MB/s when reading and 275 MB/s when writing. This high rates are only complemented by support for the TRIM command, which ensures that, by erasing 'deleted' data, the performance is maintained over time. Furthermore, the drive has a MTBF of 2 million hours, which means it has a very high endurance and reliability. Other specifications include ECC (Error correction code) and SandForce RAISE (Redundant Array of Independent Silicon Elements) technology, which provide high data protection and reliability on par with that of RAID setups.
The OWC Mercury Extreme Pro features AES 128-bit encryption and Ultra-efficient Block Management and Wear Leveling, which bring not just performance and endurance, but also a significant power efficiency. The product has already been listed on its maker's official website. Those than want to acquire one will have to come prepared beforehand, however, as its price is a merciless $1,599.99.