14 DAY TRIAL // German computer memory specialist takeMS has recently announced the release of its first solid state drives, with the introduction of the UTX-2200 series of devices based on second generation SandForce 6Gbps controllers.
Initially, the UTX-2200 range will comprise three models with capacities going from 60GB to 480GB, while using the standard 2.5-inch form factor characteristic to most notebooks.
At the heart of all the units there stands the SandForce SF-2281 controller, which features native support for the SATA 6Gbps interface, as well as eight memory channels that are to be connected to NAND Flash memory chips.
No information regarding the type of NAND used in these solid state drives is available, but takeMS has provided us with a series of performance numbers.
According to these details, the fastest drive in the series, the 489GB unit, is able to read data sequentially at speeds of up to 550MB/s, while its sequential write performance is rated at 500MB/s.
Maximum 4K random write performance, for the 60GB and 120GB units, is estimated at 70,000 IOPS (input/output operations per second), but this varies according to the capacity of the drive.
This maximum value drops as we move up in the UTX-2200 SSD series, as the 240GB unit reaches a maximum of 55,000 IOPS, while the 480GB drive has its top random write performance rated at just 40,000 IOPS.
As is the case with all SandForce SF-2200-based drives, the UTX-2200 series supports the DuraClass and DuraWrite technologies, as well as the TRIM command.
Sadly, takeMS refrained itself from providing any information regarding the release date and price of the UTX-2200 series SSD units.
When takeMS’ drives reach the market, however, they will have to battle it out with more established SSD manufacturers like Corsair, Intel or OCZ.