14 DAY TRIAL // Even though storage units usually stick to just one interface, there are some exceptions, and the new solid state drives from Team Group, the Combo Elite II, are one such exceptions, being capable of acting as both internal and external drives.
The Combo Elite II is a series of SSDs composed of three models, at least for now, each with varying writing speeds depending on capacity and the connection used for comparison.
To be more specific, the company created a solid state drive of 60 GB, one with 120 GB of storage and a third one with an internal capacity of 240 GB.
What they have in common is that they are constructed out of MLC NAND Flash memory chips, feature a MTBF of 2.5 million hours and utilize 64 MB of DDR2 cache memory.
All three of them have the same maximum read speed, of 220 MB/s to be exact, at least on the SATA 3.0 Gbps interface.
On the USB 2.0 connection, on the other hand, they are limited to 35 MB/s read, because of the standard's own limit.
As for writing, all share the same 25 MB/s on USB 2.0, but have a different rating on SATA 3.0, as is usual for solid state drives of different capacities.
The Combo II Elite of 60 GB writes data at 120 MB/s, which is already quite a feat and makes it more than worthy of acting as a boot drive.
The 120 GB model is a fair bit faster, reaching 140 MB/s, while the 240 GB one again raises the bar by 20 MB and writes at 160 MB/s.
All newcomers are offered along with a two-year warranty and should make it to market sooner or later.
Unfortunately, even though their maker did go all the way in describing their capabilities, the drives have not yet been given actual price tags.