14 DAY TRIAL // OCZ seems to like its solid state drives fast and spacious because, not long after it released its second-generation Z-Drive PCI Express SSDs and the new Vertex and Agility Series, it has unveiled a number of newcomers to the Colossus line. Unlike the larger part of today's solid state storage devices, which come in small capacities of as low as 8GB, these new models, named Colossus LT, manage to pack up to 1TB in their lightweight, aluminum casing measuring 146 (L) x 101.6 (W) x 25.4mm (H). Not only that, but they even successfully combine this capacity with an equally impressive endurance and operational speed.
The Colossus LT Series SSDs are built out of MLC (multi-level cell) NAND Flash chips, based on the 34nm manufacturing process technology, and operate on the SATA 3.0Gbps interface. In addition, they have a cache memory of no less than 128MB, boast internal RAID and reach data-transfer rates of 260MB/s both when reading and when writing.
This time, however, the high read/write speeds are not owed to the SandForce controller. The company decided to forgo these components, instead implementing not one but two Indilinx controls. As for sustained write speeds, the drives can show off 220MB/s, while the seek time is of under 1ms.
Unlike lower capacity SSDs, which are usually meant to act as boot drives and are typically installed alongside a high-capacity HDD, the Colossus LT from OCZ will let speed enthusiasts completely transition from the platter-based solutions to these newer, faster and quieter ones. The latter even have a high level of reliability and endurance, which give them an MTBF of one million hours.
Already available for pre-order, the 120GB, 250GB, 500GB and 1TB OCZ Colossus LT SSDs have prices of $399, $799, $1,549 and 2,875 Euro, respectively, and are backed by a three-year warranty.