Intel Reveals Strategy to Lead SSD Market

Intel aims to be the worldwide leader in the solid state drive (SSD) market. The company plans to unseat Samsung as the top market player while bringing SSDs to the forefront. In the SSD retail market, Intel currently claims the lead in the U.S. and sits second worldwide.

Intel’s joint venture with Micron Technologies Inc. has rolled out the first in a family of 25-nm devices, which, in addition to putting Intel almost a year ahead of the competition in terms of technology, gives Intel a significant cost advantage; while 34-nm competitors have an average cost of $1/GB, Intel’s 25-nm NAND part will average $0.50/GB. Intel plans to ship its new line of 25-nm device-based SSDs later this year.

“We want to be a leader in SSDs,” Tom Rampone, the VP and general manager of Intel’s NAND Solutions Group, told EE Times at a recent event. “We want to bring SSDs out of the niche markets and into the mainstream.”

Compelling SSD features, including unprecedented speeds, durability, and silent operation, will bring big benefits to end-users in both personal and enterprise applications. Also noteworthy is that SSDs enable new technologies such as SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) to achieve higher data transfer rates than what is possible with traditional HDDs. As we reported earlier this year, 2010 is shaping up to be the year for SSDs.

Crucial RealSSD C300: It's Fast

After months of screen shots, pre-release videos and an appearance at CES, the Crucial RealSSD C300, announced in December, is nearing its public debut.

Sold and distributed by Micron’s retail branch, Crucial, the C300 uses Micron’s firmware and Marvell’s new SATA6Gb/s solid-state drive (SSD) controller to reach new levels of speed and performance. It is the first SSD to use ONFI 2.1 NAND flash memory, which offers performance of up to 200MB/s while enhancing power management. The C300 will be the industry’s fastest solid-state drive (SSD) for notebooks and desktop PCS.

TweakTown performed a series of SSD tests on the Crucial RealSSD C300 to see how its performance held up to the competition. Using PCMark Vantage, a hardware performance benchmark, to measure and compare performance, they found the C300 far outperformed the other drives on the market. For instance, during gaming the C300 was able to run 201.26MB/s, while the 100GB RunCore Pro V came in second with 154.42MB/s. The C300 ran Windows Media Center at 261.40 MB/s, with the runner up performing at 190.75MB/s. The only exception was its abnormally low performance when running Windows Media Player, which testers believe is likely due to a firmware glitch. After zooming through all the tests, without the chance to idle, the C300 showed no significant decrease in performance.

With its improved reliability, lower power consumption and blazing speeds, the C300 offers a new level of computing performance. As TweakTown put it, “At this point in time, there is no other drive, platter or solid state that is in the same league as the Crucial RealSSD C300.” The C300 will be ready for consumers later month. The 125GB model will be available for $499 and the 256GB for $799.

DisplayPort 1.2 Opens New Data Opportunities

As we recently highlighted, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) formally unveiled the eagerly awaited DisplayPort v1.2 specification. This new extension offers a number of new features: in addition to doubling the data rate and providing multi-streaming capabilities, DisplayPort v1.2 has the ability to transfer audio, video, USB, Ethernet, power, and data from multi-touch panels, cameras, microphones and more. By supporting a wide range of data through a single cable, DisplayPort continues to trend toward a unified interconnect and creates opportunities for manufacturers and consumers.

DisplayPort v1.2 data-supporting capabilities create a more simplified interface while increasing performance and reducing costs. The ability to transfer USB and Ethernet data will allow users to connect their monitor via DisplayPort and utilize the same cable to carry USB signals to the display, significantly reducing cable clutter and creating a simplified user experience. DisplayPort will allow manufacturers to add features to their products while creating simpler designs.

Additionally, the increased throughput of DisplayPort 1.2, which has an aggregate data rate of 17.28 Gbps, greatly improves performance by allowing for faster refresh rates of 120 Hz and, in turn, increased color depth, higher resolutions, and support for 3D gaming. DisplayPort’s energy efficiency as well as its ability to eliminate redundant cables reduces the interface’s energy consumption and costs. In-Stat projected that DisplayPort will see 194 percent annual growth in 2010, due primarily to the growing adoption of mobile PCs and to DisplayPort’s low power consumption.

The DisplayPort standard continues to gain traction in the industry and create opportunities for application development. VESA’s executive director Bill Lempesis has called DisplayPort the “standard of choice across the industry.”