SanDisk has now demonstrated that solid state drives are, generally faster, safer and more shock prove. They are still more expensive than traditional hard drives but that will change.

Now flash memory card maker SanDisk has demonstrated at Consumer Electronics show what it calls the world’s fastest multi-level cell, solid-state hard drives. It is probably not a false claim.

The new G3 series SSDs, which stands for solid state drives, are designed as drop-in replacements for hard disk drives in notebook computers.

They will come in 60-, 120- and 240-gigabyte sizes, with the largest model selling for $499. Yes, yes. That is serious money. More, indeed, than many would pay for a notebook. But never fear, it will come down, for anything to do with chips is a very competitive industry.

Bring it down to half the price and suddenly they will be used in most notebooks and, just possibly, in desktops as well. (That this might be seen as the last desperate attempt by the desktop makers to stay in the game may add extra point to this.)

Many people, quite reasonable, think SSDs are the future of the disk drive industry. They are faster, have no moving parts and are probably, but only probably, more rugged. (There have been instances of a solid state drive being wiped by a very hard knock. It is to be hoped that is urban myth.)

Yes, the are still more expensive than traditional hard drives but that is a function of volume and market. The more they sell, the cheaper they will become.

They tend to be faster, they are very possibly more durable and they certainly consume less power than hard disk drives.

SanDisk said its G3 SSDs were more than five times faster than the fastest HDDs now on the market. Allowing for marketing hype and hyperbole you can take it they are a lot faster than the fastest hard disk. And, as a measure of how they are coming along, they are more than twice as fast as SSDs shipping in 2008. They will also offer twice as fast boot-times.

You can make a forecast and feel pretty safe about it that in three years from today there will be no spinning platter traditional hard drives offered in any new notebook. And you can go a step further and say that ten years from today they will be a memory preserved in computer museums. Which is why we have a double black line frame around the illustration. We should regret its passing.

No flowers or tears or funeral orations by request. Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note, As his corse to the ramparts we hurried.

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Entry was posted on Friday, January 9th, 2009 at 1:49 am under Storage.

Read more entries by Gareth Powell.
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