Angelbird introduces Wings SSD card with SSD buffer
updated 11:20 pm EDT, Tue October 19, 2010
On-board OS allows flexible configuration
Coming this Halloween is a PCI-Express card offering up to four user-installable on-board SSD expansion drive modules, with an option for an embedded 16GB or 32GB SSD module to improve performance. Called Wings, the card comes with its own on-board OS called Virtue that can boot on any Mac, Linux or Windows machine and features a disk configuration utility to allow users to configure the card as they like. Throughput can reach up to 1080Mb/second read speed, 900Mb write on a fully-populated card.
Normally aimed solely at enterprise markets, this card is also priced for consumer Mac Pro users. The Wings card's large on-board SSD allows users to put an ISO of an OS or drivers so they are always available, and allows adding or removing up to four of the expansion modules, which are 120GB in size (most PCIe SSD cards are fixed in size).
Unpopulated Wings cards are $240. Options are for one, two or four Crest modules priced at $540, $840 and $1340, respectively.
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Joined: Oct 2004
more details please
I'd like a few more details about the card, such as how it handles power failures - don't want the OS to think the write was written, while its really still in a cache - that could cause corruption.
Some handle this with supercapacitors to finish writes in the event of a failure.
I want to know about latency - sometimes the cost is low because its cheap flash, and even if it always beats spinning hard drives, we live in an SSD world now, I want to know how it stacks up against competing SSD.
Sun - now Oracle - in my opinion sells inferior flash, so even big companies do it.
Raw transfer rates is probably not even important - I understand they are wildly impressive, but its not usually the case you need even higher raw transfer rates - although sure, I'll take the extra oomph, why not.
I want to know about write attenuation - make sure the reliability of the drive is there over the long haul - although most modern SSD's have this problem licked.
That kind of review, would be great - what has been stated so far, capacity, price, and raw transfer rates, are part of the picture - and it's an interesting start.
I look forward to the real review.