OCZ has recently announced the upcoming release of its 2.5-inch Agility EX series of solid state drives, which it touts as the most affordable single-level cell (SLC) solid-state drive on the market. SLC flash drives are usually more expensive than denser multi-level cell (MLC) drives, but also outperform them in terms of speed their long-term lifespans.
Notebook, RAM and flash memory maker OCZ recently introduced its Zee USB 2.0 flash drive. OCZ, which makes solid state drive upgrade kits for notebook PCs, hasn't offered a simple USB thumb drive before. The drives are minimalist in their design, and OCZ is likewise being modest and isn't releasing their peformance specs, though does say the drives are capable of mainstream speeds.
OCZ has released its OCZ Solid 2 SATA II 2.5” Solid State Drive, using MLC-based NAND flash memory for a balance between performance and price. While MLC memory is slightly slower than SLC memory, the new drives deliver 100MB/sec write (120GB model) and 125MB/sec read speeds and a seek time of less than 0.1ms using the less expensive memory type. The drives carry a 64MB onboard cache and a three-year warranty, while mean time between failure is rated at 1.5 million hours.
OCZ and storage chipset maker Indilinx in the past few days have unveiled a new firmware technique for solid-state drives that could avert the chronic slowdown in write speeds on these disks. As any storage cell on an SSD needs to be completely re-written if any amount of data exists, many SSDs collect "garbage" data which is just enough to force a rewrite and slow down the regular data recording process. The new approach automatically scrubs data from these cells and effectively restores an SSD to a near-new state if left alone for enough time.
OCZ has announced pricing information and a launch time-frame for its 1TB Colossus SSD introduced at Computex last month. The drive is relatively large, with a weight of 400g, although it is designed to fit in a standard 3.5-inch drive bay. The company claims read speeds of up to 250MB/s and write speeds of 200MB using a SATA II interface.
OCZ today aimed for the performance crown and launched its Vertex Turbo solid-state drives. The 2.5-inch drives build on the existing formula of the Vertex line by increasing the clock speed for both the host controller managing data as well as the 64MB of cache; OCZ estimates peak read speeds of up to 270MB per second (up from 250MB) and peak writes of 210MB per second (from 160MB). Adding the extra speed provides an extra edge for notebooks and, through a bay adapter, performance desktops.
OCZ on Tuesday released its Sabre OLED multimedia keyboard meant for gamers or CAD professionals. OCZ's first premium peripheral offering, the Sabre sports nine dedicated OLED keys (not unlike Art Lebedev Optimus keyboards) that can be customized and are capable of displaying key icons converted from digital images or text. The rest of the 103 keys are backlit with amber LEDs.
OCZ has without fanfare added a new solid-state drive line to its mix that negotiates a balance between its fastest and cheapest options. The Agility series is based on multi-level cell (MLC) storage but is faster than the basic Solid series. Peak reading speeds top 235MB per second while writes finish at 135MB per second; sustained writing holds at 80MB per second.
OCZ at Computex today upgraded its solid-state drives with its first drive built from the start as a 3.5-inch SATA II desktop drive. The Colossus fills out the bay area by pairing two drives together in a RAID 0 stripe. OCZ isn't prepared to make performance claims but should deliver much faster performance through the Colossus than any of its 2.5-inch drives while doubling the maximum capacity.
OCZ late yesterday added to its solid-state drive line with the Summit series. The new 2.5-inch SATA II design is considered a balance between speed and durability. Better-than-usual flash memory chips contribute to a mean time between failures of 1.5 million hours; a fast controller and 128MB of cache bring peak read speeds up to 220MB per second and sustained write speeds up to 200MB per second depending on the capacity.
Intel will soon lower prices of its X25-M series of 2.5-inch solid state drives and boost production of its 1.8-inch SSDs, according to a Tuesday DailyTech report. The 160GB X25-M, which uses mulit-level cell flash memory, is now priced at $630 after launching for $945 last December, and is due to get another $100 price cut soon, while the 80GB version of that drive will fall to $270, down $50. Street prices are even lower, as retailers try to make the Intel drives appealing compared to OCZ's Vertex SSDs.
OCZ on Friday took its turn at the new class of RAID-striped solid-state drives and launched the Z-Drive. Like offerings from Fusion-io, the Z-Drive ties together four SSDs to a central RAID controller and plugs into a PCI Express slot, eliminating the bottlenecks of SATA and transferring data twice as fast or more than single SSDs. OCZ claims peak read speeds of 510MB per second and peak writes of 480MB per second for its top-end drive.
OCZ has dipped into the very high end of solid-state drives this week by launching the Vertex EX series. The line is one of OCZ's first recent storage options based on single-level cell (SLC) flash storage and is aimed at servers, workstations and other computers where longevity and performance matter more than a low price: in addition to taking longer to wear out than multi-level cell (MLC) drives, speeds peak at a high 260MB per second for reads and 210MB per second for writes.
OCZ has swung its attention towards Macs by launching storage and memory specifically geared towards iMacs, MacBooks and Mac minis. The Vertex Series Mac Edition is specifically validated in Apple's testing centers to work in the MacBook and MacBook Pro and provides much faster speeds than the stock rotating hard disks, reading data at 240MB per second and writing it at up to 170MB per second (100MB sustained). OCZ vows not only faster load times but also the improved battery life and impact resistance inherent to most SSDs.
OCZ has officially announced its 10.1-inch Neutrino netbook, first shown during CeBIT at the beginning of March. Part of the company's Do-It-Yourself (DIY) line-up, the computer can be upgraded by users without voiding the warranty. The Neutrino weighs just under 2.9lbs, and by default sports a 1024x600, LED-backlit screen, though it can be upgraded to a 1600x1200 display. Processing power comes from a 1.6GHz Atom CPU.
OCZ on Monday unveiled two new laser mice meant for gamers with the Behemoth and Eclipse. Either can be customized by each user, with four programmable profiles that can be switched between on the fly, while five removable metal weights that add up to 0.8oz (23g) can be removed or added for a personalized feel to the way the mouse feels in a user's hand. The USB 2.0 mice are plug-and-play and don't require users to install any software.
Memory maker OCZ has jumped into the netbook business with its Neutrino portable PC, which it demonstrated at the CeBIT show in Germany on Wednesday. The Neutrino sports a 1.6GHz Intel Atom N270 CPU sitting on Intel's 945GSE mainboard and sports a 10-inch LED-backlit screen with 1024x600 resolution. Up to 2GB of RAM will be supported; 2.5-inch hard drives with up to 250GB are optional, including OCZ's own 250GB SSD drive. More interestingly, the netbook will be part of OCZ's DIY program, meaning owners can upgrade its memory or hard drive without voiding the warranty.
OCZ on Wednesday introduced its newest product, the Alchemy Illuminati Keyboard that features backlit keys in a choice of blue or red colors with adjustable brightness. The multimedia keyboard connects with Windows XP and Vista PCs without the need to download drivers and uses rubber-coated keys to improve its grip. A jog wheel is built in to speed up scrolling.
OCZ is rebalancing its solid-state lineup with the new launch of the Apex Series. The new 2.5-inch examples slot in between the economy Solid models and the faster Vertex line and are meant to give nearly the full speed of flash-based storage while keeping prices under control. Although based on denser but slower multi-level cell storage, the SATA II-based SSDs use an internal RAID stripe and a new controller to pump read speeds up to 230MB per second and writes up to 160MB per second.
Computer memory maker OCZ on Tuesday announced the upcoming release of its Flex EX memory modules, available in DDR2 and DDR3 speeds. Initially, OCZ will offer 4GB bundles of the memory modules, with a pair of 2GB sticks in 800MHz, 1,200MHz, 1,600MHz and 2,000MHz speeds. The modules are meant for hardcore gamers and their overclocked systems where high temperatures become an issue, as they integrate a liquid injection system.
Flash memory maker OCZ on Friday announced the upcoming release of its Gold Series SDHC cards designed to offer videographers and photographers with fast, Class 6, 150X or 6MBps, write speeds. Available in 4GB, 8GB and 16GB capacities, the cards are meant for use in DSLR cameras with high megapixel count sensors and HD video camcorders where data transfer rates are still important.
OCZ has continued on a string of solid-state drive introductions with the Vertex Series. Although it uses lower-cost multi-level cell (MLC) flash memory, the SATA II-based Vertex uses a new memory controller that gives performance closer to faster single-level cell SSDs; OCZ estimates peak read speeds of 200MB per second and nearly as quick write speeds at 160MB per second. The drives likewise have as much as 64MB of onboard cache to smooth out the few performance issues left with flash technology.
Computer memory maker OCZ late on Monday introduced the Slate Series ExpressCard, which offers up to 32GB of storage for modern notebooks with EC/34 slots. Compared to more conventional memory expansion or backup methods such as flash or external drives, the ExpressCards are said not only to be physically safer by sitting inside the slot but also more power-efficient at the same time. Available in 8GB, 16GB and 32GB capacities, the Slate Series of ExpressCards can be connected to computers like an external drive thanks to an integrated mini-USB port.
OCZ has opted for a unique alternative to traditional USB jump drives and launched the Throttle eSATA Drive. Although it includes a mini USB fallback option, the flash stick can use the extra bandwidth of eSATA through either a native port or add-in card to transfer at speeds more closely resembling hard drives: it can read at 90MB per second and write at 30MB per second. Users can store HD videos or other very speed-dependent content and play it back directly from the drive, OCZ says.
OCZ this morning has quietly launched the Solid Series, a newer low-cost alternative to normally expensive solid-state drives. The new 2.5-inch, SATA II drive uses a frugal black casing and comes in relatively small capacities but is still claimed to have performance well above that of equal-size notebook drives: reads peak at 155MB per second, while writes are quicker than Intel's mainstream drives at 90MB per second. The PC accessory maker also claims that the Solid line consumes half as much power as a rotating hard disk.
OCZ on Thursday announced the introduction of its first 15-inch Gaming Notebook based on an Intel Centrino 2 platform. As with the company's previous DIY (Do It Yourself) products, the idea is to let users spec their own systems for their own applications. All of the new 15.4-inch, 1280x800 notebooks include an ATI Radeon HD 3650 GPU with 512MB of dedicated memory and DirectX 10.1 compatibility. There is also a choice of optical drives, ranging between a dual-layer DVD drive or a slower multi-drive that includes Blu-ray support. CPU support includes Intel's range of Core 2 Duo and Extreme processors, ranging from 2.0 GHz to 2.6GHz.
Sunnyvale-based OCZ on Thursday unveiled new Core Series V2 SATA II 2.5-inch SSD drives, offering users speedy 170 megabyte-per-second read and 98 megabyte-per-second write times, with much larger sizes. The drives represent a continued effort for OCZ to push down the prices of SSDs for mainstream users. While OCZ declines to supply exact prices from its release, it says that the new Core Series V2 drives cost half of what comparable products do, while offering sizes of up to 250GB.
Windows Vista's architecture is actively hindering SanDisk's ability to roll out its next generation of solid-state drives, says company chief Eli Harari. In statements made just after his company produced disappointing quarterly results, the executive says that Vista is "not optimized" for using flash memory as its main storage and that the hardware managing data traffic needs to be redesigned to generate the expected performance; a patch for Vista itself would be ineffective.
Memory and computer builder OCZ has announced its own, custom version of Intel's Centrino 2 platform. The OCZ interpretation comes in the form of a "whitebook" portable system labeled the OCZNBIM17A, which supports the top-end mobile version of the Core 2 Extreme processor, the X9100. The system is also capable of supporting two AMD M88XT video cards in SLI mode, or a single GeForce 8800 GTX by Nvidia. RAM extends up to 4GB of 1,066MHz DDR3 RAM.
Computer memory and component maker OCZ announced the addition of a new Elixir range of gaming keyboards to its product line-up. As the first product in the recently-introduced Alchemy line, the Elixir keyboard sports 10 tri-mode macro keys programmable to one of three custom profiles, and a mode selection that switches between standard and user-defined key configurations. OCZ promises the Elixir will be soon be followed by mice, more keyboards and other Alchemy-badged PC gaming accessories.
Apple on Friday has quietly cut the price on the MacBook Air's solid-state drive by $500, bringing the price of the pre-built 1.8GHz model with the 64GB flash drive to $2,598 from its previous $3,098. The cut also sees Apple drop the price of adding the solid-state drive to a 1.6GHz model to $599 from its original $999 and reduces the price of adding the faster 1.8GHz processor to $200 from its previous $300.
OCZ this morning added to its Solid State Drive range with the Core Series. The 2.5-inch, SATA II-based flash storage is built to drive down the prices of SSDs to where even large drives are affordable; a 128GB drive (new to OCZ) costs less than half the price of the company's normal 64GB drive. Despite the reduced cost, the drives are claimed to be ten times faster in seeking data than a rotating notebook hard drive and transfer that data more quickly as well, reading between 120 to 135 Mbps and writing at between 80 to 93 Mbps.
OCZ Technology Group on Wednesday unveiled its new Do-It-Yourself (DIY) gaming notebook program. The OCZ DIY program allows users to build their own mobile gaming PC while aided with guides and direct support to make it easier for novices or experienced PC builders to create their own notebook. The foundation is 15.4-inch WXGA notebook, OCZ's first, with an Intel PM965 chipset and NVIDIA's GeForce 8600M GT video card.
Hypersonic PC, recently bought out by RAM provider OCZ, says it will soon start selling pre-assembled, high-end notebooks from physical and online retailers. The move is significant in that Hypersonic has traditionally focused on custom online sales, while OCZ has never before had its own line of computers. It may also put the company in direct competition with Dell, whose Alienware division makes similarly-focused computers.
