SanDisk Extreme SSD uses SF-2281 controller and 24 nm flash memory made by SanDisk. We have never a seen a combination like that before, so it is particularly interesting to check it out and see if contemporary Toggle Mode NAND will be able to breathe new life into the second-generation SandForce based platform.SanDisk claims reads and writes up to 550MB/s and 520MB/s on this particular capacity and IOPS of 39K and 83K reads/writes. They offer drives of 120GB and 480GB as well. The 120GB sets you back around $120, the 240GB is roughly $174 and the 480GB hits the $356 mark. If you couldn't tell by the read/write specifications, each have SATA 6Gbps interfaces and carry a 3-year limited warranty.Recalling our numerous reviews of SSDs with SF-2281/SF-2282 controllers, we can categorize all such products into four groups. The first one includes SSDs from Intel with exclusive firmware which makes them faster than other brands’ SSDs with the same hardware (synchronous flash memory with ONFI interface). The second group includes a lot of reference-design SSDs with the same hardware as Intel’s but with reference firmware.
The third group is comprised of SSDs with asynchronous flash memory that are slow but cheap. And the fourth and smallest group includes rather fast SSDs in which the SandForce controller works with Toggle Mode NAND flash memory.This classification helped easily sort out any consumer-class SSDs with SF-2281/SF2282 controllers in terms of performance, so we could often avoid benchmarking a new SSD in depth by simply pointing at its similarity to products tested earlier. However, the situation seems to be changing, so the SandForce platform needs a new look.We found the screws hiding behind the rear sticker so no chance of cracking this baby open surreptitiously.SanDisk Extreme 240GB OpenFour nice holes in the sticker show where the screws were removed and then the backplate came right off.SanDisk Extreme 240GB Open One open, the PCB holding the goodies came out as well without any screws or clips holding it in.SanDisk Extreme 240GB PCB The first side of the PCB merely contains four flash chips which is means these are higher density and probably pretty speedy. SanDisk Extreme 240GB NAND A closer inspection reveals SanDisk branded MLC flash 24nm synchronous Toggle Mode NAND Flash, each being 32GB in density for a total of 256GB on board. Good stuff.SanDisk Extreme 240GB PCB Around the other side we find the remaining four flash chips as well as the trusty SandForce controller.
SanDisk Extreme 240GB Controller This is the part where we extoll the virtues of the SandForce SF-2281, being the only part of the drive that's not SanDisk made. It's a proven competitor, powering some of the fastest drives on the market. With its DuraClass technology, it takes care of drive life by employing complex wear-leveling algorithms, managing write amplification, and handling error correctio These changes result from the fact that 32 nm flash memory with Toggle Mode interface, employed for the fourth-group SSDs according to our classification, has been all used up. The manufacturers of such memory, Toshiba and SanDisk in the first place, have long transitioned to more progressive technologies, 19 and 24 nm. The natural outcome of this situation is the emergence of a new class of SandForce-based SSDs which use such memory. Today we’ve got the first SSD that combines the good old SandForce SF-2281 controller with new 24 nm Toggle Mode flash. The innovative product is called SanDisk Extreme SSD.
SanDisk Extreme 480GB is really a nice SSD to have and its worth is just $362 which is not much to be honest as OCZ Vector is much more expensive. SanDisk Extreme 480GB performs good but some times the performance shakes suddenly, may be this issue resolve after firmware update. SanDisk Extreme 480GB is the most perfect SSD available in market whihc is obviously not the fastest and the ratio between capacity : Price : performance is very suitable for users.
- Low Power consumption.
- Great Capacity.
- Low latency rate.
- Good performance.
- Reasonable price for 480GB.
- Performance shake some times.
- Half the NAND ICs does seem to limit performance.
