OCZ to begin selling 12GB DDR3 kits

OCZ may be planning to release their 12GB memory kit soon, with their Gold-series and Platinum series 12GB PC3 kits now being officially listed for retail. The kits are going to be aimed at the Core i7 platform, and it appears that they will be triple-channel kits operating at 1333MHz each, with the only difference between the two being latency. They are coming in at a very high premium, with the Platinum kit costing more than what a GeForce GTX 295 is expected to.
Where is the inherent advantage of having such a massive quantity of RAM? Even for an enthusiast and avid gamer, the practicality of 12GB of RAM is limited at absolute best. Having a 64-bit operating system installed is much more common these days, but having a single game or app that can take advantage of that much RAM is not. As OCZ caters primarily to enthusiasts and gamers, one might think there's no use yet for a 12GB kit from them. It does, however, offer future-proofing. Three years ago, 4GB of RAM was for the most part a waste for gamers. Now it's a stock option even on some mainstream laptops and many avid gamers consider it to be the sweet spot.
[Via: Justin Mann ] [Tag: ]

Toshiba, SanDisk to cut NAND production by 30 percent

Two of the largest firms in the semiconductor industry, Toshiba and SanDisk, have announced today that they will be cutting flash memory production by a steep 30 percent. The output reduction is largely attributed to a weak demand stemming from the global economic slowdown and an oversupply in the market for such chips.

The production cut will be effective beginning January 2009, for a yet to be determined period, and should affect the Yokkaichi operations plant in Japan, where the companies jointly produce flash memories on 200mm and 300mm wafers. This move will ultimately mean that chips will cost more, though SanDisk says it will also help them align their output in 2009 with demand in the current global market.
[Via: Jose Vilches ] [Tag: ]

OCZ releases Gold Series 16GB SDHC cards

In addition to launching their Vertex-series SSDs last week, OCZ has increased their flash profile even further with the release of their “Premium Gold” series SDHC cards, high-class memory modules aimed at photographers and people who own high definition camcorders. The modules promise Class 6 speeds, with up to 150X write rates, which would equate to a speed of over 22MB/s. That's certainly fast for SD storage.

The modules come in sizes of 4GB, 8GB and 16GB. With a 16GB module, that's several hours of high definition recording on most camcorders. If you absolutely must have “Gold Series” SDHC modules, you will certainly be paying a premium, but as with all OCZ products they stand behind it with a lifetime warranty. [Via: Justin Mann ] [Tag: ]

Intel and Hitachi to collaborate on server SSDs

Intel is teaming up with Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (GST) to collaborate on the development and production of a new generation of solid state drives designed for use in servers, workstations and storage systems that require “extremely high” input/output operations per second (IOPS) and power efficiency.

The agreement will see Hitachi incorporate Intel’s NAND flash drive technology in its Serial Attached SCSI and Fiber Channel drives, with the first batch expected to roll out in early 2010. The drives will be branded and exclusively sold and supported by Hitachi GST, marking a strategic shift for the world’s third-largest hard drive maker, which until now had not made a solid commitment to SSD technology.

Hitachi said the new solid state drives would complement its existing enterprise-class hard disk drives, rather than replace them, while Intel stressed that it will continue to develop and sell its product lines of high-performance SATA SSDs.
[Via: Jose Vilches ] [Tag: ]

Pioneer shows off 400GB optical disc

Pioneer has been working on its 400GB Blu-ray disc for a while so it is no surprise that it showed up at the IT Month Fair in Taipei. The key to the storage boost beyond the current Blu-ray 50GB limit is an increase in the number of layers to 16 on each side and most importantly they’ve managed to do this while retaining backwards compatibility with existing Blu-ray players.

Not only did the company showed off the format for the first time since it announcement back in July, they also produced a road map for its introduction to the market. According to Pioneer, read-only versions of these so-called super multi-layer optical discs will arrive before the end of 2010, with a rewritable version set for a release before the end of 2012. After that, we’ll see 1TB discs in 2013.

The implications of such massive storage capacities are very interesting to say the least. Essentially, if Pioneer can make good on its word, in the next two years developers could use that 400GB of space to include full high-def audio and video with no compression, publishers could release entire series of games or TV series on a single disc, and the PS3 long-term appeal could be enhanced as well.
[Via: Jose Vilches ] [Tag: ]

Corsair introduces 64GB USB flash drive

Corsair is expanding their Flash Voyager USB drive family today, with the introduction of a new unit. The new Flash Voyager stick will boast a 64GB capacity in a compact keychain-sized chassis, like their existing Flash Voyager units, and will of course be built in the same enclosure they pitch as being durable and resistant to damage from things like being dropped and water.
The tiny flash drive won't be cheap, opening up with a $250 price tag. For that price you'll get the standard suite of software they include with the drives, along with a lengthy warranty.
Whether in flash drive or SSD formats, solid-state storage in general has seen an explosion in the past two years. Capacity and performance has skyrocketed, quickly catching up with mechanical disks. If it continues at this rate, we might see flash capacity on par with desktop hard drives in just a few years.

[Via: Justin Mann ] [Tag: ]

SanDisk bumps tiny memory cards to 16GB

SanDisk today reached yet another milestone in their pursuit to squeeze more and more storage into mobile devices, with their microSDHC and Memory Stick Micro (also referred to as M2) now available in capacities of up to 16GB – quite a feat for a media format that’s about the size of a fingers nail.
The 16GB microSDHC card is listing for $99.99 while the 16GB M2 lists for $129.99. The larger capacity should be welcome news for those who use their phones or PDAs for storage-intensive purposes, including music and video playback, high-definition digital camera functions, and gaming – be sure to check your device’s compatibility before purchasing, though, as the new microSDHC format might not be compatible with all devices that support the microSD cards.
SanDisk's new memory cards come with five year limited warranties and will be available from Best Buy Mobile stores in October and Verizon Wireless stores in November.

[Via: Jose Vilches ] [Tag: ]

Intel set to launch six-core processor for servers

Intel is set to release a six-core processor within less than two weeks, according to Cnet sources at server vendors. The new 45nm chip is Intel’s first foray beyond four cores and also the first multi-core design from the company to have a monolithic design – meaning all six cores will be on a single die.
Previously codenamed Dunnington, the new server chip should start shipping on September 15 as the Xeon 7400 series, featuring 16MB of shared L3 cache and is expected to be socket compatible with the Xeon 7300. The design is the last of the Penryn-class before the company moves to its Nehalem architecture later this year, which will adopt the company’s new Core i7 branding.

[Via: Jose Vilches ] [Tag: ]