G.Skill Falcon II 128GB SSD review
Posted by Hilbert Hagedoorn on: 02/21/2010 02:00 PM [ 0 comment(s) ]

When OCZ released the Agility series SSDs they introduced an SSD that packs massive performance yet was slightly slower than the Vertex series, but at a better price. Since pricing is everything in this segment, others are now looking into that option as well. Because as a company, you want and need to cover all your bases.
Today we test a product from G.Skill, who's applying the same methodology. The newly released SSD is called the Falcon II which is a follow up of the original Falcon Solid State Disk series. But make no mistake, it still comes with Indilinx controller, 64MB cache memory and packs a read speed of 220 MB/sec and a write speed of 150MB sec -- which makes the word 'slower' a bit of a paradox.
Here at Guru3D.com we just love that. The Falcon II series will come in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB flavors and are equipped with the latest 34nm MLC NAND flash memory. 34nm, that means this SSD is equipped with the same NAND flash memory Intel uses in their X25-M SSD's.
The SSD comes with firmware revision 1819 which has full support for the TRIM-command in Windows 7, making the investment even more interesting. And by using that 34nm Micron NAND memory, G.Skill should be able to lower the price on their Falcon product series a little too.
Well let's find out, have a peek at the photo and then let's dive into the review.

G.Skill designed another 8GB low voltage DDR3 kit (2x 4GB) that can be set at 1600 MHz yet still run a CAS latency of 7. And that is truly interesting because the denser the ICs get, the higher latency typically gets.
G.Skill 2x4GB CL7 1600 MHz Trident DDR3 review
We feel that more memory is rather important, and in that trend memory manufacturers have started to increase the density of DIMM modules. Where 1 and 2GB DIMM modules have been the standard, we now see very good progress in 4 GB DIMM modules. Today we\'ll do things a little different, G.Skill designed a 8GB low voltage DDR3 kit (2x 4GB) that can be set at 1600 MHz yet still run a CAS latency of 7. And that is truly interesting because the denser the ICs get, the higher latency typically gets.
G.Skill Flare DDR3 2000 MHZ C7 AMD kit review
We test and review the G.Skill Flare DDR3 2000 MHZ C7 AMD kit. These kits are optimized for AMD platforms preferably with the new six-core X6 processors, and in specific some ASUS motherboards. The kit we'll be testing today obviously comes from that series and is a 2,000MHz CL7-9-7-24 1.65V 4GB (2GBx2) DDR3 kit with its latest Flare heatsinks.
G.Skill Phoenix PRO 120GB SSD review
The SSD tested today once again is the Phoenix series from G.Skill. After we tested their 100GB Phoenix SSD (which received a very positive review) G.Skill instantly requested if we would like to review the 120GB PRO model. Both drives pretty much are the same thing, same controller ... The 100GB Phoenix uses Samsung memory though but the trick is that there is 20GB extra volume space available on the new 120GB Pro (compared to the 100GB model) for nearly the same price. A new Firmware for the SandForce 1200 based controller that is inside this 120GB model simply reserves less NAND flash memory for its data-compression scheme. As a result the overall write performance could be a tiny bit slower, but only a few percent as best. It however will give you 20 GB more space to play around with at the same price. And since price per GB is everything in the land of SSDs -- this certainly is a significant for any vendor and for you as an end-user.
