A-DATA has launched its S501, a new 2.5" solid state disk with the SATA 6Gbps interface. The disk uses a Marvell SSD controller and is equipped with Toshiba MLC NAND flash memory, it's available in capacities of 64GB, 128GB, 256GB and 512GB. The S501 uses 128MB DDR3 cache and promises read speeds of up to 480MB/s and write speeds of up to 310MB/s.

A-Data takes full advantage of the increase in data transfer capabilities offered by the SATA 6Gb/sec interface, pushing the Toshiba MLC NAND chips to their limit via the Marvell-based controller and offering speeds of 480MB/sec read and 310MB/sec write - although the company warns that these figures will suffer if the drive is connected to a SATA 3Gb/sec controller.

European pricing is set at