Corsair released a new SSD series today branded Accelerator. Like the name suggests, this series is aimed for caching purposes and is bundled with NVELO's DataPlex caching software. Corsair actually showcased the Accelerator series at CES 2012 but it hasn't been available until today.

Corsair Accelerator Series Specifications
Capacity 30GB 45GB 60GB
Raw NAND Capacity 32GiB 48GiB 64GiB
Controller SF-2141 SF-2181 SF-2181
Interface SATA 3Gb/s
Sequential Read 270MB/s 280MB/s 280MB/s
Sequential Write 240MB/s 260MB/s 260MB/s
Warranty Three years
Price $69 $84 $99

The Accelerator series will be available in three capacities: 30GB, 45GB and 60GB. A caching SSD doesn't need to be really large because it only stores the most frequently accessed data; as an example, Intel's Smart Response Technology is limited to 64GB. Caching is also mainly aimed toward average users as utilizing two separate drives can be difficult for a novice user, but more advanced users usually want total control of their data. Keeping the price as low as possible will attract more buyers, especially ones who have not owned an SSD before. 

The brief rundown of the two controllers used is that they are both SATA 3Gb/s and are similarly specced in terms of performance. Corsair chose SATA 3Gb/s controllers to keep the prices down, as in the end caching is mostly about price. The only difference between the SF-2141 and the SF-2181 is that SF-2181 supports up to 8 channels whereas SF-2141 is limited to 4 channels. Using SF-2141 in the 30GB model is logical because it consists of four 8GiB dies and hence only four channels can be populated. As for the 45GB model, it uses six out of the eight channels to achieve a raw NAND capacity of 48GiB (6 x 8GiB), which is similar to the 180GB and 360GB versions of OCZ Agility 3.

We haven't taken a look at NVELO's DataPlex solutions yet, but as caching is becoming a more and more popular solution, we hope to be able to review an SSD with DataPlex in the near future.

Source: Corsair

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  • lost_tourist - Sunday, April 15, 2012 - link

    I have a netbook that I believe is SATA I. I was curious if his sdd would work as the main drive in it. Sinse the accelerator feature is software based I am thinking its possible. From what I have read SATA is backwards compatible, but corsairs website states that it is for SATA II or higher. Is that for the accelerator software? Has anyone tried using it as the main hdd on a SATA I Mobo, or know if it is possible?

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