ASUS ROG RAIDR Express PCI-Express SSD Coming In May
ASUS is set to launch their first SSD, the PCI Express ASUS ROG RAIDR Express, in May this year. The SSD uses a PCI-E 2.0 x2 interface, and can be used in any x2, x4, x8 or x16 slot. It features SandForce SF2281 powered SSDs in hardware RAID 0, each using Toshiba 19 nm MCL NAND flash chips.
Even though the ROG RAIDR Express makes use of RAID 0, it supports SMART, Native Command Queuing (NCQ) and TRIM commands. Unlike many other PCI-E SSDs, the card is also bootable and the Windows installation is made easy by the controller masking the RAID 0 array as a single drive in AHCI configuration. This eliminates the need to install drivers during Windows setup, and is how the card accepts TRIM commands from the operating system.
An EMI shield is present on the front of the card, while the reverse is covered by a backplate. The blanking plate at the back is vented, although all three of these features are likely purely for aesthetics.
The ASUS ROG RAIDR Express will be launched in capacities of 120 GB and 240 GB, with the 120 GB model offering read and write speeds of up to 765 MB/s and 775 MB/s respectively; the 240 GB model offers read and write speeds of up to 830 MB/s and 810 MB/s respectively. Pricing is estimated at between US $160 and $170 for the 120 GB model, and between $270 and $290 for the 240 GB model. Both models will include a license for Kaspersky Anti-Virus 2013, as well as a software utility called SSD TweakIt which allows the user to manually tweak the SSD for maximum performance. Source — SweClockers
