Crucial reveals new SSDs and DDR4 memory modules

by Mark Tyson on 7 January 2015, 13:35

Tags: Crucial Technology (NASDAQ:MU)

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Crucial has launched an interesting range of upgraded PC components at the International CES. The firm has two new ranges of SSDs and two new ranges of DDR4 memory modules. It is using its dual range plan to appeal to both the value and performance focussed market segments.

Crucial BX100 SSDs

Crucial have announced the BX100 range of SSDs, aimed at the value conscious purchaser. These are available in 120GB, 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB capacities and are recommended to be priced at £53.99, £84.99, £153.99, and £306.99 respectively. Touted as an ideal first move into SSDs, as HDD replacements, these drives should provide a substantial uplift in speed (about 15x) and responsiveness compared to our old spinning disc - at a great price. Crucial says that upgraders will also enjoy storage which is two times more energy efficient than a typical HDD.

The BX100 is Crucial's first product based upon the Silicon Motion SM2246EN controller. The firm has chosen to pair this controller with "leading-edge Micron NAND".

Crucial MX200 SSDs

Aimed at the more performance hungry user, the MX200 drives are capable of faster reads, writes, IOPs and endurance. These drives are available in 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB capacities and are recommended to be priced at £107.99, £191.99, and £360.99 respectively.

The new MX200 drives offer sequential reads and writes up to 555MB/s and 500MB/s, along with random reads and writes up to 100k and 87k IOPS. The drives are touted to be the first consumer level drives to use 'Dynamic Write Acceleration' for faster saves and file transfers. The 1TB drive offers a particularly high endurance rating up to 320 TBW.

Other notable features of the MX200 include; AES 256-biy encryption, Data Defence guard, Thermal Protection and Power Loss Protection. These MX200 drives come with Acronis True Image HD bundled in.

Crucial Ballistix DDR4 gaming memory

Also as part of its CES promotional volley Crucial has announced two new DDR4 memory ranges; the Crucial Ballistix Sport LT DDR4 Gaming Memory and the Crucial Ballistix Tactical DDR4 Gaming Memory. These target the mainstream and enthusiast gaming markets respectively.

The 'Sport' modules offer plug and play installation and are compatible with Intel XMP 2.0 profiles, rated at up to 2400MT/s. The memory modules are designed with "covert digital camo" (see above). Users should experience seamless and affordable DDR4 performance says the firm.

Tactical memory modules are again Intel XMP 2.0 compatible but offer 2666MT/s speeds and increased bandwidths of 21.3GB/s. Four channel operation is supported to maximise data rates.

Jeremy Mortensen, product marketing manager, Crucial, summarised the new DDR4 RAM offerings, "Our Ballistix Sport LT and Tactical DDR4 memory offers a great combination of performance, style, and reliability that gamers have come to expect from Crucial."

The new Crucial Ballistix DDR4 gaming memory will be available later this quarter in 4GB and 8GB densities and in matched kits offering up to 32GB of RAM. Buyers get a limited lifetime warranty.

HEXUS Forums :: 12 Comments

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Posted by tribaljet - Wed 07 Jan 2015 18:44
Waiting on endurance numbers, as I worry the BX100 might be too TLC-like. On the other hand, MX200 seems to be coming at higher prices than the previous version, which could be explained if Crucial does intend on shutting down the M5xx series. So far, decently pleased with my 512GB MX100 but sure wouldn't mind higher endurance at not insanely expensive prices.
Posted by kalniel - Wed 07 Jan 2015 18:58
tribaljet
Waiting on endurance numbers, as I worry the BX100 might be too TLC-like.
You mean last for decades of normal usage? Don't see why that's a problem.
Posted by tribaljet - Wed 07 Jan 2015 19:03
kalniel
You mean last for decades of normal usage? Don't see why that's a problem.

Decades on far higher daily I/O usage? I think not. And before you say “get something DC from Intel, Samsung, etc”, prices might not really be that feasible, even though I'm waiting for actual price drops on V-NAND from all manufacturers, even if only a few are doing it and milking it for what it's worth until it gets widespread.
Posted by kalniel - Wed 07 Jan 2015 19:19
tribaljet
Decades on far higher daily I/O usage? I think not.
Higher than what? What level of writes are you talking about? What I'm calling normal usage is based on the Hexus thread about how much Hexus users are writing to their SSDs. That's something like 4.7TB/2 Years, and given TLC SSDs are lasting around 1PB worth of writes, we're talking 425 years for normal usage. Even if your usage is somehow 10x the usual Hexus user then that's still 40 years, so decades.
Posted by tribaljet - Wed 07 Jan 2015 19:24
kalniel
Higher than what? What level of writes are you talking about? What I'm calling normal usage is based on the Hexus thread about how much Hexus users are writing to their SSDs. That's something like 4.7TB/2 Years, and given TLC SSDs are lasting around 1PB worth of writes, we're talking 425 years for normal usage. Even if your usage is somehow 10x the usual Hexus user then that's still 40 years, so decades.

Higher than average consumer, be it typical productivity, multimedia consumption and/or light gaming. Could you please link that thread? Wasn't aware of it and would be most interesting to read those numbers.

One could go and say that before NAND got degraded, the controller would start getting erratic itself. My point is that Samsung's 850 SSDs' endurance would be most welcome as standard endurance for all SSDs, and manufacturers wouldn't be overly concerned over people not upgrading since there are still breaking points through which users could end up being forced to upgrade anyway.

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