LiteOn 32GB 'Strong-Page' SSD LA-32M1S

Hopefully one day soon Solid State Drives will be standard equipment for new computer systems, but first SSDs must become available as an optional upgrade item for build-it-yourself orders. PLDS (Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions) hopes to bring this service to tier-one OEMs, and computers from Acer, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Sony could soon offer lightning-fast SSD performance. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the LiteOn 32GB 'Strong-Page' SSD, model LA-32M1S, built on the Marvell 88SS8014-BHP2 Da-Vinci controller.

Designed to fit into different product lines, LiteOn will offer the 32GB 'Strong-Page' LA-32M1S model to OEMs along side their LA-64M1S standard MLC SSD, and if popularity grows they plan to later release these models to the retail public under the Plextor brand name. The 32GB LA-32M1S model is an eight-channel SSD device, which will be succeeded by the LA-32M2S series featuring ten channels sometime before the end of 2010. PLDS will only offer their 'strong page' edition at 32GB, while the standard MLC SSD series will occupy 64, 128, and 256GB storage solutions.

While the SSD market is saturated with new products, LiteOn/Plextor SSDs will offer enhanced reliability and performance. The entire M1S series will feature a 1.5-million hour MTBF, along with S.M.A.R.T (Self Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) and unique flash-NAND wear-leveling for product life extension. PLDS claims that the LiteOn 32GB 'Strong-Page' SSD delivers the same performance regardless of NAND condition, with no data degradation thanks to their Garbage Collection Technology.

Just over two years ago there were only five companies involved in Solid State Drive technology, and as of January 2010 there are nearly 140 names in the business. Without doubt, the SSD market has enjoyed a powerful growth period with relatively painless consumer acceptance. Benchmark Reviews has been on top of the SSD scene since retail products were first introduced at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show

In such a short amount of time, the entire SSD market has created and recreated itself several times over. Counting the generations of SSD processors has become difficult for experienced experts, and keeping-up with controller architecture has come with its own set of challenges. Benchmark Reviews has already tested dozens of Solid State Drive products, and we've seen everything from dual-SATA controllers in RAID-0 to large cache buffer modules used inside of them. In this article Benchmark Reviews tests the Marvell Da-Vinci 88SS8014-BHP2 SSD controller, which is used in the LiteOn 32GB Strong-Page MLC SSD LA-32M1S.

While the SSD industry grows daily, only a few select manufacturers offer popularly-accepted Flash NAND SSD controllers. The most popular consumer controllers at the moment are: Indilinx IDX110M00-FC "Barefoot", Intel PC29AS21AA0, JMicron JMF612, Toshiba T6UG1XBG, Samsung S3C29RBB01-YK40, Marvell 88SS8014-BHP2, and SandForce SF-1200/1500.

About PLDS (Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions Corporation)

PLDS (Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions) is a joint venture between Royal Philips Electronics and Lite-On IT Corporation that is responsible for the sales and marketing of Lite-On branded Optical Disc Drive (ODD) business. The combination of a strong R&D focus and access to enormous production capacity makes PLDS an industry leading company. PLDS is dedicated to excellence and devote best efforts to further expand innovative quality product offerings for the PC industry and strengthen its top global position in the ODD industry.

The strategic alliance between both companies demonstrates Lite-On IT's desire and ambition to solidify its global leadership position in the manufacturing of optical storage drives. It continues to carry its heritage and expertise in the supply, procurement, and manufacturing realm to pass on more value and savings to consumers with increased production capacity and productivity. The Research & Development team is dedicated to expand the development in the new generation optical disc formats such as blue laser technology, and other advanced technologies to further enhance optical storage solutions.

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