Flash memory and storage manufacturer Mushkin has unveiled what may be the industry's highest-capacity SSD, a 960-GB model targeting multimedia and other markets requiring high-capacity, high-performance storage.
The new 960-GB Chronos SSD, which is expected to start shipping by the end of January, will most likely be found in workstations used by multimedia professionals in such areas as video editing where raw, high-definition video can require up to 870 GB of capacity per hour of video, said Brian Flood, director of product development for Austin, Texas-based Mushkin.
Mushkin showed the new SSD at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) being held in Las Vegas this week.
[Related: CES 2013: 8 New Ways To Look At Storage]
The high-capacity SSD is coming to market at a time of fast growth in the SSD market. Analyst firm IHS iSuppli last year estimated that SSD shipments would exceed 201 million units by 2016, more than four times the 45.9 million units expected to be shipped in 2012.
The 960-GB Chronos SSD is designed around multilevel cell (MLC) NAND flash memory technology sourced primarily from Micron, although Mushkin also has arrangements to use memory from Toshiba as well, Flood said.
With that technology, the 960-GB Chronos SSD is currently not targeted at enterprise applications. "There will be some enterprise use," Flood said. "It's not something we specifically target. But, we can use eMLC [enterprise MLC] NAND for enterprise-grade drives if requested. It's nothing we have formally announced yet."
Flood said that, to his knowledge, the 960-GB Chronos SSD is the world's highest-capacity SSD to date. "Maybe competitors are working on it, but there have been no announcements yet," he said. "Marketing-wise, a lot of people will call this a 1-TB device. But, we're sticking with '960 GB.'"
Mushkin primarily markets its SSDs through OEMs, systems integrators, retailers and e-tailers, Flood said. The company does have a relationship with distributors such as D&H and Ingram Micro but does not use them heavily now, he said.
Mushkin was unable to provide pricing at press time.
PUBLISHED JAN. 10, 2013
