Hardware JMicron's New 612 SSD Controller

SSDs this year have been dominated by Indilinx and its ARM processor following stuttering issues with JMicron's first generation of drives. Now JMicron is back with its new 612 drive controller. We find out if it's got what it takes to dethrone Indilinx.

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/storage/2009/12/10/jmicron-s-new-612-ssd-controller/1

 

note:

A-Data Just added Trim to the firmware for the SX95- and S592 series

 

Not until January unfortunately. To quote its website:

No files available......

A-DATA said the firmware we have is "retail specification" and that cleared us to run the preview, however TRIM comes next month Most other companies will be launching 612 SSDs next month as well I imagine.

 

We'll hopefully be taking a look at Windows 7, TRIM and SSDs in January, once I've built a new test rig and figured out how to nuke Windows 7 caching from orbit.

 

I guess we'll just take their word for it, then.

I seem to recall many many months ago suggesting that someone should do some long-term testing of SSDs in order to find exactly this sort of problem. I was laughed at, I think.

 

still they could do with fixing that 1-2 second Write issue, be nice to know how the SSD performs for bit-tech

just as an question was the drive also tested in an filled state as well, as the JM drives really did tank in speed once they needed to do an erase before Write (i am betting anandtech will test it if bit tech have not)

 

is it just me that is confused by all htis SSD stuff depending on the controller and the brand the results appear to be all over the place what would you reccomend for something ~40-60GB for Fast read speeds (with fast seek)

the Kingston SSD now?

 

Where's Intel's G2 160Gb? or an 80Gb Intel drive? Just for a wider comparison

Nevermind, I just saw that it competes with the Indilinx controllers...

PS: Good review

 

The article is a performance preview, and we weren't even aware there was G/C until this morning. As I said we'll be coming back the JMicron 612 drives when they inevitably land on shelves, where we'll look at G/C, TRIM and performance degradation.

In regards to long term performance, G/C is a lot different to a drive running out of write cycles, which is what you originally suggested back in the G.Skill Falcon review (ie, an SSD will run out of write cycles and be borked long before a conventional drive). While that's technically true, the typical number write cycles for a consumer SSD is in the region 10,000 so it's a non-issue. G/C, TRIM and performance degradation over time due to "dirty NAND" and the read/copy to cache/ rewrite process is entirely different and is about maintaining a drive's peak performance.

We've been running SSDs here at bit-tech for months now, in both, home work and testing systems. Our SSD equipped GFX testing rigs have been completely re-imaged literally hundreds of times and show no signs of significant performance slow down due to over-use.

 

I've been tempted by an Intel X25-M G2, it seems it offers great performance in everything expect sequential write activity, which it balances with a higher random write performance, than the Indilinx drives.

So it seems that it would suck as a drive for a file & print server, and to be fair Intel does offer the mucho expensive SLC version for enterprise use. For gaming and general PC use, the high random write performance is more important. (Is this assertion correct?)

So Bit-Tech can we have a review, please.

 

You're assertions are correct - the X25-M G2 delivers much slower sequential write speeds (capped at 80MB/s) while also offering superior random write speeds. However, I'd argue that the random write capability of the Indilinx controller is still excellent (to the point where you'll never notice the difference) whilst you'll definatley notice the difference between 140MB/s write and 80MB/s write, especially when installing patches, service packs, etc.

I'll be reviewing the X25-M G2, as well as looking at the Indilinx's TRIM, in the new year once our Windows 7 SSD test rig is up and running.

 

@Baz, I completely disagree, where have you got this data from? I have just moved from a 120gb vertex to a intel 160gb g2 and the difference is very obvious. Programs open at a faster rate and installs take around the same time. Look at anandtechs reviews for more proof of this. Seems odd a bit tech author making such wild statements. Reminds me of that news story saying i-7920 was being fased out in the summer.

 

I would not say wild statements at all, we've looked into it considerably and simply disagree with yourself and Anandtech. The G2 is an excellent drive, no doubt, both have their merits: it's like arguing the difference of the fat content in milk. The latency difference is negligible between the two, and when you say "opening programs" you mean the read performance: which also reaches a bit of "fast enough" mantra. You obviously don't install or write significantly much, where the Indilinx drive will be notably faster: that's your own user style that suits you. That's fine. Unless, you're thrashing the drive with dozens-hundreds of IOs at the same time, both should appear just as responsive.

Your relation to this news story has me lost though - where is the link between both statements?

It seems just a snipe for the sake of it without actually reading what was written or taking the facts into account. For the record, we saw actual roadmaps from multiple manufacturers and if you read the news story it says next year - as in 2010. I cannot predict the future unfortunately, I can only do my best as a journalist to obtain as much evidence to write what multiple people from completely different companies informed me of.

Not to mention the fact in 6 months is a long time and Intel could easily have changed its roadmaps: Just last month it was showing off Larrabee, now it's cancelled it. Also, we were the first to break the news more recently that the Core i7 930 will be arriving in January too: have you conveniently forgotten about that to make your point?

 

Sorry dint mean to snip, but at the same time I find it a little annoying you say I dont install and write much. As a system builder I do a fair amount of installing, and while I found the old jmicron ssds unusable the difference in installs between the g2 and the vertex is not notable. What I meant by "opining programs" was that the responsiveness of windows is much higher with the intel drive. Sorry about the snip, it is just something that has been bothering me since you posted it as it send the community into overdrive and I now several people bought up stock over it. But thats off topic. I hope this makes more sense

 

Good grief, I do believe I blinked and missed that one!

They were banging on about that for ages, did they say why? (Did you cover it?)

ATI must have scared them off with their 5xxx series...

 

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/hardware/2009/12/07/intel-larrabee-cancelled/1

You find it annoying? Please realise I have NO idea of what you do, I can only assume given I know the distinct differences between the drives and what I've seen for myself between both of them.

If you personally find it more responsive, then great you've got the right drive for you, I can't say I have noticed any difference on any of the systems we've used Intel or Indilinx drives with. You click it and *bang*, it loads.

If people buy anything, let alone stock from one review they read on the internet then they are crackers. We do our best to test as fairly as possible but other sites test in other ways with other hardware setups: you must always, always go through them all to see what the differences are and why these conclusions were made. Just like an "8/10" (or whatever) here is completely different to anywhere else, which is why we issue our own score guide.

 

Cool, thanks for explaining your position, no hard feeling?

 

I don't want to sound like some sort of brown noser but I feel this doesn't get said enough. I think the guys at Bit-Tech deserve some sort of medal or honors for how great their hardware reviews are. I have yet to find more comprehensive reviews (that are relevant given how quickly us consumers demand them) anywhere on the web. So here's a big thank you from this lowly Iowa redneck.

 

Nope of course not It's good to have discussion! I do understand why you feel that way about the G2, it is very good drive

*hugs* <3

 

@scootiep I will second that, plus they gave me a free gpu in August