Samsung gets 'stupid fast' in gaming grab

Directly engages gamers with 256GB SSD

By Chris Mellor • Get more from this author

Posted in Storage, 17th August 2009 11:53 GMT

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Samsung is pitching its fast 256GB solid state drive (SSD) at desktops and notebook gamers and cites a YouTube blogger saying it will make their systems "stupid fast."

The drive uses 2-bit multi-level cell technology to produce its 256GB capacity and this is twinned with a Samsung-developed controller using an ARM processor core. The SSD reads data at 220MB/sec and writes it at 200MB/sec and does so across a 3Gbit/s SATA interface.

It comes in a 2.5-inch form factor, with 64GB and 128GB versions in 1.8-inch form factor packaging.

A Samsung marketeer, VP Jim Elliot, talks of blistering speeds and dazzling photorealism. Samsung quotes Jon Peddie Research as saying the PC gaming market will reach a size of $30.7Bn by the end of 2012, meaning it could sell a lot drives.

It and says it will "directly engage the gaming community by offering SSD-enabled game stations at the World Cyber Games (WCG) in the United States." It can do this because Samsung is a worldwide partner of the WCG, which, it says, is known as the Olympics of video gaming.

Last year's World-Wide Cyber Games had around 1.6 million participants from 78 countries. Samsung will encourage visitors to use its SSD game stations at this year's U.S. National Finals, September 25 to 27, at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.

No prices or availability have been mentioned by Samsung but our guess is that gamers will need a serious speed obsession and a bulging wallet. You can pick up a data sheet here (pdf). ®

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