Corsair renames 25nm SSD for less capacity

Corsair Memory has announced that it will rename its SandForce units with 25nm NAND flash circuits to avoid the misunderstandings competitor OCZ has been criticized for. The SSDs have the same SF-1200 controllers but with less capacity available to the buyer the new units will get updated names.

SandForce SF-1200 SSD controller dedicates a defined amount of the NAND memory chips to a locked buffer to maintain performance and avoid unncessary wear and tear. When the companies move from 34nm NAND to 25nm NAND the percentage of locked storage increase, this since 25nm NAND have higher density and the controller takes the same percentage of each circuit. Even though a larger amount of the capacity “disappears” for the user OCZ Technology chose to sell its 25nm units under the same name as the 34nm units. Something Corsair has chosen not to do with the Force series.

“So that our customers are perfectly clear about what they are getting, we will be changing the model numbers on all 25nm based drives and transitioning the drive capacities we offer where necessary. For example, a drive that would have been sold as 120GB when built with 34nm flash will be launched as a 115GB version,” sa Jared Peck, Global Product Marketing Manager för SSD-enheter på Corsair, “All Force Series drives built with 25nm flash will also have a ‘-A’ suffix on the part and/or model number, making it easy to determine exactly what you’re getting.”

Corsair’s new Force A models (F115-A and F80-A) are already listed in stores and beside lower capacity the performance is toned down, although just barely. At the moment the prices for the new 25nm units are still higher than the old, larger and faster 34nm drives, but we expect this to change in the near future.

Corsair has most likely chosen the right path to be open with its consumers and we take for granted that others will do the same after the storm that arose after OCZ decided not to change the branding.