Japanese SSD maker PhotoFast is closing on the launch of its latest 2.5″ solution that promises staggering performance over the SATA 6.0 Gbps interface. PhotoFast G-Monster3 XV1 will reach read speeds up to 430 MB/s with write speeds at 300 MB/s, which is unmatched today.
PhotoFast G-Monster3 XV1 will be launched in three different models with 64GB, 128GB and 256GB capacity, but also varying performance. Even if the company hasn’t revealed which SSD controller it has cosen we can most likely assume it’s a new model and clear performance scaling at higher capacities hints it is not a model from SandForce. This is confirmed by the fact SandForce doesn’t have a SATA 6.0 Gbps controller ready.
The speed difference between the models is quite big, which hints that the number of memory channels is important with the solution PhotoFast has chosen to build its drives upon.
PhotoFast uses Toshiba memory chips and even if it doesn’t specify which chips they are MLC-based. Maybe even 24 nanometer chips that went into mass production just the other day. These circuits comes with Toggle DDR technology, which would explain the nice specifications.
| PhotoFast G-Monster3 XV1 | GM3-25M64XV1 | GM3-25M128XV1 | GM3-25M256XV1 |
| Capacity | 64GB | 128GB | 256GB |
| Read speed | 370 MB/s | 410 MB/s | 430 MB/s |
| Write speed | 120 MB/s | 190 MB/s | 300 MB/s |
| Controller cache | 128MB DDR3 | ||
| Interface | SATA 6,0 Gbps | ||
| Memory type | Toshiba MLC NAND flash | ||
| MTBF | 1,500,000 hours | ||
| Size | 69.85mm × 100mm × 9.5mm (2.5″) | ||
| Weight | 75g + / – 10g | ||
| Warranty | 1 år | ||
We eagerly await more information on PhotoFast’s new G-Monster3 XV1 SSD series and not the least which controller it uses. It is most likely a not yet model, perhaps from Toshiba or a third party like Indilinx or JMicron.
Prices were not mentioned, but the launch is slated for October.
Update: Judging from the numbers given supplied by PhotoFast our storage expert Gustav Gager has calculated the IOPS when writing random 4K files to around 15,000. In other words not as impressive as the already available SandForce and Intel controllers, with up to 50,000 IOPS.
PhotoFast G-Monster3 XV1 256GB ATTO benchmark
