Samsung Q30 will be the first PC to use a Solid State Disk (SSD) as storage and Samsung’s notebook will, as expected, use the company’s 32GB NAND Flash-based SSD, which we’ve earlier reported about. This means that it has skipped the mechanical harddrive with its Q30 model, which according to Samsung makes it completely silent, no noise what-so-ever! We assume this means passive cooling all around and using a harddrive without moving parts and low heat dissipation you actually get a completely silent system, which you can compare to other computers of the same size that, according to Samsung, usually sends out about 30dB. Other advantages with a harddrive that uses memory circuits is that it is a lot more durable and the performance is also suppose to be considerably better than that of the mechanical equivalent.
Samsung claims that its 32GB SSD will result in up to 300% faster read speeds (53MB/s) and 150% faster write speeds (28MB/s) than normal harddrives of the same format. They will also offer considerably faster boots of Windows XP, something we’ve discussed before.
“The Microsoft Windows XP operating system will boot up 25-50% faster on the SSD than on other drives—good news for those in a hurry. Moreover, the typical 1.8-inch hard disk drive weighs around 50 grams; whereas the SSD is 20 to 30 grams lighter, depending on the package type.”
The complete specifications for Samsung Q30-SSD and the smaller UMPC model Q1-SSD, which also use Samsung’s SSD, can be found below;
NT-Q30-SSD | NT-Q1-SSD  | |||
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Processor | Intel® Celero® M 753 (1.2GHz) | | Intel® Celero® M 353 (900 MHz) | |
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Memory | 1 SODIMM Socket, DDR2 400 MHz, 512 MB | | 1 SODIMM Socket, DDR2 400 MHz, 512 MB | |
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LCD | 12.1″ WXGA (1280 x 768) TFT-LCD | | 7″ WVGA (800 x 480) TFT-LCD | |
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Graphic | Intel GMA 900 | | Intel GMA 900 | |
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Video Memory | DVMT | | DVMT | |
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Storage | 32GB SSD | | 32GB SSD | |
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External ODD | Ultra-slim (9.5mmH) Super-multi Drive (Red) | | – | |
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Communications | Modem/Lan Combo, WLAN (802.11 b/g) | | 10/100 Ethernet, Mini card WLAN (802.11 b/g), Bluetooth v2.0 | |
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TV / DMB | Embedded DMB | | Embedded DMB | |
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Keyboard | 83-key Korean Keyboard | | Keyboard and Organizer Package included | |
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Audio | SRS 3D Sound Support, 16-bit Stereo, SB Pro compatible, Internal Stereo Speaker (2W x 2) | | SRS 3D Sound Support, 16-bit Stereo, SB Pro compatible, Internal Stereo Speaker (2W x 2) | |
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Power | 60W AC adapter (110-240 free volt) | | 60W AC adapter (110-240 free volt) | |
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Battery | Li-ion Battery Standard 3-Cell Extended 6-Cell | | Li-ion Battery Standard 3-Cell Extended 6-Cell | |
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Dimension | 287.7 x 197.5 x 18.0 ~ 23.8 mm (without battery) | | 227.5 x 139.5 x 24.5~26.5 mm (without battery) | |
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Weight (w/o Option) | 1.14 kg | | 751 g (HDD onboard notebook: 777g) | |
This launch by Samsung has been longed for by many, including your’s truly, and it is going to be very interesting to see the first tests of the 32GB SSD. Those who are interested in the first SSD equipped systems should know that Q30 will cost $3700 and the smaller Q1 unit $2430.
