Maxiotek Shows Off Latest DRAM-less Controllers – Flash Memory Summit 2016 Update

Maxiotek is a new name in the controller industry, but not new to the game. Maxiotek is the result of JMicron’s SSD controller and external enclosure departments splitting. The company is full of engineers and are working hard on delivering reliable controllers to the masses.

Here at Flash Memory Summit they have on display quite a few new controller products. The main one they are pushing is the newest MK8115 4-channel controller. This controller is very capable DRAM-less controller that is set out to take the entry level segment by storm. It supports 2D and 3D MLC and TLC NAND from every fab except for Samsung.

It can support up to 1TB of NAND. It features AgileECC, WriteBooster, Frequency Throttling, and Virtual Parity Recovery. Furthermore, AES 256-bit encryption, SM4, TCG-OPAL 2.0, and SED are supported. They also had a MK8113 model that utilizes DRAM for improved performance that will be released in the upcoming months and supports up to 2TB of NAND.

The performance of this new controller is also very competitive. As you can see in the graph above, it has a strong lead over other DRAM-less SSDs in the market.

Additionally, on display were the MK8213 (DRAM-less) and MK8215 (DRAM) controllers, which are geared more for the Asian market and support LDPC for 2D TLC. However, if stronger ECC is needed with 3D NAND in the future, these controllers may replace the MK8113 and MK8115.

On a final note, Maxiotek will continue to support the previous JMicron designed controllers, the JMF670H, JMF608, AND JMF60F, however, they do plan on trying to migrate customers from the JMF670H to the MK8115 if possible due to the IC being the same size.