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Novachips, a Korean firm well known for their high performance storage products, is releasing a new high performance SSD controller into the wild.
Dubbed NVS3600A, the processor will be capable of providing read/write speeds of up to 530MB/s and 520MB/s respectively.
The controller will also deliver a commanding 60,000 4k IOPS, putting it on par with the best LSI Sandforce has to offer.
The intriguing thing about this news is, of course, that the market will be making way for another SSD controller. Up to this point, the main players in this industry have been Marvell and LSI Sandforce, making for quite an uncrowded market when it comes to SSD processors. Indeed, unless you opted for an OCZ or Samsung SSD, only two options were open to you when it came to choosing a high performance product which, in many cases, meant deciding between maximum speed or reliability. The truth is, the industry has been eyeing for another strong entry in this segment for quite some now, and considering speedy specs of this new processor, it seems that Novachips may be delivering just what the doctor ordered.
Specifically, with its potential (on paper) to achieve performance parity with the powerhouse that is SF2281, it seems that Novachips’ NVS3600A has its sights set on being the new top dog. It’s true, with the ability to achieve superior write speeds without the use of a data compression scheme, the controller really does stand on firm ground when it comes to the possibility of surpassing its competition. Price is, of course, another major factor, and it’s probably safe to assume that the new processor will be aggressive in that area as well, easily undercutting the more established opposition.
The only question remaining, is when we will see this as yet unrealized dark horse utilized in actual products. With Marvell and LSI Sandforce enjoying what seems to be an unbreakable iron grip on the SSD controller industry, I can’t help but wonder if firms will actively avoid adopting any additional third party solutions for fear of inciting the wrath of their current and likely more influential partners. Without a doubt, in order to achieve any kind of sustained success, real world performance will have to be superb across the board, as corner cutting of any kind will expediently subvert any notions Novachips has of being top dog, relegating their solution to the realm of low cost limbo and an existence in which it is overlooked in favor of more interesting solutions.
With any luck, Novachips’ new progeny will be able to upset the current institution, providing performance and prices that will propel it to the the top of the SSD performance pedestal. If the processor can manage to deliver on its promises, we may have a new ‘principal player’ in the ‘ensemble’ that is the SSD industry. With the controller segment now ‘composed’ of three major contestants, the ‘group’ of them would have figure out new ways of gathering momentum, ‘conducting’ themselves in a more aggressive manner conducive to catching the eye of the multitude of manufacturers, who will set the ‘tempo’, helping determine the ‘tenor’ of the SSD market in the months and years to come. Of course, the ones who will most ‘appreciate’ this turn of events are consumers, who will see prices lowered in ‘concert’ with the increased competition.
I have to say, hearing about the manifestation of such an outcome really would be music to my ears.