OCZ Launches Mainstream Agility Series SSDs

 

High-performance SSD manufacturer OCZ recently launched its new Agility line of SSDs aimed at the low-cost, mainstream market. Based on the Barefoot NAND flash controller from Indilinx, the Agility series SSDs come at great pricing without compromising too much on performance.

 

OCZ is currently the undisputed leader in the SSD market with its Apex, Vertex, and Summit series SSDs. Each of these brands has been generating strong sales on the back of its superb performance and pricing. While the Apex series SSDs feature a JMicron controller, the Vertex series SSDs are based on the Barefoot NAND flash controller and the Summit series ones carry the high-end Samsung S3C29RBB01 controllers.

 

With the introduction of the Agility line, OCZ has extended its lead with what is another potential winner. The devices combine the highly successful Barefoot controller from Indilinx with cheaper, lower performance NAND flash to create SSDs that have maximum read and write speeds of 230MB/s and 135MB/s respectively.

 

Sustained write speeds however, are much lower at just 80MB/s, though this should not be a shortcoming considering the SSDs are aimed at the mainstream market. Available in 120GB and 60GB versions, all SSDs in the series also come with 64MB DRAM cache. While pricing has not been confirmed, the Agility series is likely to be among OCZ’s cheapest offerings considering its positioning.

 

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