Comments on: ioDrive: 640 GB flash card almost at the speed of DRAM – The end of hard drives? http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/ For Windows Administrators Fri, 19 Mar 2010 19:02:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=abc hourly 1 By: James Smith, João Pessoa, Brazil http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/comment-page-1/#comment-137096 James Smith, João Pessoa, Brazil Wed, 07 Oct 2009 21:14:17 +0000 http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/#comment-137096 I have been predicting this for years. The most unreliable part of a computer (after Windows) is the hard drive. Why? Too many moving parts. When you consider what it does and how fast it does it, it's a miracle of engineering that it works at all. With an SSD, there are no moving parts, lower power consumption, and much greater impact resistance. Remember when the first hard drives came out for main frame computers? They were huge, incredibly expensive, and temperamental. The SSD is only expensive and that is changing faster than it did for hard drives. All aboard! The SSD train is leaving the station. I have a 32 GB USB pen drive and recently ordered a 64GB one for under $30 USD. Chuga, chuga, chuga Woooo Woooo. I have been predicting this for years. The most unreliable part of a computer (after Windows) is the hard drive. Why? Too many moving parts. When you consider what it does and how fast it does it, it’s a miracle of engineering that it works at all.

With an SSD, there are no moving parts, lower power consumption, and much greater impact resistance.

Remember when the first hard drives came out for main frame computers? They were huge, incredibly expensive, and temperamental. The SSD is only expensive and that is changing faster than it did for hard drives.

All aboard! The SSD train is leaving the station. I have a 32 GB USB pen drive and recently ordered a 64GB one for under $30 USD. Chuga, chuga, chuga Woooo Woooo.

]]> By: Aleksey http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/comment-page-1/#comment-128079 Aleksey Fri, 05 Jun 2009 02:36:41 +0000 http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/#comment-128079 It is well-known that in Russia one can already met when shopping 1Tb-flash cards with a prize of $1,000 USD. Be happy!!! It is well-known that in Russia one can already met when shopping 1Tb-flash cards with a prize of $1,000 USD. Be happy!!!

]]> By: Patanjali http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/comment-page-1/#comment-126414 Patanjali Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:00:35 +0000 http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/#comment-126414 OCZ has already demonstrated the Z Drive, being a 256MB PCIe RAID card with 4 x 250GB SSDs bolted on to it. Projected price about US1500-2000. 600+MB/s read and 400+MB/s write, IOp/s unknown. Hopefully the SSDs are Vertex capability. This is really starting to make Fusion-io a bit of a joke. OCZ has already demonstrated the Z Drive, being a 256MB PCIe RAID card with 4 x 250GB SSDs bolted on to it. Projected price about US1500-2000. 600+MB/s read and 400+MB/s write, IOp/s unknown. Hopefully the SSDs are Vertex capability.

This is really starting to make Fusion-io a bit of a joke.

]]> By: John http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/comment-page-1/#comment-126408 John Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:16:39 +0000 http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/#comment-126408 Unfortunately FusionIO products are not competitive at all. The technology is aimed at servers (high i/o) but their pricing is way too expensive for that performance and capacity. I believe that within 2 years they will no longer exist as a company simply because they were overpriced to start with and their product will soon be outdated by the market place. If they dont come out with something new and cheaper soon its a very real possiblity. The big IT firm i work for wont even consider FusionIO because its unrealisticly priced and possibly redundant as the technology becomes old too fast. Intel and OCZ have already reached past FusionIO's technology for a fraction of the cost using multiple SSDs. FusionIO appears dead in the water before it even gets going. Unfortunately FusionIO products are not competitive at all. The technology is aimed at servers (high i/o) but their pricing is way too expensive for that performance and capacity.

I believe that within 2 years they will no longer exist as a company simply because they were overpriced to start with and their product will soon be outdated by the market place. If they dont come out with something new and cheaper soon its a very real possiblity. The big IT firm i work for wont even consider FusionIO because its unrealisticly priced and possibly redundant as the technology becomes old too fast. Intel and OCZ have already reached past FusionIO’s technology for a fraction of the cost using multiple SSDs.

FusionIO appears dead in the water before it even gets going.

]]> By: Lindley http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/comment-page-1/#comment-124412 Lindley Wed, 25 Feb 2009 20:01:55 +0000 http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/#comment-124412 If FusionIO wants their product to reach critical mass, they need to do something better with price, otherwise Intel and the likes will pass them up. Do they actually think other companies are sitting idle? Once a big company like Intel makes this type of technology into a mass produced product, then good-bye FusionIO. They better look at history of high-tech storage / memory and consider the economic climate we are in today instead of focusing on immediate large profit margin and think long term. Who the heck handles their long term strategic planning? Do you guys want to make a quick buck for a year or two or do you want to dominate and expand for years. You can still make money and GROW if he price point was better. Since they are from UTAH, I hope they don't have the same mentality as Novell - look where they are headed to...nowhere. If FusionIO wants their product to reach critical mass, they need to do something better with price, otherwise Intel and the likes will pass them up. Do they actually think other companies are sitting idle? Once a big company like Intel makes this type of technology into a mass produced product, then good-bye FusionIO. They better look at history of high-tech storage / memory and consider the economic climate we are in today instead of focusing on immediate large profit margin and think long term. Who the heck handles their long term strategic planning? Do you guys want to make a quick buck for a year or two or do you want to dominate and expand for years. You can still make money and GROW if he price point was better. Since they are from UTAH, I hope they don’t have the same mentality as Novell – look where they are headed to…nowhere.

]]> By: JD http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/comment-page-1/#comment-121273 JD Mon, 08 Dec 2008 22:08:09 +0000 http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/#comment-121273 This technology was developed for servers, and is about IOPS (100,000+, actually) and speed (500-700 MBps), not size. This is a great solution for servers with thousands of connections at any given time. However, let's consider the niche market of extreme performance gaming PCs. You can install one of these cards and get 80GB of drive space at 600 MBps at the expense of $2400 and a free PCIe slot; or, you can RAID-0 three SLC SSDs and get ~200GB of drive space at 200 MBps for around $2000, while leaving your PCIe slot free (and having a sizeable chunk of left-over cash) for, say, another graphics card. So at what point does the drive speed - and let's make no mistake about it, this is about speed - become the bottleneck? Only when you're loading directly into memory: the OS, a game level, maybe video editing, not much else. Even doing full system backups, you'd be limited by the speed of the device you're tranferring to. As amazing as the ioDrive sounds, I think I'd just wait the extra few seconds for my computer to boot or my level to load and install 2-3 times as much [albeit, slightly slower] storage and an extra graphics card for around the same price. Your thoughts? This technology was developed for servers, and is about IOPS (100,000+, actually) and speed (500-700 MBps), not size. This is a great solution for servers with thousands of connections at any given time.

However, let’s consider the niche market of extreme performance gaming PCs. You can install one of these cards and get 80GB of drive space at 600 MBps at the expense of $2400 and a free PCIe slot; or, you can RAID-0 three SLC SSDs and get ~200GB of drive space at 200 MBps for around $2000, while leaving your PCIe slot free (and having a sizeable chunk of left-over cash) for, say, another graphics card.

So at what point does the drive speed – and let’s make no mistake about it, this is about speed – become the bottleneck? Only when you’re loading directly into memory: the OS, a game level, maybe video editing, not much else. Even doing full system backups, you’d be limited by the speed of the device you’re tranferring to.

As amazing as the ioDrive sounds, I think I’d just wait the extra few seconds for my computer to boot or my level to load and install 2-3 times as much [albeit, slightly slower] storage and an extra graphics card for around the same price.

Your thoughts?

]]> By: james braselton http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/comment-page-1/#comment-109672 james braselton Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:30:24 +0000 http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/#comment-109672 OH YOU CAN GET 10 64 GB SSD FROM FRYS AT $214 TO $255 SOO YOUR CAN HAVE 640 GB FOR ONLY $2140 TOO $2550 IF YOU WANT CHEAP HIGH STORAGE SSD SOLID STATE DRIVES. OH YOU CAN GET 10 64 GB SSD FROM FRYS AT $214 TO $255 SOO YOUR CAN HAVE 640 GB FOR ONLY $2140 TOO $2550 IF YOU WANT CHEAP HIGH STORAGE SSD SOLID STATE DRIVES.

]]> By: james braselton http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/comment-page-1/#comment-109667 james braselton Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:10:49 +0000 http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/#comment-109667 HI THERE WOW A WHOPPING 640 GB SSD FOR $30.00 PER GB THATS IS ESPANSIVE WHILL I SEE THAT FRYS WEBSITE HAS A 128 GB SSD DRIVE FOR $369.99 AND PEPOLE SAY THATS ESPANSIVE TOO AND YOU CAN FIND A 32 GB SSD FOR $90 OR $97 SO LETS TAKE THE 640 GB SSD FOR $30.00 PER GB THAT SHOULD COME OUT AT A WHOPPING $19,200.00 THATS WHY NO BODY HAS MASS MARKET SSD EVEN HARD CORE GAMERS HAVE A HARD SELL FOR $2,000 FOR A REALY FAST DRIVE I TRY TOO KEEP FINDING WAYS TOO MASS MARTET SOLID STATE DRIVES AND A 80 GB WILL RUN $2,400 THATS 10 TIMES MORE EXPENSIVE THEN REGULAR SSD DRIVES HI THERE WOW A WHOPPING 640 GB SSD FOR $30.00 PER GB THATS IS ESPANSIVE WHILL I SEE THAT FRYS WEBSITE HAS A 128 GB SSD DRIVE FOR $369.99 AND PEPOLE SAY THATS ESPANSIVE TOO AND YOU CAN FIND A 32 GB SSD FOR $90 OR $97 SO LETS TAKE THE 640 GB SSD FOR $30.00 PER GB THAT SHOULD COME OUT AT A WHOPPING $19,200.00 THATS WHY NO BODY HAS MASS MARKET SSD EVEN HARD CORE GAMERS HAVE A HARD SELL FOR $2,000 FOR A REALY FAST DRIVE I TRY TOO KEEP FINDING WAYS TOO MASS MARTET SOLID STATE DRIVES AND A 80 GB WILL RUN $2,400 THATS 10 TIMES MORE EXPENSIVE THEN REGULAR SSD DRIVES

]]> By: Patanjali http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/comment-page-1/#comment-105423 Patanjali Thu, 18 Sep 2008 12:30:26 +0000 http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/#comment-105423 This would be excellent for sample based audio recording. With sample libraries being 200GB+ for a 24bit orchestra or a piano collection, 800MB/s read means that there will be very little latency, even with hundreds of sample streams at once. Such speeds far exceed SATA II and do approach RAM. I foresee that it is not too far away that computers will dispense with DRAM (and all its timing rubbish) and storage as we know it today, so that computers can just be switched off without loss, and switched on instantly. Imagine the computer being able to access all the storage as RAM. Installation would basically become loading up and leaving permanently installed AND RUNNING. That would mean a rethink of how programs are designed. So much of the discussion about configuring computers would just go out the window. Already, the advent of SSDs means that defragmentation is unnecessary. And there is no need to use the start of hard drives for the most time-critical data, because there is not track-to-track seek times. This is not the future, but is the now, and it will only be getting more radical in the seachange. Vava la revolution! This would be excellent for sample based audio recording. With sample libraries being 200GB+ for a 24bit orchestra or a piano collection, 800MB/s read means that there will be very little latency, even with hundreds of sample streams at once.

Such speeds far exceed SATA II and do approach RAM. I foresee that it is not too far away that computers will dispense with DRAM (and all its timing rubbish) and storage as we know it today, so that computers can just be switched off without loss, and switched on instantly. Imagine the computer being able to access all the storage as RAM. Installation would basically become loading up and leaving permanently installed AND RUNNING. That would mean a rethink of how programs are designed.

So much of the discussion about configuring computers would just go out the window. Already, the advent of SSDs means that defragmentation is unnecessary. And there is no need to use the start of hard drives for the most time-critical data, because there is not track-to-track seek times. This is not the future, but is the now, and it will only be getting more radical in the seachange.

Vava la revolution!

]]> By: fornetti http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/comment-page-1/#comment-101392 fornetti Sun, 31 Aug 2008 08:15:32 +0000 http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/#comment-101392 I do not believe this I do not believe this

]]> By: Dwindle http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/comment-page-1/#comment-61775 Dwindle Sun, 20 Apr 2008 15:06:55 +0000 http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/#comment-61775 Any 64 bit Vista will handle 4 gb of ram, as long as the chipset can as well (no notebook that I know of). The 32 bit versions max out at 3gb. Any 64 bit Vista will handle 4 gb of ram, as long as the chipset can as well (no notebook that I know of). The 32 bit versions max out at 3gb.

]]> By: Rob http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/comment-page-1/#comment-61497 Rob Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:01:30 +0000 http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/#comment-61497 I dont think this will sell well most companys like ocz and others will develop the same thing but actuly stay with the real flash prices unlike this company 30 bucks is outragous for flash thats now someware like 5-7 for a gig. I dont think this will sell well most companys like ocz and others will develop the same thing but actuly stay with the real flash prices unlike this company 30 bucks is outragous for flash thats now someware like 5-7 for a gig.

]]> By: munky http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/comment-page-1/#comment-44671 munky Sun, 20 Jan 2008 14:55:20 +0000 http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/#comment-44671 hmm, see some people think this would be great for video editing, but lol, at the price i think most video editors couldnt give a ... :P set up a nice scsi or sata 2 raid and a nice enough pc, decent software and hd editing is fast enough for now, god, just shooting an advert in hd, your talking about 200gig for enough footage :P, sometimes more, we have big stacks of normal sata hdds just cause its the cheapest way to keep projects, so no, I dont think this will revolutionise video editing, lol.. maybe in actual film companies, but even then i think they will prefer theyr 10tb storage arrays :), having said all that though, the 80gig one would make a damn nice hdd to use for a swap file since vista ultimate 64 doesnt seem to like using more than 2gigs of ram, and xp is 3.1 or so, think i will stick with 32/64 gig solid state flash hdds for now though :) hmm, see some people think this would be great for video editing, but lol, at the price i think most video editors couldnt give a … :P set up a nice scsi or sata 2 raid and a nice enough pc, decent software and hd editing is fast enough for now, god, just shooting an advert in hd, your talking about 200gig for enough footage :P , sometimes more, we have big stacks of normal sata hdds just cause its the cheapest way to keep projects, so no, I dont think this will revolutionise video editing, lol.. maybe in actual film companies, but even then i think they will prefer theyr 10tb storage arrays :) , having said all that though, the 80gig one would make a damn nice hdd to use for a swap file since vista ultimate 64 doesnt seem to like using more than 2gigs of ram, and xp is 3.1 or so, think i will stick with 32/64 gig solid state flash hdds for now though :)

]]> By: Do you plan on purchasing an ioDrive? - Overclock.net - Overclocking.net http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/comment-page-1/#comment-35683 Do you plan on purchasing an ioDrive? - Overclock.net - Overclocking.net Mon, 03 Dec 2007 05:32:48 +0000 http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/#comment-35683 [...] http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-...f-hard-drives/ $30 per Gbyte. Uses PCI 4X slot. Read a review of the G33M-DSR motherboard complaining about the PCI 4X slot, they said it should have been another PCI express, sinse "nothing uses the 4X". Looks like those 4X slot motherboards are going to be pure gold. For as much effort as people put into faster boot times, etc... (Raptors & RAID 0's, etc...) I have the feeling that these are going to be the newest and coolest toy out there. Boot times of 3 seconds ? Lessee 40 Gbytes times $30 equals uh... (takes off shoes & socks) "...9, 10, 11, 12." $1,200 Think I'll wait a few months until the price comes down. __________________ Here lies a toppled God, His fall was not a small one We did but build a pedestal, A narrow, but a tall one. Introduction to nLite Forum Ettiquette [...] [...] http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-…f-hard-drives/ $30 per Gbyte. Uses PCI 4X slot. Read a review of the G33M-DSR motherboard complaining about the PCI 4X slot, they said it should have been another PCI express, sinse "nothing uses the 4X". Looks like those 4X slot motherboards are going to be pure gold. For as much effort as people put into faster boot times, etc… (Raptors & RAID 0’s, etc…) I have the feeling that these are going to be the newest and coolest toy out there. Boot times of 3 seconds ? Lessee 40 Gbytes times $30 equals uh… (takes off shoes & socks) "…9, 10, 11, 12." $1,200 Think I’ll wait a few months until the price comes down. __________________ Here lies a toppled God, His fall was not a small one We did but build a pedestal, A narrow, but a tall one. Introduction to nLite Forum Ettiquette [...]

]]> By: matt http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/comment-page-1/#comment-34538 matt Mon, 26 Nov 2007 04:19:37 +0000 http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/#comment-34538 this would be great for video editors... :D but starting at nearly $2400 a HD is going to be intresting this would be great for video editors… :D
but starting at nearly $2400 a HD is going to be intresting

]]> By: Rob http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/comment-page-1/#comment-34099 Rob Fri, 23 Nov 2007 02:37:15 +0000 http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/#comment-34099 A wast of time for now its a rip off right now its about 5 USD for 1 gig A wast of time for now its a rip off right now its about 5 USD for 1 gig

]]> By: Michael http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/comment-page-1/#comment-28581 Michael Wed, 24 Oct 2007 18:05:02 +0000 http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/#comment-28581 easybutton, you’re right if you compare it with the latest developments in DRAM technology. However, ioDrive is fast enough to replace RAM in some areas. easybutton, you’re right if you compare it with the latest developments in DRAM technology. However, ioDrive is fast enough to replace RAM in some areas.

]]> By: easybutton http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/comment-page-1/#comment-28268 easybutton Tue, 23 Oct 2007 01:55:21 +0000 http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/#comment-28268 Nice article but, that is nowhere near DRAM speeds considering DDR3 is now released. Nice article but, that is nowhere near DRAM speeds considering DDR3 is now released.

]]> By: dwindle http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/comment-page-1/#comment-28040 dwindle Sun, 21 Oct 2007 21:48:42 +0000 http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/#comment-28040 In the beginning, we will only need a 15 GB drive for OS, and use a standard HD for storage. But much like VHS, the new media will eventually become incredibly cheaper. In the beginning, we will only need a 15 GB drive for OS, and use a standard HD for storage. But much like VHS, the new media will eventually become incredibly cheaper.

]]> By: OnlineCashFlow http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/comment-page-1/#comment-27085 OnlineCashFlow Sat, 13 Oct 2007 18:55:44 +0000 http://4sysops.com/archives/iodrive-640-gb-flash-card-almost-at-the-speed-of-dram-the-end-of-hard-drives/#comment-27085 I highly doubt that will be the end of HDs. With the ability to purchase 500GB HDD space at $100 or less, paying $2400 for 80GB is not something most consumers would be willing to do. I highly doubt that will be the end of HDs. With the ability to purchase 500GB HDD space at $100 or less, paying $2400 for 80GB is not something most consumers would be willing to do.

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