Memoright 128GB SSD Review

by Kevin O'Brien

With solid state drive (SSDs) reaching ever increasing capacities, they are starting to finally match many standard hard drives. The Memoright 128GB 2.5" SSD, is not only extremely fast, but also finally has the capacity to make me not worry about loading many games and videos onto my notebook. This hasn't always been the case with 32GB or 64GB drives, where the operating system and main applications took a massive chunk out of your free space. With the help of the guys over at DVNation, the exclusive US distributor for Memoright, we are able to review this model today.

Specifications

• Manufacturer's part number: MR25.1-128S
• Capacity: 128GB
• Form Factor: Standard 2.5", adapter available to fit 3.5" desktop
• Dimensions: Standard 2.5", 100(L), 69.85(W), 9.5(H) mm
• Interface: SATA
• Weight: 100 g
• Rated R/W Performance: 100MB/s read, >100MB/s write, .1ms access
• Rated IOPS performance: Read IOPS: >10000, Write IOPS: >800
• Enclosure: metal case
• Warranty: 5 years
• Price: $3,399

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Setup

To get this SSD going in your notebook, it is only a matter of swapping drives and installing your software again. This drive is compatible with a wide range of notebooks depending on chipset, and is "plug and play" with standard size 2.5" SATA hard drives.

I chose to install Windows Vista, and I only needed about 25 minutes before I had a system that was up and running, ready to install other applications.

Performance

I was very impressed by the speed of the 128GB Memoright drive. Reaching speeds 20-30MB/s greater than my 7200rpm Seagate 7200.2 drive, it was a night and day comparison opening up applications. Games loaded much faster, load times between levels were 1-2 seconds. Windows startup was incredibly fast having very little disk trashing (if there was any you couldn't hear it!). To give you a better understanding of how fast this thing is, look below for benchmarks between the Memoright 128GB SSD and my Seagate 7200.2 120GB HD.

HDTune

120GB Seagate 7200 rpm hard drive:

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128GB Memoright SSD:

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HDTach

120GB Seagate 7200 rpm hard drive:

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128GB Memoright SSD:

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Atto

120GB Seagate 7200 rpm hard drive:

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128GB Memoright SSD:

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In short, you'll be hard-pressed to find a faster high-capacity SSD at the time of this writing. In practical terms, as soon as you search for a file this SSD locates it. As soon as you launch an application it's open and ready to use. Think of modern SATA SSD technology as you would a Ferrari: It's super fast, but expect to pay a premium.

Compatibility

Not every SATA controller I tested with the Memoright SSD recognized the drive. Every onboard SATA controller on the desktops and laptops I tried out worked, but my Expresscard-to-SATA controller would not acknowledge the drive. Since I don't have every imaginable SATA controller on hand to test, I would suggest contacting DVNation or Memoright to find out if your system is compatible before purchasing the drive.

Conclusion

Considering the MemoRight 128GB SSD costs nearly double what my Thinkpad T60 set me back, this purchase is not for the light hearted (or light walleted). The performance of this drive was what I had expected, blowing away my standard drive in almost all areas.

The only reason I don't think I will be picking one of these drives up anytime soon is because of its high price. On the other hand, I'm certain that some consumers who can afford this level of performance will purchase this SSD without a second thought. For all of those eager buyers wanting to snatch one up right now, head over to DVNation to pick one up.

Pros

• Very fast: "Conservatively" almost 50% faster than 7200rpm notebook drive
• Quiet and shock proof ... no moving parts
• "Plug and Play" for most notebooks

Cons

• High Price

 

3 grand for storage......wow!!!
well now that this is here i reckon the 32GB versions will go down in price eventually as this hits the market and becomes available to OEM's etc
performance like this certainly does require respct and as you adequately put it kevin a heavy wallet

 

128Gb would be perfect for me... but $3,399?! Unreal! That's more money than the vast majority of PCs today!

Maybe in another 5 years, the price will come down to a much more affordable value.

 

So, the only thing I have to do to buy this thing is win the lottery?

 

It will be a great day in laptop history when 200gb+ SSD's find themselves the size of thumbdrives and with a cheaper price of 20-100$.

Think of the new laptop designs...

 

Hmm , Those results are odd , and not what id expect , Did you partition the drive?? Especially that of HDD tach With that sudden increase in speed

What chipset does the T60 use? Surley it shouldnt be 0.3ms acsess time, When they claim 0.1ms..

 

Nice review,thx Kevin.

 

It was one partition during that review. I had to wipe the drive and install it in my T60, after the multipartition drive hinted at that speed difference. Was pretty odd after it did that with only a single partition.

The 0.3ms was happening both on my T60, and on a MacBook Pro the drive was being tested in. To make matters even stranger, my P965 desktop only got 45MB/s from that drive.

 

I can't believe the price of that thing. That's just unrealistic I think.

Also, with Mtron's 1000 series coming out in 2.5" 64 GB models only costing around $300-600, it'll be interesting to see how they perform.

 

Great review. Man, the price on those things though. Still, I tend to view it as a technology that hasn't quite reached its "maturation" stage, where it can be commoditized, then prices will drop like the proverbial rock.

 

Just Wait 2 years, in 2010 this thing will be less than a hundred bucks.

 

haha just a few more years to go
god is expensive
0.1ms response time WOW!!
thats hell fast

 

I really want a SSD ... but I think for that price, I'll have to go with a 7200rpm drive for increase in preformance.

 

what was your boot time? it'd be cool to finally have instant boot computers

 

To get this SSD going in your notebook, it is only a matter of winning the lottery or waiting a few years.



Thanks for the review!

 

SSD will be the future. But right now you can buy yourself a nice car for what that thing has to cost.

It'll take a few years before these things will come into a normal (or more justifiable) price range.

 

yeah. I have to say. quite a phenomenal upgrade but a huge cost. When do you think we will see SSD's at the price of a 7200rpm? And whatever happened to 10,000rpm drives? How come I never see those in a laptop?

 

10,000 RPM is out of the question... You would need a rubber casing on the HDD just to stop the thing vibrating of your desk! Especcially on something like a thin M1530

 

so how did it improve battery life?

 

There are no moving parts, unlike the spinning of a HD. As a result, the heat is significantly less. This allows for much less fan use, ergo, we have improved battery life.

Great review Kev!! Its nice to see those benchmarks used. Im hoping to follow up with 'Part II' this week or next looking at it from different angles of consumer interest and maybe a different benchmark or two. I keep watching these posts and wanting to jump in and give it all away.

 

That is a very expensive part.. Very fast though..

How do SSDs compare to those Raptor 10,000 RPM desktop drives?

 

I hate to be 'that' guy. However...Just because it has no moving parts does not necessarily mean it it generates less heat. I have never seen anyone claim that their SSD generated more heat than a hard drive, but that doesn't mean it's impossible. Right?

 

Good question
Will like to know that too...
And what happened to hybrid hard drives? don't hear from them anymore

 

I'm jealous. So jealous it hurts. Gimme that thing! Seriously though, good review. I can't wait till its ~100$ for a 256 GB SSD with 200 MBs throughput. Maybe by the time I get my next laptop it'll happen...

 

havand:

I have had several ssds in my system since last August (Sandisk, Samsung, Memoright, Mtron Mobi and Mtron Pro). My statement came through experience, no just a repetition of stated characteristics. My M1330 fan never comes on unless I hook up the old Dell 22" widescreen.

 

OTOH, the next die shrink for flash parts will probably quadruple the capacity of the individual chips and cut the number of parts by a factor of 4 and cut the price. Now if we can just get a second supplier.....

I have a good friend who does a lot of computing in his car while his wife drives. A drive that didn't die due to vibration would be a very good thing. Knock the price from $3000 to $1000 and I think you'll get a lot of takers.

 

i read somewhere that the ssd is comparable to that of the 15,000 rpm hdd

 

This may be a silly question, but here goes.

With a drive like this on board, would it ever make sense to leave Vista's ReadyBoost or ReadyDrive enabled?

It seems to me that any USB flash device (or even Intel Turbo Memory) would pale in comparison to the performance of the drive itself, for any caching purposes.

Thoughts?

 

No it wouldnt and yes, your thinking is correct. The access time and speed of the drive is faster than both.

As for TurboMemory, there is still alot of controversy whether there is any gain at all in any case.

I have done some testing and believe the only noticeable difference with any 'disk caching' program is when the system has 1Gb initial RAM or less.

 

why this is way expensive than samsung's for example ?

 

Finally we'll have something to Vista on! I've read some bad reviews on some of the SSD's so far. I wouldn't put out that much $ untill all the bugs are worked out.

 

This SDD doesn't even beat the Seagate 7400.1, and it costs way too much!