OWC released a new Mac and PC bootable PCIe SSD solution called the Mercury Accelsior, built around two LSI SandForce-powered SSDs. Offering speeds up to 780MB/s read and 763MB/s write, with I/O capabilities up to 100,000 IOPS burst, the Accelsior offers a substantial boost in performance over a single SATA-connected SSD. While at NABShow 2012 we had a chance to go hands-on with this new product, shown off inside a Thunderbolt PCIe breakout box.
OWC released a new Mac and PC bootable PCIe SSD solution called the Mercury Accelsior, built around two LSI SandForce-powered SSDs. Offering speeds up to 780MB/s read and 763MB/s write, with I/O capabilities up to 100,000 IOPS burst, the Accelsior offers a substantial boost in performance over a single SATA-connected SSD. While at NABShow 2012 we had a chance to go hands-on with this new product, shown off inside a Thunderbolt PCIe breakout box.
The OWC Mercury Accelsior makes use of two gumstick-style SSDs, similar to OWC’s Mercury Aura Pro Express 6G SSD aimed at Apple MacBook Air users. While appearing similar, we were told they are not plug and play, either through an electrical pin or firmware difference. The big feature, outside of performance though is the fact this is the first bootable high-performance PCIe SSD solution for Apple computers. The Mercury Accelsior PCIe SSD will be initially offered in capacities ranging from 120GB to 960GB, although as NAND densities increase, the drive by design will be upgradable by the end-user.
OWC Mercury Accelsior PCIe SSD Specifications:
- Capacities / Performance
- 120GB (111GB formatted)
- Sustained: up to 758MB/s
- Sustained: up to 743MB/s
- 240GB (223GB formatted)
- Sustained: up to 762MB/s
- Sustained: up to 763MB/s
- 480GB (447GB formatted)
- Sustained: up to 780MB/s
- Sustained: up to 763MB/s
- 960GB (894GB formatted)
- Sustained: up to 756MB/s
- Sustained: up to 673MB/s
- 120GB (111GB formatted)
- Random 4K Read/Write Performance – up to 100,000 IOPS
- SandForce SF-228x Controller with up to 7% Over-Provisioning
- 24nm MLC Toggle NAND
- Form Factor – PCIe 2.0 x2
- Configuration – RAID 0/1
- Warranty – 3-year limited warranty
- Pricing
- 120GB – $359, 240GB – $529, 480GB – $929, 960GB – $2,095
