Apricorn Debuts the Velocity Solo X2 Extreme Desktop SSD Upgrade Kit

[Cristian_25H]

Apricorn today announced the latest addition and now the fastest of its popular Velocity Solo Desktop SSD Upgrade line, the Velocity Solo X2. It's the first PCIe 2.0 x2 lane card available that is capable of delivering speeds upwards of 550 MBs when used with a single super fast SATA III (6 Gb/s) 2.5" SSD.

Taking advantage of two PCIe 2.0 lanes and using a Marvell 9182 chipset, the Velocity Solo X2 will enable desktop PCs and Macs to take advantage of the ever increasing speeds in the SSD market. Designed to fit into a PCIe 2.0 x2 slot or larger (typical installation will use a x4 slot), the Velocity Solo X2 enables users to easily add an SSD to their desktop system. Connection of the Velocity Solo PCIe 2.0 card to the SSD is via a super fast SATA III (6 Gb/s) connection. The Velocity Solo X2 also provides an additional SATA III data connection that can be used to connect to another SSD or HDD to provide expanded high speed storage.





For those that have PCIe x1 slots in their desktop, Apricorn's Velocity Solo X1 using ASMedia's 1061 controller chip also provides a super fast upgrade solution. Priced at $49 (Velocity Solo X1) and $99 (Velocity Solo X2) the Velocity Solo family offers a simple solution for instantly boosting desktop performance, whether looking to enhance performance of a new system for high end applications, or to breathe new life into an older machine.

Boot in an instant, open applications in a flash and slash save and import times
The Velocity Solo X2 is the perfect tool to take your desktop to the max. Upgrading your system from a standard 3.5" desktop drive to a super fast SSD to run those high end computing applications, but it's also great for improving your gaming experience.
● Boot in one third the time
● Import, open and save large files up to 5x faster
● Open applications up to 20x faster
● Super fast disk access during game play for a smoother gaming experience

Features

● Instantly upgrades your system to an SSD with a SATA III connection
● Easy install - Fits into a single PCIe 2.0 x2 slot in your computer
● Compatible with both Desktop PCs and Apple's Mac Pro
● Auxiliary SATA III connector for a super fast connection to an additional hard drive or SSD

Simple install
The Velocity Solo X2 is a breeze to install. Connect your 2.5" Solid State Drive to the Velocity Solo SATA III connector and slide into an available PCIe 2.0 x2 slot (or larger) in your desktop. Once installed, clone your hard drive to your new SSD, update your computer's BIOS and your upgrade is complete.

The Velocity Solo is bundled with Apricorn's EZ Gig IV Cloning Software with Data Select. A powerful cloning program that enables you to deselect data folders from the cloning process; useful for migrating from a large capacity HDD to a smaller capacity SSD or for creating a Boot Disk. Run your OS and applications from a fast, smaller SSD boot drive, and keep your documents and media files on your original hard drive.

"With the popularity of our original Velocity Solo Upgrade Kit, we knew that we wanted to up the ante and take advantage of the greater PCIe speeds that larger slots afforded," said Mike McCandless, VP of Sales & Marketing at Apricorn. "By creating the Velocity Solo X2, we were able to take the SSD upgrade a step further with faster PCIe speeds coupled with 6 Gb/s SATA III interface as well. The result: faster OS, applications, and booting, and an improvement in the gaming experience."

Availability
Apricorn's Velocity Solo Upgrade Kits are available from online retailers and Apricorn's website at: http://www.apricorn.com/velocitysolo

Pricing
Velocity Solo X1 $49
Velocity Solo X2 $99

Includes:
Velocity Solo PCIe 2.0 card
Apricorn's EZ Gig Cloning Software for PC Download
Mac Users – Clone using Apple's Built-in Disk Utility
(Solid State Drive sold separately)

Warranty
Three year limited

[Velvet Wafer]

looks pretty interesting, i would like to know tho if you can just raid the drive to another drice connected to the pcie card

[james888]

So.... its not an ssd itself but for older system that don't have sata 3?

[Velvet Wafer]

Originally Posted by james888

So.... its not an ssd itself but for older system that don't have sata 3?

correct

[Maban]

A two lane PCIe card? First of its kind? I've certainly never seen one before. Nor have a I seen a 2x slot.

[jihadjoe]

Originally Posted by Maban

A two lane PCIe card? First of its kind? I've certainly never seen one before. Nor have a I seen a 2x slot.

^ Many lan cards and esata controllers are PCIe 2x.
And yes, I've never seen a 2x slot myself. Most of the time these things get plugged into a 4x slot.

[cedrac18]

The user reviews for these types of adapters are never great there are always issues with speed, compatibly, longevity and trim hopefully this one will be better.

[Maban]

Originally Posted by jihadjoe

^ Many lan cards and esata controllers are PCIe 2x.
And yes, I've never seen a 2x slot myself. Most of the time these things get plugged into a 4x slot.

Both of those cards you linked are unmistakably single lane.

[drdeathx]

550 Mb/s is hardly earth shattering speeds for a PCIE card. OCZ Revo II's smoke those speeds at well over 1000Mb/s and Revo I's are about 750Mb/s. Why have an actual drive on a card?

Edit: Ohh actually this is a card that your SSD pugs into...... Hmmmm, still 550MB/s.... Need to investigate.......

[Prima.Vera]

Originally Posted by drdeathx

550 Mb/s is hardly earth shattering speeds for a PCIE card. OCZ Revo II's smoke those speeds at well over 1000Mb/s and Revo I's are about 750Mb/s. Why have an actual drive on a card?

Edit: Ohh actually this is a card that your SSD pugs into...... Hmmmm, still 550MB/s.... Need to investigate.......

550MB/s is the maximum speed you can achieve on SATA 3 port. Consider this more as a PCI-Ex to SATA 3 adapter...