Introduction

Mach Xtreme is a relatively young player in the solid storage market, but a lot of their staff are well-known in the memory industry. In this review, we are testing their latest Sandforce SF-2281 based drive that comes with SLC instead of MLC.

The difference between SLC (single-level cell) and MLC (multi-level cell) is that each cell stores multiple bits in MLC, whereas SLC just stores one bit per cell. This makes things more cost efficient with MLC because you can cram more data into the same space. MLC is, on the other hand, more prone to errors, which means that internal error correction has to work extra hard on MLC to ensure data integrity, and that can affect performance. Also, MLC is generally slower than SLC because it requires flash pages (the smallest addressable unit) to be fully programmed and erased, while SLC can break pages up into smaller sections. Last but not least, SLC offers better latency than MLC, which will certainly have a significant impact on our results.

About Mach Xtreme Technology

MX Technology is a new brand in the memory business that was established pretty recently in January 2010. Although Mach Xtreme has yet to celebrate its second birthday, all its staff members have an extensive background and a long history within the IT industry. Mach Xtreme offers not only memory kits of all different flavors, but also SSDs and USB 3.0 flash drives. Most of their publicity can be traced back to their colorful and urban branding, which is clearly visible all over their website. We have the pleasure of taking a look at their Sandforce-based SSD drive today. It simply carries the identifier "DS Turbo" and comes with a capacity of 120 GB.

The Mach Xtreme DS Turbo SLC is available in capacities of 60, 120 and 240 GB.

Packaging

Mach Xtreme's packages are always refreshingly different and have sort of a grungy theme to them.


You will receive:

• The SSD
• 3.5" mounting kit
• Screw package

The Drive

The drive conforms to the dimensions set forth by the 2.5" form factor. It is made of metal, which improves its durability.


Like most recent SSDs, the DS Turbo uses the SATA 6 Gbps interface. It is compatible with any other SATA standard, but will, in such a case, work at reduced performance.


You will find the SSD controller on the PCB. Eight flash chips are on the other side.


Mach Xtreme uses a Sandforce SF-2281 controller, which is a controller we have seen in many recent high-performance SSDs.


The eight flash chips are produced by Intel on a 25 nanometer process. These are not your typical MLC chips. Instead, SLC technology is used, which should provide a nice speed boost while also driving up cost.