Crucial SSD’s improve read and write speeds

Lexar Media on Monday announced the release of new Crucial-branded Solid State Disk (SSD) drives in 64GB, 128GB and 256GB capacities. The new drives are available for $170, $330 and $600 respectively.

SSDs are replacements for hard disk drives, featuring a solid-state memory design rather than using a spinning platter. Proponents of the technology claim that SSD-equipped systems are more rugged, as they’re not prone to failure if a drive gets jostled. SSDs can operate silently and run cooler than their hard disk drive (HDD) counterparts, also. SSDs first appeared as an option on the MacBook Air; now you can get them as an option on the MacBook Pro, too.

The new M225 series of Crucial SSDs operate at 250 megabytes per second (MB/sec) read and 200MB/sec write speeds. They use Serial ATA (SATA) 3Gb/s interfaces and feature MLC NAND flash components operating in a standard 2.5-inch drive enclosure, making them plug-and-play compatible with most notebook computers.

For users who want to have an external drive with an SSD component, Crucial offers the SK01 External Drive Storage Kit, which works with all M225 products. It’s an external USB 2.0 enclosure equipped with a hot-swappable drive bay.