Other World Computing are offering an entry-level solid-state drive, the 30GB Mercury Extreme Pro 3G, as an option for adding SSD speed to targeted uses, such as a boot-only drive, scratch disk or app storage assistant, providing SSD speed for some operations while leaving jobs and storage that require larger capacities to traditional platter-based hard drives or larger SSDs. The company sells kits that allow the drives to replace the optical units on some computers or a Mac Pro hard drive bay.
The Mercury Extreme Pro 3G, like its larger-capacity siblings, delivers over 275MB per second data speeds, and avoids speed degradation over time by using seven-percent overprovisioning techniques to manage cells and direct wear leveling to keep performance at a consistent peak. The company says its technology gives its SSD drives 100 times the data protection of enterprise-level hard drives or other brands of SSDs. The unit also includes the company’s recently-announced Mac-compatible firmware updater for future firmware revisions.
The Mercury Extreme Pro 3G sells for $68, down from its original price of $75. The company sells a range of adapters, including external enclosures, that are compatible with the drive.
