SK hynix is everywhere, whether you realize it or not. Founded in 1983, they are the second largest memory chip maker in the world (following Samsung). I’ve used them in countless builds when purchasing RAM from companies such as Crucial and Corsair. Although many readers may not recognize this company, there’s a chance you’ve purchased equipment that uses SK hynix components.
Today is the official launch day of the Gold S31 performance solid state drive, using the SATA III interface. It’s based on 3D NAND flash technology, with sizes ranging from 256 GB to 1TB. We’re excited to announce that we will be reviewing the 1TB model and I expect great results. The drive is rated at a sequential read of 560 MB/s and sequential write of 525 MB/s. It of course uses the SK hynix memory controller, and I wouldn’t have expected anything else.
These performance metrics should put SK hynix at or near the top of SATA III drive performance if their specs are accurate. Performance is great and all, but SK hynix isn’t stopping with performance alone. The NAND flash, DRAM controller, and firmware were all designed and produced in-house. To back up their claim of robust performance and reliability, all Gold S31 Solid-State drives come with a 5 year warranty. That should help with consumer confidence and show that SK hynix is serious about this market and standing by their products.
Stay tuned for a follow-on review in the coming week as we get our hands dirty with the new drive. I expect great things to come from SK hynix and I am sure the new Gold S31 SSD will not disappoint.
