SanDisk Introduces SSD Plus And Ultra II mSATA Form-factor SSDs

SanDisk is starting CES 2015 by announcing two new models in its SSD lineup. The SanDisk “SSD Plus” will be a 2.5” entry-level drive geared for consumers looking to enter the solid-state drive market on a budget, while the Ultra II mSATA SSD takes the popular Ultra II brand and gives it a new form-factor.

SanDisk advertises both drives as suitable for desktop or laptop applications and undoubtedly either one will bring a significant performance increase to any hard drive equipped system. Both models include access to a downloadable copy of the SanDisk SSD Dashboard management program which includes tools for performance and health monitoring. The SSD Dashboard also includes manual and scheduled TRIM command options which will be convenient for legacy systems that do not natively support TRIM.

The Ultra II brand has been a strong performing drive featuring TLC NAND, and the new mSATA model aims to continue that legacy by offering read speeds up to 550MB/s in its smaller form factor. This indicates the drive will utilize AHCI via a SATA controller through the mSATA interface instead of NVMe. It’s also highly probable that as an entry-model drive the “SSD Plus” will be utilizing TLC NAND.

Both models are expected to be available this quarter and will include a three-year warranty. The SSD Plus will be offered in 120GB ($69.99) and 240GB ($109.99) capacities, while the mSATA Ultra II will be available in 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB capacities priced $74, $116, and $221, respectively. Actual street prices will likely be lower.