Super Talent rolls 120GB SSD for $699

Super Talent on Tuesday introduced its MasterDrive MX series, a new set of solid-state drives that it hopes will make notebook flash storage more affordable without sacrificing speed. The new 2.5-inch line is built on less expensive multi-level cell (MLC) technology that packs more storage into a given space, reducing the cost; unlike most MLC storage, the company uses new technology that should be both longer-lasting and faster and compare more closely with single-level cell drives. Every model can read sequential data at the same 120MB per second as SLC storage and write at 40MB per second, outpacing many conventional hard drives.

The technology choice effectively drops the price of the drives by more than half, according to Super Talent: a top 120GB drive costs $699, less than half the cost of a typical 128GB SLC drive. Lower-cost versions at 60GB ($449) and 30GB ($299) are also available. All the drives connect to the SATA I or II connectors found on most conventional notebooks and should be available today from NewEgg and similar stores.

Separately, Super Talent has also released its DX line of SLC-based drives for more performance-minded users: the 30GB ($699) and 60GB ($1,299) drives include a much faster 70MB write speed and should last the longest of the company's lineup. Both also use SATA and should be available now.