SanDisk Extreme II SSD Review

When SanDisk first introduced us to its Extreme II SSD, I thought we were in for more of the same. My eyes rolled—but only once, because this isn’t another cookie-cutter SSD. Like most solid-state drives, the Extreme II relies on an array of MLC NAND for storage. However, it also has a built-in flash cache based on SLC memory.

SLC NAND has higher write performance and better endurance than MLC flash, making it ideal for caching solutions. It’s also popular in high-end server SSDs. With only one bit per cell, though, SLC NAND costs more per gigabyte than its two-bit MLC counterpart. The Extreme II attempts to blend the best of both worlds by using an SLC cache to improve performance and MLC mass storage to keep the pricing competitive. How’s that for something different? … at TechReport