Sony recently made, a somewhat, surprising news with their first consumer solid state drive or SSD – the Sony SLW-M SSD series. The Sony SLW-M series is the company’s first “smart and ultra-fast SSD designed to greatly enhance your PC’s performance for improved usability”. The SATA SSD market is very saturated already and most popular SSDs have already hit the SATA III’s speed limit. PCIE NVMe SSD is the next step and is the way forward. Currently, there are lots of rebranded SSDs in the market powered with a Phison S10 controller paired with Toshiba’s MLC/TLC NAND flash, and Sony’s SSD is no different. Sony’s new SLW-M SSD doesn’t really offer anything new in the table. A post by diypc.hk reveals that the Sony SLW-M SSD has a very familiar looking PCB and layout inside (see picture below). Aside from the SSD, you also get a free Acronis True Image software and a 9.5mm adapter, which most companies like Crucial, ADATA and etc. are already offering. Sony’s SSD may have a chance in this very competitive market of SSD if they could make their prices more attractive than the competition.
Sony SLW-M SSD – Sony’s First Smart and Ultra-Fast Internal SSD
Sony is proud to introduce its first smart and ultra-fast internal solid-state drive (SSD) – the SLW-M series. This new 2.5-inch internal SSD expands and value adds to Sony’s current range of SSD and HDD products that aim to meet the needs of users today.
Running five times1 faster than conventional HDDs, the new SLW-M internal SSD has an ultra-fast reading and writing speed of 560MB/s and 530MB/s respectively (based on Sony’s internal testing). This ensures a quicker boot-up process and greatly enhanced PC performance, so you can work and play with much greater ease.
Additionally, the SLW-M is highly reliable and far more durable in comparison to conventional HDD storage. You can be confident and assured that your precious data will remain safe and secured as the SLW-M is resistant towards external impact and vibration.
Enjoy some peace of mind as you can now avoid reading and writing data errors, and extend the life of the product all thanks to Garbage Collection, a process to help prepare free space in the internal SSD in advance through data consolidation; and other maintenance activities such as Wear Levelling, a function that helps prolong the life of the SLW-M; and Error-Correcting Code (ECC) function, where the internal SSD is capable of detecting and correcting any kinds of internal data corruption.
Users can also download smart software which consists of Data Cloning function and the Sony SSD Toolbox. Data Cloning is an extremely quick and simple process of backing up the entire data stored in your PC, including the operating system and its applications – great for emergency situations where the SLW-M can replace the internal conventional hard drives in your PC. Furthermore, the Sony SSD Toolbox provides a comprehensive summary of the SSD such as its model name, capacity, firmware version, serial number, and lifespan of your device. The Toolbox also has the S.M.A.R.T function, which checks the detailed parameters of the drive to ensure that performance and reliability is up to speed.
With a quick and easy set up process, the SLW-M series is highly user-friendly, even for the complete tech newbie.
Available in two capacities, 240GB (SLW-MG2) and 480GB (SLW-MG4), the new SLW-M internal SSD is now available in selected Asia Pacific countries.
Sony SLW-M SSD Specifications
Form Factor: 2.5″ SATA III
Interface: SATA 6Gb/s
Capacity: 240GB (SWL-MG2), 480GB (SLW-MG4)
Read Speed: up to 560MB/s
Write Speed: up to 530MB/s
Operating Temp.: 0° C to 70° C
Non-Operating Temp.: -40° C to 85° C
Dimension: 100mm x 69.85mm x 7mm
Weight: ~50 to 60 grams
Warranty: 3 years
Software: Acronis True Image 2015 HD, Sony SSD Toolbox
Accessories: Spacer 7mm to 9.5mm
Others: TRIM command support
