New Indilinx Controller, Features

The G.Skill Falcon II features the latest revision of the Indilinx 'Barefoot' controller, the Indilinx ECO, which as far as we can tell is the same as the original but with the added ability to support 34nm flash memory.

The original IDX110M01-LC 'Barefoot' chip can achieve a maximum read speed of 230MB/s and handle storage capacities as large as 512GB using multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash. It is also supported by 64MB of off-chip DRAM acting as the cache to improve small write performance and eliminate any stuttering issues.

As we mentioned earlier, the quoted read and write speeds for the new 128GB Falcon II solid-state drive are slightly lower than those of its predecessor due to the new firmware supporting Windows 7's TRIM function.

The manufacturer promises a MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) of 1.5 million hours and 1500G shock resistance, which is pretty much in line with today's industry standards, plus a 2-year warranty to back it up for a reasonable period of time.

The Falcon II measures 100.2 x 69.8 x 9.5mm, weighs in at just 70 grams (90 grams for the 256GB version), and its 2.5" design makes it suitable for use in both desktop and laptop computers. G.Skill has used the same enclosure design as the original Falcon, which is very similar to what OCZ uses for most of their SSD products. The case has been constructed from aluminum and appears to be very durable.

Opening up the Falcon II exposes a small PCB featuring just eight memory chips to achieve a capacity of 128GB. On the top side of the PCB there are eight Intel 29F16B08JAMDB flash chips, the Indilinx IDX110M01-LC controller and 64MB Elpida cache. Overall the layout and design is typical of an Indilinx-based SSD, just with fewer memory chips to obtain the same total capacity.