After the success of the SF-1200 controller, virtually every SSD maker was eager to climb aboard the SandForce express. That bandwagon continued trucking through last year, as the second-gen SF-2200 powered many of 2011's noteworthy flash drives.

It's unclear when SandForce's next controllers will arrive, but in the meantime, Kingston has released a pair of new SF-2281-based drives said to emphasize speed and affordability: the HyperX 3K and the SSDNow V+200. The former is aimed at enthusuasts and uses synchronous memory, while the latter is intended for businesses but uses cheaper asynchronous memory.