Sonnet announces new, PCI Express 2.5-Inch SSD cards 

Sonnet Technologies has released its Tempo SSD and Tempo SSD Pro 6Gb/s SATA PCI Express (PCIe) 2.5-inch solid-state drive (SSD) cards, the newest members of the Sonnet Tempo family of high-performance 6Gb/s SATA host controllers.

The Tempo SSD and Tempo SSD Pro allow users to purchase one or two SSDs separately and then mount them on PCIe cards. Unlike other PCIe SSD cards, the Tempo SSD Pro and Tempo SSD utilize 2.5-inch SATA SSDs (sold separately).

The Tempo SSD card (pictured) uses a 6Gb/s SATA controller and a PCIe 2.0 interface, and it features a modular design that supports one SSD with the card at half-length or two SSDs with an included bracket that extends the card to full length. Tempo SSD supports sustained read speeds of up to 470 MB/s from a single SSD or up to 660 MB/s from two SSDs configured as a RAID 0 set.

With Sonnet’s full-length Tempo SSD Pro card, users can mount two SSDs in a full-length PCIe slot. The Tempo SSD Pro features a higher-performance 6Gb/s SATA SSD controller that supports sustained read speeds of up to 900 MB/s from two SSDs configured as a RAID 0 set.

The Sonnet Tempo SSD and Tempo SSD Pro cards install into a Mac or Windows computer’s PCIe slot or into a Thunderbolt expansion chassis for PCIe cards such as Sonnet’s Echo Express or Echo Express Pro, respectively. With SSDs attached, both cards are narrow enough to occupy the space of only a single-width card. Installed in a Mac Pro, the Tempo cards purportedly offer twice the bandwidth of the native 3Gb/s SATA bus.

Both cards include an optional PCIe bracket that supports the installation of two BNC connectors for HD-SDI output like those supplied with RED Digital Cinema’s RED Rocket card. This bracket enables users to add a Tempo SSD and a Red Rocket card in two slots and route the HD-SDI out the back without needing a third slot.

Compatible with Mac OS X 10.6.8 and higher, the Tempo SSD is available at a suggested retail price of US$149.95, and the Tempo SSD Pro will be available in late August for $299.95. More information on both cards is available at www.sonnettech.com/product/tempossd.html .