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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SandForce Driven OWC Mercury Extreme Pro 6G Solid State Drives
Ramping Up In Production To Meet Volume Deliveries

High performance 6Gb/s SSD line offers consumers and prosumers "total package" of
quality, reliability, and unmatched support with industry leading five year warranty

June 9, 2011 Woodstock, IL -- Other World Computing (OWC®) http://www.macsales.com, a leading zero emissions Mac® and PC technology company, today announced it’s increasing production of its SandForce Driven OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G SSD line in 120GB and 240GB capacities to meet consumer and retailer volume deliveries. The 480GB capacity model is expected to begin shipping in volume within ten days. By utilizing the proven, industry leading SandForce 2200 Series processors, OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G SSDs offer consumers and prosumers a “total package” of highest performance and reliability backed by an industry leading five year warranty.

SandForce: When Only The Best Will Do
Ordinary SSDs offer fast read/write performance during first initial uses, but can then experience significant write speed degradation over repeated, long-term usage. Utilizing SandForce processors, OWC Mercury series SSDs benefit from ultra-efficient Block Management, Wear Leveling technologies, and real-time data redundancies to enable incredibly high performance and extreme reliability, both of which are maintained over the long life of the product.

Speed doesn’t matter if it can compromise data integrity. Thanks to SandForce DuraClass™ technology, the OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G is able to provide up to 100X higher data protection than provided by ordinary SSDs as well as leading enterprise class hard disk drives. By combining the highest level of Error Correction Code (ECC) and SandForce RAISE™ (Redundant Array of Independent Silicon Elements) technology along with 7% over provisioning, the OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G provides RAID like data protection and reliability.

“We truly appreciate SandForce as a valued partner and their contributions in helping establish OWC as the most comprehensive U.S. manufacturer of industry leading SandForce processor based SSDs,” said Larry O’Connor, Founder and CEO, Other World Computing. “It’s just an awesome processor and I’m glad we took the appropriate time to develop our 6G line, thus ensuring the ongoing quality, performance, and reliability reputation synonymous with OWC products for the past 23 years.”

Quality Components Make The Difference
The OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G is designed and built in the USA with the highest quality components and engineering processes available for best utilization of the leading edge performance SandForce processors deliver. Only Tier 1/Grade A NAND components are used in OWC Mercury series SSDs. The Synchronous NAND utilized in the OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G provides the highest sustained data rates delivered by an SSD today.

“I know choices in engineering design and component utilization make a substantial difference in both short and long term performance and reliability. SandForce has provided us with an exceptional processor and we’re proud to have it at the core of the exceptional SSD line-up we’ve designed and built in the U.S.,” said O’Connor. “There is a difference, which has been noted enthusiastically by both end user reviews as well as professional media reviews, neither of which have reported any ‘bluescreen’ issues experienced with other brands.”

Benchmark Expert Tested To Nearly 3,000MB/s
Noted benchmark performance testing site Barefeats.com recently tested eight OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G SSDs configured in a RAID 0 configuration installed via the NewerTech AdaptaDrive 2.5" to 3.5" Drive Converter Bracket in a Stardom ST8-U5 8-bay mini-SAS drive enclosure connected to a RocketRAID 2744 SAS RAID controller. The OWC SSDs were subjected to the most demanding drive intensive testing routines available: QuickBench, DiskTester, Kona System Test, and Black Magic Disk Speed Test. The tests revealed sequential read speeds as high as 2976MB/s (3.0GB/s) and writes speeds as high as 2386MB/s write (2.4GB/s). With these speeds, the OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G is ideal for “extreme” applications like HD video editing because it delivers speeds well in excess of suggested rates to avoid dropping frames when capturing footage or during playback. For more information on the test, visit: http://www.barefeats.com/ssd6g05.html

Three Capacity Models Available Starting From $297.99
Ideal for use in demanding performance-intensive applications such as Audio/Video editing, HD-video, digital photography, professional music, and graphics, the OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G line is qualified for use in consumer/prosumer single drive production workstations as well as multi-drive RAID 0/1/10/SPAN configurations and is available in the following capacities:
  • OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G 120GB $294.99
  • OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G 240GB $549.99
  • OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G 480GB $1279.99


For more information on the OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G SSD, including Reseller inquiries, visit: http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/SSD/OWC/Mercury_Extreme_Pro_6G/

For more information on the OWC catalog of over 2,900 performance upgrades and accessories for Macs, PCs, and iDevices, visit: http://eshop.macsales.com/

About Other World Computing (OWC)
Other World Computing (OWC) has been providing quality hardware products and support to the computer industry since 1988 and features one of the largest online catalogs of computer, iPod®, iPhone®, and iPad® enhancement products through its e-commerce portal www.macsales.com. As a member of the Apple® Developer Program, OWC also provides extensive US based technical support for Macintosh users around the world as well as Internet access via www.fastermac.net and www.owc.net

OWC’s industry awards and recognition include: Crain’s Chicago Business 2009 and 2011 “Fast 50” List of 50 Fastest Growing Companies in the Chicago Area; Inc. 5,000 “Fastest Growing Privately Owned Companies in America” honoree 2007-2010; Reseller Ratings Elite Member 2009 & 2010; Better Business Bureau Top Rating of A+ 2010; Reflex Packaging Commitment to Excellence Recycling Award 2009; Computerworld Magazine Top Green-IT Companies for 2008; and McHenry County Economic Development Corporation 2008 Business Champion Award.

In March 2010, OWC’s corporate campus was designated as LEED® Platinum by the Green Building Certification Institute (http://eshop.macsales.com/green/index.html). Platinum is the highest achievable LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Program level, which began in 1998. Out of more than 14,000 LEED projects engaged worldwide since the program's inception, OWC is one of less than three hundred to achieve the Platinum standard. In September 2010, OWC’s headquarters earned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR® rating for building operations that perform in the top 25 percent of similar facilities nationwide for energy efficiency.

Company Contact:
Jennifer Myers: (815) 502-5640 or jmyers@owcdigital.com
OWC is a registered trademark and Mercury Extreme is a trademark of New Concepts Development Corporation.

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