OCZ now is offering a mainstream SSD, with the Onyx. The new flash-based storage unit uses the 2.5-inch form factor and operates on the SATA II interface. It is based on multi-level cell (MLC) NAND Flash memory chips and, as users know very well, it is faster and more durable than hard drives.

Among the various advantages of the new device are a lightweight (77g) but durable casing that measures 99.8 x 69.63 x 9.3mm, faster read and write speeds, similarly faster boot-up times and an energy efficiency that, when used in notebooks, enables a longer battery life. The SSD also lacks moving parts, which makes it run without producing any noise.

"As new technologies become available, OCZ continues to expand both our enterprise and consumer SSD lines, and one of our goals is to make SSDs more affordable to end-users. Our new Onyx series SSD does exactly that and is a perfect solution for netbooks, laptops, or home desktop PCs," Ryan Petersen, CEO of the OCZ Technology Group, commented.

"Designed to offer the best of both worlds, the new OCZ Onyx SSD delivers the speed and reliability of solid state storage to mainstream consumers at an aggressive price point that makes the technology more accessible to customers who want to take advantage of all the benefits of the SSDs without incurring the high cost normally associated with the solution."

The Onyx has "HDD-dominating access times" and read/write speeds of 125MB/s and 70MB/s, respectively. It also boasts 64MB of onboard cache memory, an MTBF of 1.5 million hours and, most importantly, a price of under $100. In fact, the only thing that the SSD has that is inferior to what HDDs can offer is the storage space of only 32GB.

Set to become available in the coming weeks, the Onyx will be priced at $99 and will be accompanied by a three-year warranty.