RAM SSD

Though RIndMA disk is a not so expensive solution, I'd like to see the cheaper ones.

Var. A: 5.25" form-factor DDR2 ECC 8-64GB RAM drive. 2 x SATA 2.0 connectors. Optional battery backup. Should work as one SATA drive, SATA RAID 0 two drives array or RAID 5 4-drives array together with the second drive.

Var. B: 2 x 5.25" form-factor DDR2 ECC 16-128GB RAM drive. 4 x SATA 2.0 connectors. Battery backup. Should work as one SATA drive, SATA RAID 0 two/four drives array, RAID 5 4-drives array or RAID 0/5 4-drives arrays together with the second drive. Optional 2.5" HDD backup

Max. price tag (w/o battery, memory and HDD backup option): Var.A - $350, Var.B - $600

Partially implemented:

ACARD ANS-9010

ANS-9010 was annonced about three months later than the first version of wish "RAM SSD" description was published (and became available only quite recently)

ACARD ANS-9010 is the only solution that at price/performance may rival with RIndMA Disk. A single ANS-9010 5.25" drive supports up to 8 memory modules (up to 64 GB total capacity), has 2 SATA II interfaces, battery support and built-in CF slot for automatic data backup / restore (the ventor states that battery capacity is enough to automatically backup data at power fail). The unit price (w/o memory and backup CF card) is about $400. A cheaper (with one SATA II port and 6 memory slots) version - ACARD ANS-9010B - costs about $250.

The unit drawback is that its SATA port is too slow - less than 200MB/sec with one port and no more than 300MB/sec with two ports connected (so the interface is really SATA 1+).

Still, about 10-20% slower than RIndMA Disk, ANS-9010 64GB 4-units (each drive with 8GB memory and 8GB CF card with both ports active) RAID 0 array with case and RAID adapter will cost about $3100-3400 (nearly the same as dual-port RIndMA Disk).
The faster solution (using a single port ANS-9010/ANS-9010B) will add in price $300-400 (will outperform dual-port RIndMA Disk, but will be 20-25% slower than a bit more expensive quad-port RIndMA Disk)

Improvements needed:

1. SATA ports speed. Each port should be running at at least 250 MB/s
2. Price. Should not be more than $300-350 (ANS-9010B price shows it is not impossible).

PS.

The initial article on RAM SSDs was written about three months before Intel introduced their new SSD. New versions of flash SSD will make the idea obsolete in most markets (well, exept for SQL servers and other intensive random read/write applications, where SSD are still poor players).

PPS.

Same drives are also available under HyperOS HyperDrive5 brand (HyperDrive5 and HyperDrive5M). HyperOS proposes them only with non-ECC memory, resulting in more capacious but some 15-20% slower devices).