G.Skill Phoenix Pro 120GB SandForce SF-1222 SSD Review

G.Skill Phoenix Pro – Closer Look

As promised, opening up the drive reveals the inner workings of the beast.

We see the familiar horseshoe NAND configuration with the SandForce controller nestled in the middle.

Around the back side, we see the same pattern sans the controller along with a few quality control stickers for for good measure.

A closer look at the NAND reveals Intel branded 34nm MLC flash chips. There are 16 in all (eight on each side), each at 8GB in density for a total of 128GB total onboard capacity.

None of the SandForce controlled drives feature any kind of separate SDRAM cache as the controller employs methodologies with its DuraClass technology to make the cache unnecessary. The Phoenix Pro is no different in this respect.

Here you see the SF-1222 controller which, for your information, is usually more generically referred to as SF-1200. In case you see different naming conventions elsewhere, you’ll know they are referring to the same thing. Among other things, the controller features 128-bit AES encryption as part of its normal operation which eliminates the need for Windows BitLocker or TrueCrypt. Enough chit-chat, let’s look at the performance numbers.