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Intel's PCI-E 910-Series SSD reviewed: blazing fast, even under pressure
Intel's not one to mess around when it storms a new market, and its jump into enterprise-level PCI Express SSD seemed no exception. Now, a full review by Hot Hardware of its 400GB ($1,929) and 800GB ($3,859) 910-series confirms that while not as stupid-fast as some, the 2 GB/s read and 1 GB/s write speeds are still sublime. On top of that, throughput holds steady even when the device is besieged by thousands of IO demands. A lack of bootability and on-board RAID were complaints, but these SSDs are intended for datacenters, not your gaming PC. And for its target market, the lowish $4.82 price per GB and chart-topping 14 Petabyte max endurance are also endearing qualities. Given its history of SSD reliability, Intel is bound to draw a crowd of corporate admirers to its 910 series -- even though it's fashionably late to the boardroom.
Intel 330 Series SSDs official, prices start at $89
Been holding off on stuffing solid state storage into your existing machine because of high prices or reliability issues? Bargain hunters, your SSD may have just arrived in the form of Intel's 330 Series SSDs. We got the low down on them weeks ago, but in case you forgot, Intels new 25nm NAND entry utilizes a SATA 6 Gb/s connection to deliver up to 500 MB/s sequential reads and 450 MB/s writes. Such speeds aren't spectacular compared to other SSDs, but combine them with Chipzilla's reputation for crafting quality drives, low prices -- $89 for 60GB, $149 for 120GB, and $234 for 180GB -- and a three year warranty, and the 330 has some serious curb appeal. Want one? All three sizes available now online or at you local retailer (assuming it's still there, of course).
Intel announces PCI-Express 910 SSD lineup for enterprise customers
See that SSD up there? For a moment, you might've thought it'd make the next great addition to your desktop rig -- and yeah, extra storage without any wires is a really cool idea -- but don't fool yourselves, because the Intel SSD 910 family of PCI-Express storage devices were built with enterprise in mind. Based on the company's 25nm MLC NAND flash technology, these devices will emphasize both speed and reliability, and will hit the market in both 400GB and 800GB configurations. Intel's own reports suggest the 800GB model will be the quicker of the two, which is said to offer sequential performance of 2,000MB/s read and 1,000MB/s write. Both the 400GB ($1,929) and 800GB ($3,859) models will be available mid-year. We've included the PR after the break, but those who'd like to get a bit more in-depth should hit up the links below.
Intel 313 SSDs bring improved caching to ultrabooks, desktops, life in general
Just like Intel's older 311 batch of small cache SSDs, the new 313 series is designed to sit alongside a traditional spinning HDD in order provide a tasty blend of speed and capacity. These newer drives are still SATA II, so there's no 6Gbps action here, but they use superior 25nm SLC flash, offer faster speeds for the same price (starting at $120 for 20GB) and are explicitly approved for use in the coming wave of Ultrabooks -- so don't be surprised if that's where you meet 'em next.
Intel SSD 520 review roundup: Intel reliability, SandForce speeds starting at $149
There's plenty of SSD options out there, but Intel's NAND drives are among the most well thought of, simply because they're so reliable. But, with the top speed of competing SSDs spiraling higher, Intel's rock-solid reputation may not be enough for some enthusiasts. Enter the SSD 520, with a performance SandForce SF-2281 controller and custom firmware (codenamed Cherryville) on board to ensure the 520 meets Chipzilla's demanding standards for stability. It's the result of a year and a half long collaboration between Intel and SandForce, and is available in both 7mm and 9.5mm thin form factors to fit any machine -- Ultrabook or otherwise. Aside from the SandForce chip, the 520 packs Intel's finest 25nm NAND Flash, a SATA 6GB/s connection and its 550MB/s reads and 520MB/s writes can be had for $149 in 60GB garb and prices escalate up to a grand for 480GB. Naturally, as this is Intel's effort to snatch back the performance market, a raft of reviews have been written about the SSD 520.So, how does the 520 stack up? Well, Intel's so confident in the 520 that it's backed the SSD with a five-year warranty. Though its performance doesn't drastically outpace its competition, Storage Review found the drive to be on par with the current speed king, OCZ's Vertex 3 in its benchmarks -- and also found performance and stability to be quite good in both enterprise use and in RAID arrays. Meanwhile, AnandTech found that the 520's peak random write speeds quite similar to its sequential reads during testing, which shows how well the optimized firmware works with the NAND. Hot Hardware thought the 520 to be comparable to other SandForce-equipped SSDs, but in terms of power consumption, Tom's Hardware found Intel's latest to be a power hog. Generally, all the reviewers were in agreement: the 520 is a speedy SSD, but you pay a hefty premium for Intel's reputation for churning out reliable drives. Only time will tell if the 520 can deliver the reliability we want, but there's plenty of performance info to be had in the reviews listed below.
Intel to finally issue firmware fix for faulty 320 series SSDs (update: available now!)
When Intel first unleashed its third generation 320 series SSDs, we were thrilled with their prices that were 30 percent lower than Chipzilla's previous offerings. The love fest didn't last long, however, as many customers soon found they hadn't gotten what they paid for -- drives of all sizes were reporting only 8MB of capacity due to flawed firmware. Well, good news, storage speed demons, Intel's in the final stages of testing a firmware fix, and it'll be made available "within the next two weeks." SSD salvation's only a few days and a download away, so hit the source for the full details. [Thanks, Philip] Update: Look's like the update's live folks, so just head on over to second source link below and get all those bytes you paid for!
Crucial's M4 / C400 SSD reviewed, hitting store shelves in late April for an undisclosed sum
When Micron's RealSSD C300 came out, there were no competitors in sight -- 355MB / sec read speeds and a SATA 6Gbps interface made for an unbelievably sprightly (though also finicky) solid state drive. Today, that's simply not the case, as Intel's SSD 510 and OCZ's Vertex 3 are furiously fighting for the crown in the high-end consumer SSD space. On or about April 26th, the C300's successor will hit the market branded as the Crucial M4, but this time it won't be the cream of the crop, as even though it's assuredly a speed demon, it's actually shown up by its predecessor in a few tests. In particular, AnandTech noted that the drive seems to have sacrificed sequential read performance in exchange for faster write speeds -- and was worried slightly about Crucial's delayed garbage collection routine -- but overall, reviewers are coming away fairly happy with the speedy performance they're seeing. Still, the most crucial variable, price, has yet to be revealed -- over a year later, the C300 remains an expensive drive, but the new C400 uses Micron's 25nm NAND flash, which could make solid state storage cheaper. Read - AnandTech Read - The Tech Report Read - Hardware Heaven Read - Tom's Hardware
Intel rolls out third-generation SSD 320 Series drives
It's had quite a run, but Intel's venerable X-25M series of SSDs has now finally been replaced by the company's new, third-generation SSD 320 Series. Those rely on some brand new 25nm Intel NAND flash memory, and are available in capacities ranging from 40GB to 160GB for mere mortals, plus some higher capacity 300GB and 600GB models for particularly demanding users. What's more, Intel is quick to boast that the new drives are actually 30 percent cheaper than the previous generation, with prices running from just $89 for 40GB to $1,069 for that 600GB drive. Head on past the break for the official press release, and check out the more coverage links below for some early reviews.
Hitachi-LG unveils 2nd generation hybrid optical drive with flash-based storage to boot
The Hitachi-LG Data Storage joint venture has itself fostered yet another mixed product, combining both an optical disk drive and flash storage into a single form factor. The 2nd generation of its Hybrid Drive uses Micron's 25nm NAND flash memory in 16GB, 32GB, 64GB capacities (with those figures to rise in later iterations, naturally) and can be united with either DVD or Blu-ray players -- perfect for laptops and other portable devices with just one drive to spare. (The one stretched out on display, pictured above, was a 12.7mm slim DVD-RW tray type). Hitachi housed samples of the drive at its CEATEC booth and even showed off a few example products (first generation drive, too). Care to see what could be under the hood of a future purchase? Pictures below. %Gallery-104372%
Toshiba preps for sub-25nm flash memory production, archivists rejoice
Ever wondered how that 16GB microSDHC card that you were swooning over now looks paltry beside a 32GB version of the same thing? It's all about the densities within, and with process technologies shrinking by the month, it's not hard to envision 128GB, 256GB and 1TB cards that are smaller than your thumbnail here in just a few years. It's bruited that Toshiba is fixing to drop a whopping $160 million during 2010 in order to construct a test production line for next generation flash memory chips, presumably with circuitry widths of under 25nm. As of now, Tosh produces NAND flash memory chips with widths of 32nm and 43nm, but cutting that down to 20nm or so would enable loads more memory to be shoved into the same form factors that we use today. If all goes to plan, those sub-25nm chips could hit the line as early as 2012, so we fully expect 10TB SDXC cards to go up for pre-order next month.
Intel swings 25nm factory doors open for a tour de fab
Intel and Micron's recent announcement that their collective superhero body, appropriately named IM Flash, is sampling 25nm flash chips has been accompanied with a whirlwind tour of their Utah production facilities for a few lucky journalists. PC Perspective bring us the atmospheric photo above, along with some videos, as they prance about one of the most hallowed (and cleanest) environments known to gadget lovers. Apart from the die shrink, the lads also discuss Intel's reputed plans for a G3 SSD refresh some time "later this year" with snappier controllers onboard, which apparently was echoed by Micron who also intend to pump out faster processors with their SSD products. While you wait for all that to happen, hit the source link to find out how and where the stuff that gets put inside SSDs is made.
Intel and Micron start 25nm flash production; SSDs to get cheap, huge
Intel and Micron have a history of pushing the state-of-the-art in flash storage -- their joint venture IMFT was responsible for the first sub-40nm NAND flash and bringing it to production -- and it looks they've done it again: IMFT is now sampling two-bits-per-cell 25nm NAND, which will eventually push prices down and capacities up when volume production begins in Q2. We'll have to see how pricing works out -- 25nm is something like twice the storage density per dollar, so we're hopeful -- but at the very least Intel's third-gen X25-M will come in 160GB, 320GB, and 600GB sizes when it launches in Q4 using these new chips. Yeah, we're going to want one. AnandTech has the full breakdown, hit the read link for more.
