Intel 520 Series 240GB SSD Review
We’ve been long waiting for Intel to update its enthusiast-targeted solid state drives. The year-old SSD 510 series, although supports SATA 6 Gbit/s, has become outdated by now. Based on the Marvell 88SS9174 controller, Intel’s SSD510 drives are inferior to their competitors in performance, offer no large-capacity versions and use MLC NAND flash manufactured on the previous-generation 32nm tech process.
Solid State drives are becoming more and more popular as a way to increase system performance. Intel has traditionally had its hand in developing high performance solid state drives and now have another to add to the fray. Boot times and general product loading times can be substantially decreased with the addition of an SSD to a system. With the introduction of the 520 series drives, Intel has jumped onto the LSI Sandforce bandwagon and co-developed a drive equipped with the Sandforce 2281 NAND controller coupled with low cost 25nm NAND flash memory. The drive is built to deliver performance without breaking the bank. Reliability and performance are goals set for the this drive that has a MTBF of 1.2 million hours. AES 256-bit encryption, data compression, and end-to-end data protection also come with the addition of the Sandforce controller. The Intel 520 series comes in capacities from 60 to 480GB with pricing and specifications dependent on the density of the 25nm NAND flash used on each drive. Pricing starts at $149 for the 60GB version and a cool 1 grand, well $999, for the 480GB version. Let's take a look and see if Intel hit a home run with its partnership with LSI (Sandforce).
Intel did take time releasing a modern SSD series that would match the best competitor solutions in performance. They were discussed among enthusiasts under the codename of Cherryville back in the fall of 2011 but it’s only a couple of weeks ago that they were launched to the market. The long-anticipated series is called Intel SSD 520. It is built with the SF-2281 controller, 25 nm MLC flash memory manufactured by IMFT consortium, and features exclusive firmware which makes Intel’s solution different from the numerous SandForce-based SSDs built according to reference designs.
As a full retail drive the Intel 520 series 240GB drive comes in the retail box all decked out for a trip to the local big-box store. The graphic fits into its packaging design philosophy. The front states that the drive is ready to be used in both mobile and desktop applications and is 240GB in capacity. The back panel has an illustration of the drive and an explanation of what comes with it inside the package.
Under the Diagnostic Scan tab we can run read and write tests on the drive to check it for hard errors. The Secure Erase tab lets us wipe the drive to a factory state, removing any data we do not want to keep. The final tab of note is Firmware Update which allows us to flash the drive should a new update be released which adds functionality, speed or reliability tweaks.
Solid State drives are becoming more and more popular as a way to increase system performance. Intel has traditionally had its hand in developing high performance solid state drives and now have another to add to the fray. Boot times and general product loading times can be substantially decreased with the addition of an SSD to a system. With the introduction of the 520 series drives, Intel has jumped onto the LSI Sandforce bandwagon and co-developed a drive equipped with the Sandforce 2281 NAND controller coupled with low cost 25nm NAND flash memory. The drive is built to deliver performance without breaking the bank. Reliability and performance are goals set for the this drive that has a MTBF of 1.2 million hours. AES 256-bit encryption, data compression, and end-to-end data protection also come with the addition of the Sandforce controller. The Intel 520 series comes in capacities from 60 to 480GB with pricing and specifications dependent on the density of the 25nm NAND flash used on each drive. Pricing starts at $149 for the 60GB version and a cool 1 grand, well $999, for the 480GB version. Let's take a look and see if Intel hit a home run with its partnership with LSI (Sandforce).
Intel did take time releasing a modern SSD series that would match the best competitor solutions in performance. They were discussed among enthusiasts under the codename of Cherryville back in the fall of 2011 but it’s only a couple of weeks ago that they were launched to the market. The long-anticipated series is called Intel SSD 520. It is built with the SF-2281 controller, 25 nm MLC flash memory manufactured by IMFT consortium, and features exclusive firmware which makes Intel’s solution different from the numerous SandForce-based SSDs built according to reference designs.
As a full retail drive the Intel 520 series 240GB drive comes in the retail box all decked out for a trip to the local big-box store. The graphic fits into its packaging design philosophy. The front states that the drive is ready to be used in both mobile and desktop applications and is 240GB in capacity. The back panel has an illustration of the drive and an explanation of what comes with it inside the package.
Under the Diagnostic Scan tab we can run read and write tests on the drive to check it for hard errors. The Secure Erase tab lets us wipe the drive to a factory state, removing any data we do not want to keep. The final tab of note is Firmware Update which allows us to flash the drive should a new update be released which adds functionality, speed or reliability tweaks.
- Excellent Performance.
- Great warranty plan (5 years).
- Not fastest but Best Reliability.
- Capacity about reasonable price ($244) w.r.t to other SSDs.
- New controller and firm ware are too good.
