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Intel 40GB SATA 2.5-Inch SSD at $125

For 1,000-unit quantities

Intel Corporation announced a new addition to its lineup of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs): the Intel X25-V Value SATA SSD. Priced at $125, the 40 gigabyte (GB) drive is aimed at value segment netbooks and dual-drive/boot drive desktop set-ups to offer users the performance and reliability advantages of solid-state computing at an affordable, entry-level price.

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SSDs can replace or coexist with traditional hard disk drives (HDDs). With no movable parts or spinning platters, SSDs are more reliable and higher performing than HDDs. This makes users more productive as they experience faster overall system responsiveness. With the affordable price point, consumers can now enjoy the benefits of an SSD by adding an SSD option to their current desktop PC in a dual-drive or ‘boot drive’ set up. In a dual-drive configuration, the Intel X25-V SSD is added to a desktop with an existing HDD. The SSD is loaded with the operating system and favorite applications to take advantage of the speedy performance which is nearly 4x faster than a 7200RPM HDD.[As measured by Intel using PCMark Vantage, overall system, gaming and HDD scores vs. a 7200RPM SATA HDD.] Users keep their existing HDD as a means of higher capacity data storage. This capability is commonly referred to as a ‘boot’ drive since the SSD accelerates boot or start up time.

For example, with 40GB of boot drive capacity, a user could load the SSD with the Microsoft Windows 7 operating system, Microsoft Office applications and their favorite gaming application, such as Dragon Age: Origins, and experience up to 43 percent faster overall system performance or 86 percent improvement in their gaming experience. The SSD also speeds operations such as system start up, the opening of applications and files or resuming from standby.

The Intel solid-state drive is our top-selling SSD,” said Stephen Yang, product manager for solid-state drives at e-tailer Newegg.com. “This new value entry from Intel means more customers will have the chance to experience the benefits of SSDs, not just in notebooks or high-end PCs, but in mainstream desktops as a boot drive. This is the right price point to help convert more users to SSD computing.”

The Intel X25-V features 40GB of 34nm NAND flash memory. This non-volatile memory retains data, even when the power is turned off, and is used in applications such as smart phones, personal music players, memory cards or SSDs for fast and reliable storage of data. SSD benefits over a traditional HDD include higher performance, battery saving and ruggedness.

Adding the Intel X25-V to our existing family of high-performance SSDs gives our resellers a full range of high-performing, quality SSDs for notebook upgrades, dual-drive desktop set ups or embedded applications,” said Pete Hazen, director of marketing for the Intel NAND Solutions Group. “SSD adoption continues to be one of the more exciting trends in personal computing, and this entry-level product enables users to enjoy the productivity and performance benefits of Intel SSDs at a new price point.”

The 40GB Intel X25-V complements Intel’s higher performance Intel X25-M Mainstream SATA SSD product line that offers 80GB and 160GB capacities. All Intel SSDs are designed and manufactured by Intel using its own NAND flash memory from IM Flash Technologies (IMFT) and include a proprietary controller and updatable firmware. The X25-V is priced at $125 for 1,000-unit quantities and is currently stocked and available in worldwide distribution.

In addition, the X25-V supports the Microsoft Windows 7 Trim function via the Intel SSD Optimizer. Also included is the Intel SSD Toolbox, a set of utility tools developed by Intel to help better manage and retain the out-of-box performance of Intel SSDs.

Comments

Manufacturer  Intel   OCZ Kingston Kingston
 Model X25-V Value Onyx  SSDNow V Series  SSDNow V Series
 Form factor  2.5-inch  2.5-inch 2.5-inch  2.5-inch
 Capacity  40GB 32GB 30GB  40GB
 Max. read transfer rate
 170MB/s  125MB/s  180MB/s  170MB/s
 Max. write transfer rate  35MB/s  70MB/s  50MB/s  40MB/s
 MTBF (million hours)
 1.2  1.5  0.5  1.0
 Price  $125 (in Q1,000)  $100 (MSRP)  $110 (MSRP)   $115 (MSRP)

$125 for a 40GB 2.5-inch SATA SSD or $3.1 per gigabyte seems to be a good price, but it's for one unit if you buy thousand of them, which means that the user's price will be probably higher. And what can you really do with only a mere 40GB capacity in an internal primary disk? The price of the new Intel's 80GB and 160GB devices has not been revealed.

Furthermore, the specs of the Intel X25-V are one of the lowest of the market: sustained read up to to 170MB/s and sustained write up to poor 35MB/s. It's not better for random 4KB read and write, up to up 25,000 IO/s and 2,500 IO/s respectively. For this unit using 34nm chips, Intel also announced 65μs read and 110μs write latency. MTBF is 1.2 million hours, not much than a good HDD.

The comparison
is in favor of the latest announcements of two rivals:

  • OCZ launched its Onyx SATA II 2.5” SSD device with 32GB (up to 125MB/s read and 70MB/s write) for just under $100 MSRP (3.1 per GB).
  • Kingston introduced already two 2.5-inch low cost units: the SSDNow V Series 40GB Boot Drive for $115 or $2.9 per GB (up to 170MB/s read, 40MB/s. write); the SSDNow V Series 30GB Boot Drive at $80 after rebates or $2.7 per GB (up to 180MB/s read, 50MB/s write).
In few months, all these prices will be obsolete as they are declining rapidly.

At the end, if the comparison is not in favor of Intel, the microprocessor company will surely be ahead of its rivals in term of units shipped. For one reason: its brand name. Nobody knows OCZ. The name of Kingston is known more for the London University or the cities in Ontario, Canada, in Melbourne, Australia or in New York state than for a silicon memory firm. Everybody knows Intel.

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