Intel Debuts Solid-State Drive 335 Series

Intel Corporation is shipping its first SSD using 20nm NAND
flash memory process.

The new Intel Solid-State Drive 335 Series uses a small, efficient multi-level cell NAND flash allowing
to advance its 300 Series client/consumer SSDs to the next-generation technology.

SSDs offer users an overall PC performance boost accelerating productivity applications
and other computing activities, such as Web surfing, movie watching, video chatting
and content creation.

The Intel SSD 335 Series is a 6Gb/s SATA drive that
can replace a traditional, slower operating HDD for faster access to files and programs.

It comes in a 240GB capacity that performs 500MB/s sequential reads and 450MB/s
sequential writes.

The product is Intel’s first SSD to use the latest 20nm
NAND flash memory jointly developed by IM Flash Technologies (IMFT), a joint venture of Micron Technology and Intel.

Announced last April, with shipping beginning in December
2011, the 20nm IMFT NAND uses a new cell structure that enables more aggressive
cell scaling than conventional architectures. It uses a planar cell
structure to overcome the inherent difficulties that accompany advanced process
technology, enabling performance and reliability on par with the previous 25nm generation.
The planar cell structure breaks the scaling constraints of the standard NAND floating
gate cell by integrating Hi-K/metal gate stack on NAND production.

"The Intel SSD 335 uses Hi-K/metal gate planar
cell technology, which overcomes NAND process scaling constraints to deliver the
smallest-area NAND cell and die in the industry," said Rob Crooke, Intel VP
and GM for the Intel Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) Solutions Group. "By pushing
technology constraints and using process innovation, Intel can continue to progress
SSD technology and pass along savings to our customers."

Measuring Random IOPS using 4KB IOPS, the SSD 335 Series
reads up to 42,000 IOPS and writes up to 52,000 IOPS.

Available in a 2.5-inch form factor 9.5mm case, it is a  replacement to a conventional HDD.

Backed
by a 3-year limited warranty, the Intel SSD 335 Series is available worldwide .

Also available for Intel SSD purchasers is the Intel
SSD Toolbox with Intel SSD Optimizer, a free utility that provides  Windows users with a set of management, information
and diagnostic tools to help maintain the health and out-of-box performance of the
drive. Available in 11 languages, the SSD Toolbox is also Windows 8 compatible.

Intel SSD users can download the free Intel Data Migration Software to help clone
the entire content of a previous storage drive (SSD or HDD) to any Intel SSD.