Intel Announces Third Generation 320 Series 25nm SSDs

Intel 320 Series SSDs available in capacities up to 600GB


Intel threw us for a loop when it announced its 510 Series 6Gbps SSDs exactly a month ago. The SSDs didn't use an Intel controller, and instead used a Marvell 88SS9174-BKK2 6Gbps controller. Despite the use of a non-Intel controller, performance for the SSDs was nonetheless impressive with read speeds of up to 500MB/sec and write speeds of up to 315MB/sec.
Today, Intel announced its third generation "in-house" 310 Series SSDs which now take advantage of 25nm NAND flash memory. Unfortunately, according to AnandTech, these SSDs are around six months late meaning they still use a SATA II interface. Performance is also not quite up to par with the 510 Series, with maximum read speeds of 270MB/sec and maximum write speeds of 220MB/sec.

The big news is the use of 25nm memory that Intel says allows a 30 percent price reduction compared to the second generation X25-M SSDs.
"Intel designed new quality and reliability features into our SSDs to take advantage of the latest 25nm silicon, so we could deliver cost advantages to our customers," said Pete Hazen, director of marketing for the Intel Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) Solutions Group. "Intel's third generation of SSDs adds enhanced data security features, power-loss management and innovative data redundancy features to once again advance SSD technology. Whether it's a consumer or corporate IT looking to upgrade from a hard disk drive, or an enterprise seeking to deploy SSDs in their data centers, the new Intel SSD 320 Series will continue to build on our reputation of high quality and dependability over the life of the SSD."

The Intel 320 Series SSDs will be available in 40GB, 80GB, 120GB, 160GB, 300GB, an 600GB capacities at prices of $89, $159, $209, $289, $529, and $1,069 respectively.

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