New details have arrived regarding the new 520 "Cherryville" SSD series from Intel. These SATA III (6.0 Gb/s) SSDs are the successor to Intel's 510 series, which are enthusiast desktop SSDs. While the 510 series are popular much like previous Intel SSDs, the high price and slightly lower speeds than the competition turned some people away from them. With the 520 series, it looks like Intel is trying to win over more enthusiasts. These new SSDs will have ground breaking speeds, and as a new feature for Intel, they'll use a Sandforce controller.
Details
Intel is the most reliable SSD company according to this article. While their SSDs have always been very fast, their enthusiast grade 510 series, which uses a Marvell controller, is outperformed by some Sandforce SSD lineups. Marvell controllers are generally seen as less problematic and more reliable than Sandforce, and Intel's 510 series beat out other SSDs with that controller. But for those enthusiasts looking for every ounce of speed, Intel's high priced 510 series may not be the best option especially for RAID users.
Now it looks like Intel has reached some sort of agreement with Sandforce, since the upcoming 520 Cherryville SSDs will use a Sandforce controller. Sandforce has improved over time so it looks like Intel is ready to partner up with them. Specifications have been released for the 520 series and things are looking quite impressive. Click on the images for full size!
The above image shows the obvious - Intel's 520 SSDs use a SATA III 6.0 Gb/s interface and have a 2.5" form factor. More importantly a large variety of capacities are in the lineup - much more than the 510 series lineup (120GB and 250GB). Intel's 520 lineup includes 60GB, 120GB, 180GB, 240GB, and 480GB models. Sustained bandwidth is listed at 550 MB/s read and 520 MB/s write for all of them. 4K random read is 40,000 IOPS but it peaks at 85,000 IOPS, while 4K random write speeds are 70,000 IOPS. They even list a specific lifespan - at least five years with up to 20 GB/s a day of written data. A five year warranty is also included.
Product numbers are listed below. There will be OEM models and desktop models with a 3.5" conversion kit.
Intel SSD 520 series are expected to be available by the end of 2011 or very early in 2012. No details on pricing yet, so stick around for updates.
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