Friday, February 24, 2012

Intel 520 Series SSD review: SandForce on steroids, kinda

Intel 520 Series SSD review: SandForce on steroids, kinda | Crave - CNET CNET Home Reviews Cell Phones Camcorders Digital Cameras Laptops TVs Car Tech Forums Appliances Cell Phone Accessories Components Desktops E-book Readers Games and Gear GPS Hard Drives & Storage Headphones Home Audio Home Video Internet Access Monitors MP3 Players Networking and Wi-Fi Peripherals Printers Software Tablets Web Hosting You are here: News Latest News Mobile Startups Cutting Edge Media Security Business Tech Health Tech Crave Apple Microsoft Politics & Law Gaming & Culture Blogs Video Photos RSS Download Windows Software Mac Software Mobile Apps Web Apps The Download Blog CNET TV How To Computers Home Theater Smartphones Tablets Web Marketplace Log In | Join Log In Join CNET Sign in with My profile Log out .mad_center {text-align:center;} .mad_center div, .mad_center table, .mad_center iframe, .mad_center a img {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;}
CNET News Crave Intel 520 Series SSD review: SandForce on steroids, kinda Dong Ngo by Dong Ngo February 17, 2012 5:24 PM PST Follow @riceandstirfry

CNET editor Dong Ngo reviews Intel's latest consumer-grade solid-state drive, the 520 Series.

It wouldn't be a huge stretch to call the new Intel 520 Series solid-state drive (SSD) SandForce on steroids.

The new Intel 520 Series SSD comes with all you need to install it in any computer, be it a ultrabook, a laptop, or a desktop.The new Intel 520 Series SSD comes with all you need to install it in any computer, be it a ultrabook, a laptop, or a desktop.

(Credit:Dong Ngo/CNET)

The new drive uses the popular SandForce SSD controller but now with a little tweak: Intel's special 400i firmware.

And that makes a big difference. The new drive offered great performance in my testing, faster than most all other SSDs I've seen that use the same controller.

Intel 520 Series solid state drive

However, that's not the most special thing about the drive. It's the first I've seen that comes in the new 7mm thickness, meaning that it will fit in one of those ultrabooks that Intel has been pimping flash-mob-style..

The drive will also fit in any laptops that use the standard 2.5-inch drive with the traditional 9.5mm design, thanks to a frame piece that adds another 2.5mm to its thickness.

And if you are using a desktop, the drives comes with all necessary accessories to fit in a 3.5-inch drive bay, too.

The only thing left to worry about the new drive is the price, and unfortunately it's pretty hefty, at around $2 per gigabyte.

To find out if the drive is still worth investing in, check out the full review of Intel 520 Series SSD here.

Posted by Ambar jaiswal at 5:33 PM
Labels: , , , , ,

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)