The number one question for Intel a few months ago was where were their higher end, fast SATA6 SSDs. There were plenty of Sand Force SF-2281 controlled SSDs pushing 6Gb/s speeds on the market yet many were using Intel NAND. Today we get to answer that question with the launch of Intel’s SSD 520 Series Solid State Drives. They begin finding their way to the shelves among the rest of the hot rod SATA6 SSDs this week and everything about them is all “Intel Inside” straight down to the supporting SSD Tool Kit software. The big question is did engineers bring us a polished weapon against slow system performance or a new blue screen symptom? Let’s find out!
Features and Specifications
From the comparison table (provided by the good folks at NVM Solutions Group), we see the three latest high performance SSD series. The SSD 520 uses an LSI SandForce controller writing data to 25nm NAND that produces “up to” 550 read / 520 write sequential performance. It’s also a synchronous SATA6 which means faster performance while the 510 series is an asynchronous configuration. The SSD 520 also comes with “end to end” AES-256 data encryption meaning data is extremely secure inside and out should it fall in to the wrong evil hands.
Like most consumer oriented SSDs, the 520 uses standard MLC (multi-layer cell) NAND that is still far more affordable than max endurance SLC (single layer cell) NAND reserved primarily for the Intel 710 enterprise series SSDs. The reason is because SLC is capable of 900TB to 1.5PB write endurance as well as faster 4K data block performance and comes with a higher price. For our MLC drive here, pairing better grade NAND with smarter controllers created by Intel and SandForce extends their life span which is deserving of better warranties. The SSD 320 and SSD 520 both offer a 5 year warranty. The more price conscious SSD 510 offers a 3 year. These warranties are almost identical to regular hard drives depending on the models. In some cases, they are actually better due to the hard drive industry scaling back on length of warranty.
Comparing prices is a little difficult because the three SSD series share only one common 120GB capacity. If you’re looking for a decent Intel SSD 320 160GB SSD may be a good fit for your laptop, priced at around $274.99 US. If you’re looking for a cheaper asynchronous SSD 510 series 250GB solution, pricing starts around $565 US. And finally, the synchronous SSD 520 240GB (as tested) and 480GB retail for about $509 and $999 respectively. Keep in mind that prices for the SSD 510 will drop repeatedly till it’s phased later on in the year so keep an eye out for great deals.
What’s in the Box?
The Intel SSD 520 bundle is pretty simple yet contains everything you’ll need to get it connected immediately. While it’s not quite as elaborate as the Kingston HyperX SSD Bundle, it’s still better than many. Aside from the SSD itself, there is a 4pin to SATA power cable, red SATA cable, SSD adapter plate, mounting screws, driver/software disc and documentation. The adapter plate isn’t the prettiest we’ve seen. A nicer plate that says I have a flagship consumer Intel SSD wouldn’t have hurt.
Naturally, retail SSDs come with the software disc that includes SATA driver for setting up RAID, Intel SSD Toolbox for SSD maintenance, Intel SSD Firmware Update Tool and Intel Data Migration software so you don’t have to reinstall the OS all over again. You won’t find Intel Rapid Storage software on there since it’s mainly needed by the motherboard chipset rather than devices.
Test System Setup
I wanted to make sure all the SSDs in the lab had an optimal platform that would stretch their little NAND legs. I chose to use an X79 test system using arguably one of the best motherboards out there for power users. This way the system has a full speed PCI Express bus.
- Processor: Intel Core i7-3630X Sandy Bridge-E
- Motherboard: ASUS P9X79 Deluxe
- Memory: Kingston HyperX Genesis 8GB 2400MHz Quad Channel DDR3
- Graphics: MSI Geforce GTX 560 Ti Hawk
- Storage 1: Intel SSD 520 Series 240GB (as tested) (Synchronous)
- Storage 2: Kingston HyperX 120GB SSD (Synchronous)
- Storage 3: Patriot Memory Wildfire 120GB SSD (Synchronous)
- Storage 4: Corsair Force 3 120GB SSD (Asynchronous)
- Power: Antec TPQ-1200 Power Supply
- OS: Windows 7 Pro 64-bit (on a second Kingston HyperX 120GB SSD)
As each SSD was added, the system rebooted make sure each SSD was properly communicating with the system. Windows write-cache was disabled as it impacts data rates by a few MB/s on most all storage devices. The SSDs were all also loaded down to about 65% capacity for a more real world performance effect. The content included a few games, quite a number of benchmarks and a large amount of media files in various sizes.
Benchmark Notes
The programs used to test the Intel SSD 520 included Crystal Disk Mark for its intense data compression, ATTO for IO performance and PCMark7 which provides a more tangible results in regards to overall system performance in day to day tasks. That’s why you continue to hear leading engineers say it’s the quickest, easiest performance update you can give your system. A far better bang for the buck than any CPU or memory upgrade for the time being.
Now that we’ve established all our testing parameters, let’s move on directly to testing!
CrystalDiskMark
CDM is pretty brutal when it comes to compression tests. Here, we see Intel’s SSD 520 performance landing in place just ahead of the record holding Patriot Memory Wildfire 120GB SSD. And of course, you can see how the more budget oriented asynchronous Corsair Force 3 SSD compares to the above synchronous SSDs.
The Intel SSD 520 completely rocks write performance even under heavy compression. Even though this is a consumer based SSD, one can only imagine what the enterprise series can do. The only word that comes to mind is “impressive”. Let’s see how this write performance handles something a little more real world like PCMark7.
PCMark7
For this test, PCMark7 was executed three times using default settings to get an average score. (Yes, that’s a lot of benchmarks testing four SSDs.) This is about as good a real world reveal as any because the SSDs are the only large variable that affects the test system’s performance.
The previous benchmark results between all the SSDs paints a very similar picture in terms of system performance. Still, the overall average shows an advantage in favor of the Intel 520. The system was far more consistent during testing as well whereas the rest provided larger varied results. Granted, this isn’t quite enough performance to warrant replacing your current synchronous SSD unless you need the 240GB capacity.
ATTO
ATTO typically helps any SSD produce some impressive numbers compared to platter hard drives. If nothing else, this may give us a glimpse in to their enterprise offerings as well. Let’s have a look at the results for the four SSDs in a overlapped IO test. Remember, these drives are weighted down with plenty of data.
You can see why the SSDs influenced the previous PCMark7 benchmarks. Much of the overall system performance comes from 4K data block read/write capability. Here, the HyperX and Wildfire fight for second while the SSD 520 hammers out some better 4K scores. It’s roughly 13MB/s faster than the HyperX and Wildfire on write and 10 MB/s on the read.
Final Thoughts
The Intel SSD 520 breaks through setting new SATA6 performance standards due to three important features: High quality synchronous NAND, a more mature controller and more polished firmware. It’s obvious Intel engineers made the right choice holding back Cherryville so they could tune everything right down to the firmware. This allows consumers to be able to plug and play with little to no fuss.
In these paycheck strained days, cost and capacity are still a very big deal to consumers especially now. But with hard drive prices still high due to the flooding in Thailand, SSDs become a bit more attractive. When comparing performance and price to similar SSDs, there’s no doubt the 240GB SSD 520 is super fast yet is also about $30 more than the closest comparable predator. For those on the hunt, one should also consider that the SSD 520 series’ 5 year warranty and the front of pack performance are also part of the premium.
If you’re still on the fence for various cost or capacity reasons, Intel’s new 20nm NAND SSD technology will be arriving next year. Engineers recently successfully developed 128GB NAND on a single chip. That means stacking enough MLC NAND to produce larger than 1TB capacity SSDs without much of an increase cost. Intel has also openly challenged the industry to join them so hopefully this creates a bit of a price war that will see pricing and capacity become more acceptable as early as 2013. Cherryville performance with higher capacity all at the same price is very attractive indeed.
Today, the Intel SSD 520 series will dramatically improve complete system performance making Cherryville SSD technology the right choice. While current pricing continues to hold the SSD market back, Cherryville is deserving of our esteemed Editor’s Choice award for simply being best of the bunch in the current market.
Pros
- Fastest SATA6 SSD for consumers
- “End to End” 256bit AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)
- Great overall performance
- SandForce controller polished firmware
Cons
- Still a costly upgrade for regular consumers
Overall Rating: 9. 0 / 10.0
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