Intel Launches “G3” SSDs as the Intel 320 Series

Well that didn’t take long. After our previous post regarding the surprise launch of Intel’s 510 Series where we questioned what may have become of the much awaited “G3” drives, we have our answer. Intel has launched its X25-M G2 successor under the guise of the Intel SSD 320 Series. This third-generation Intel controller reportedly offers up to 270MB/s sequential reads and 205MB/s sequential writes, pitting it squarely against SandForce’s SF-1200 drives. As some may have surmised by those numbers, the 320 Series utilizes a SATA 3Gbps interface, and just like the SF-1200, it now offers onboard AES-128 encryption for the flash memory chips.

As announced last year, the 320 Series does utilize Intel’s own 25nm MLC NAND, and similarly announced a cut in price and jump in capacities. The Intel 320 Series now covers the entire gamut of capacities; it starts as low as 40GB ($89) and goes all the way to a whopping 600GB ($1069). And also as announced, the cheaper NAND includes a matching drop in prices; the 160GB model has a listed MSRP of $289, which goes a long way towards reviving the competitiveness of these new drives. By comparison the G2 X25-M 160GB is still listed north of $400 before rebates despite much faster and cheaper alternatives.

However, that isn’t all that the new 320 Series brings to the table. The 320 160GB SSD offers 39K read IOPS and 21K write IOPS, which is a hefty jump over the G2’s 35K read and 8.6K write IOPS. By comparison the new 510 Series only offers IOPS below those of the G2, 20K read and 8K write IOPS, respectively. IOPS isn’t it either, potentially more important are the new onboard capacitors designed to prevent data loss.

Not all SSDs offer power loss protection in the form of onboard capacitors. These allow any writes already in progress to be completed before the SSD completely loses power. Until now, only enterprise class SSDs such as the Vertex 2 Pro (which utilizes the SF-1500, not SF-1200) tended to offer this feature. Although Intel’s 320 Series does not store personal data in the onboard SDRAM cache, many other SSD controllers do making the loss of power a potential disaster.

Intel hasn’t disclosed specifics at this time regarding expected lifespan of the new 25nm flash memory, but the company does make a point to say it expects the lifespan of the 320 Series to be better than the “G2” series, likely due to the additional spare capacity and data parity at the NAND level. Intel is confident enough to reportedly have transitioned 55,000 drives into its own datacenters with plans for every employee to have one in their computers by the end of the year.

All in all, although the Intel 320 Series SSDs won’t be the quickest solid-state drives on the block, it may still be the most affordable SATA 3Gbps SSD, so only time will tell. With quite a few expected SSD controllers to debut this year there will be plenty of choices regardless of whether or not you are rocking a SATA 3Gbps or SATA 6Gbps system.

SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 28, 2011 – Intel Corporation announced today its highly anticipated third-generation solid-state drive (SSD) the Intel® Solid-State Drive 320 Series (Intel® SSD 320 Series). Based on its industry-leading 25-nanometer (nm) NAND flash memory, the Intel SSD 320 replaces and builds on its high-performing Intel® X25-M SATA SSD. Delivering more performance and uniquely architected reliability features, the new Intel SSD 320 offers new higher capacity models, while taking advantage of cost benefits from its#25nm process with an up to 30 percent price reduction over its current generation.