Intel is preparing its first SATA 6.0 Gbps SSDs for retail. Intel 510 Series is the new family that pairs 34nm NAND flash with a new SATA 6.0 Gbps controller. The specifications promise speeds up to 470 MB/s.
Intel 510 Series is already listed by Multitronic and has what is claimed to be complete specifications. Intel will for some reasn hold off with its 25 nanometer NAND flashk circuits and instead continue with 34 nanometer chips for the first SATA 6.0 Gbps series.
The series code-named Elm Crest is expected to reach the market on March 1st and even if the memory chips are not 25nm the specifications look promising.
According to VR-Zone Intel’s new 2.5″ units will bring read speeds up to 470 MB/s while the write speed reachs up to 315 MB/s. Storage capacities will be at 120GB and 250GB, and it doesn’t look like capacity will affect performance.
| Intel 510 120GB | Intel 510 250GB | |
| Read speed(128K Seq, 8GB span, QD=32) | 470 MB/s | 470 MB/s |
| Write speed (128K Seq, 8GB span, QD=32) | 315 MB/s | 315 MB/s |
| Read speed 4K (8GB span, QD=32) | 20 000 IOPS | 20 000 IOPS |
| Write speed 4K (8GB span, QD=32) | 5 000 IOPS | 5 000 IOPS |
| Price: | ~ 2 500 SEK (390 USD) | ~ 5 100 SEK (800 USD) |
The first series of SATA 6.0 Gbps units from Intel will focus more on performance improvements than capacity and prices. Without the new 25 nanometer circuits we will not be seeing any 600GB drives, as promised, or any major changes to price/gigabye.
Intel’s 510 series isn’t as impressive as SandForce SF-2500 and Vertex 3. Intel has proved that numbers and theoretic specifications are far from the entire truth and hopefully we will learn more about the new 510 series soon.
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