Although Intel SSDs are far from being omnipresent on the market, those who have had the chance to use them are certainly convinced that these are top-notch devices. When Intel’s first SSDs were presented back in 2008, namely X25-M, it was clear from the get-go that Intel knew what they were doing, as these MLC SSDs used their 10-channel architecture to score much better than any competing solutions based on SLC NAND flash memory. Their SSDs were made in order to squeeze out the best possible performance out of Nehalem microarchitecture. Intel has always been an innovator, after all, and the SSD field is no exception; Intel’s controllers have always been the best money could buy, forcing other manufacturers to advance quickly in order to remain competitive. The model we’ve received for testing this time is the first generation of Intel’s SSDs to include SATA 6 Gb/s support.
Although SandForce controllers are very reputed on the market, as all devices that use them belong to the best performers out there, we weren’t expecting any less from Intel this time around either. Until we get the new OCZ Vertex 3 with the SandForce SF-2200 controller, we’ll toy around with all of Intel 510’s 250 GB.
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The first thing that surprised us when we first opened the casing was that the SSD was using Marvell’s 88SS9174-BKK2 SATA 6 Gb/s second-gen controller (the first generation had BJP2 in the name) and Intel’s 34 nm memory chips (while most manufacturers are currently switching to 25 nm chips). If Intel’s representatives are to be trusted, the controller in question contains specially optimised firmware, boosting the performance of this model to the maximum. An additional 128 MB of Hynix’s hyperfast DDR3 cache, working at 1333 MHz, should supplement the performance even further, serving all 16 chips with the capacity of 16 GB each.
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As far as memory chips go, the choice of 34 nm modules was probably made because of the reliability of the manufacturing technology that enables high performance at an accessible price point, and definitely beating buying 25 nm chips from other manufacturers, at least in the value department. Either way, although Intel’s officially planning to continue to manufacture 34 nm chips by the end of this year, we wouldn’t be surprised to see 25 nm models around, and with the same Marvell controller at that.
Designing the appearance of SSDs must be one of the most boring jobs on Earth. As they’re almost identical in construction, the only creativity room you get is the one where you decide on the material, colour and sticker appearance. Intel has opted for metal casing, without the thermal pads that we’re used to seeing on memory and controller, and the metal itself has a light cream colour with golden overtones, with an additional matte finish to eliminate fingerprints.
