New Intel SSDs In a Few Weeks?
Intel may ship new SSDs within the next few weeks based on its 32nm NAND flash memory.
Various reports today are pointing to rumors that Intel will be launching solid state drives (SSDs) based on the company's new 32nm NAND flash memory. Although the SSDs were originally scheduled to hit the market in Q4 2009, apparently the company bumped up the schedule with plans to release the new SSDs in just a matter of weeks instead; the company did confirm that it was ahead of schedule as far back as Q4 2008. Unfortunately, no real specifics were provided with today's report, and Intel has not released an official announcement.
Along with its memory-making partner Micron, Intel began mass-producing the 34nm NAND flash memory chips back in November 2008. The smaller manufacturing process enables the two companies to build individual chip layers with 32 gigabits (4 GB) of data in large batches using regular 300-mm wafers, all crammed into a standard package. In turn, the technology can provide eight cores per layer, allowing for a two-layer stack to provide up to 64 GB without additional chips.
For consumers holding off on changing out the standard hard drive, Intel's upcoming SSDs should be good news, as the drives will offer lower power consumption and lower prices thanks to the smaller (and cheaper) process node. On the performance front, the drives will benefit from SSD specific optimizations built right into Microsoft's upcoming operating system, Windows 7, when it's released this October.
According to The Inquirer, Intel will provide three versions: 80 GB, 160 GB, 320 GB and possibly larger sizes that are expected to replace most--if not all--laptop hard drives. The report also said that Intel seems quite optimistic about its SSD prospects in 2010. If everything holds true, expect an official announcement from Intel soon.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
-
mdillenbeck Will SSDs ever be as cheap as conventional HDD? Maybe, but not in the near future. As such, they will be "cheaper" but you will still have all those people who will say "but the price-per-GB is so horrible".Reply
I don't know, when I had my SSD a while back (SuperTalent 30GB for $400), I liked the performance I got out of it. I didn't like the increasing "OS not detected" error messages and the lack of drive detection at boot-up. However, I suspect the new round of Intel drivers will help push costs down. If they can really save on power (and heat) with Windows 7, then I might consider upgrading both on my laptop. -
hakesterman Performance to me is more important than being cheaper, the drives will last longerReply
so the price differance will pay out. However the performance is what i'm worried
about, are we going to get a fast drive with a mediocore controller or are we going
to get the complete package. Intel just wants to be one of the front runners so my money
is on them putting out a drive with an average speed controller for priceing purposes. Keep
in mind SSD slow down over time as they become full of data, there is no defraging a SSD, so it
is extremely important that the controller is premium to make up for it as the drive ages.
-
aspireonelover Hope it's more optimized. Cause I don't want the drive slowing down when my CPU drops the clock speed when idling.Reply
After that's fixed, then I'll decide if I wanna get it or not :D