Intel on Monday introduced the SSD 525 Series, a small mSATA form factor SSD packed with Intel's 25-nm MLC NAND Flash and SATA 3 (6 Gb/s) bandwidth performance. Using merely one-eighth the space of traditional 2.5-inch hard drives, this new solution is ideal for Ultrabook, tablet and embedded applications.
"Intel SSDs reduce the risk of data loss due to shock, vibration or jarring," said James Slattery, product line manager for Intel Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group Client SSDs. "With these new performance thresholds available in a small form factor package, and backed by Intel quality and reliability, the Intel SSD 525 opens the door to an unlimited number of creative embedded solutions such as in-flight entertainment, mobile workstations, microservers and IP phone storage."
This is the latest offering in the Intel 500 Series SSD family, aimed at higher-performance, enthusiast solutions. It connects via a PCI Express (PCIe) mini-connector, measures just 3.7 x 50.8 x 29.85-mm and weighs 10 grams. Initial capacities will include 120 GB and 180 GB, but Intel plans to release 30 GB, 60 GB, 90 GB, and 240 GB models later in 1Q13.
According to Intel, the new mSATA SSD features a random read performance of up to 50,000 IOPS and sequential read performance up to 550 MB/s. The random write performance is up to 80,000 IOPS and sequential write is up to 520 MB/s (depends on the capacity). Also thrown into the mix is Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 128-bit encryption capabilities for added data protection, and a 5-year limited warranty.
On Monday Intel also released the Intel SSD Toolbox with Intel SSD Optimizer, a free utility that provides Windows customers (including Windows 8) with a powerful set of management, information and diagnostic tools. There's also the free Intel Data Migration Software toolset to help clone the entire content of a previous storage drive (SSD or HDD) to any Intel SSD.
For more information about the Intel SSD 525 Series, head here.
