Intel Unveils 120GB SSD: The X25-M Sweet Spot

By Marcus Yam
published

120GB of Intel SSD goodness for under $250.

If you wanted to grab an Intel X25-M SSD for your desktop or laptop, you're like faced with the option of going with the 80GB or 160GB model. While the prices on the G2 models do scale well with each other, the 80GB may be too small and the 160GB may be too expensive.

If that was a dilemma that you are faced with, then Intel has a new solution for you – the 120GB model that's less than 50 percent more expensive than the 80GB model.

The new 120GB X25-M has an MSRP of $249, while the 80GB is now at $199 and the 160GB is at $415. If that's still to spendy for you, then there's the $99 entry-level 40GB Intel X25-V "boot drive."

"Every Christmas, consumers are looking for the latest tech gadget; this year, with prices dropping, the solid-state drive is becoming more mainstream and can make the single greatest improvement to PC performance," said Troy Winslow, director of product marketing for the Intel NAND Solutions Group. "With an SSD, tech shoppers can give the gift of a technology makeover that will help speed up, or breathe new life, into a current PC by just swapping out the hard drive for an SSD."

Of course, these are still running the 34nm Postville flash, so those looking for speedier solutions should wait for the 25nm Postville Refresh.

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
53 Comments Comment from the forums
  • obiown77
    hmmmm, I see stripe upgrade coming to me pc soon!
    Reply
  • jomofro39
    Is it just me, or is it taking a little too long for these to drop to reasonable prices ($.50/GB-$.75/GB)?
    Reply
  • N.Broekhuijsen
    dam you guys!!! I just got myself a nice 40GB SSD, (for a painful $130) and you are already making me regret this. Why is it that since the moment that I got this SSD, SSD's have been all over the news??

    :cry:
    Reply
  • tsnorquist
    Lower that $249.00 120GB to $149.00 and we can make a deal Intel. I'll even buy two.
    Reply
  • rantoc
    Got 4x80's running in raid0, their nice performance
    Reply
  • dalta centauri
    Just got a nice 120gb for around 240-260$. I like the performance and the size, it was either that or getting a 40gb for around 100-120$.
    Which is weird, the higher capacity ones seem to be cheaper in performance/price.
    Reply
  • scook9
    Why are people still so convinced that SSD prices will drop quickly? As long as mechanical hard drives are around and there is high demand for flash (also caused by things like smart phones) there is no reason for the vendors to lower prices. Instead they have been at the same prices roughly since launch and just gotten much faster.
    Reply
  • techcurious
    So Intel is offering an inferior product at a higher price? The Sandforce 1200 drives are going for about $225 for 120GB (or less than $200 after rebate), and significantly outpace the Intel drive in read, write and input/output performance! The only reason anyone would make an "educated" purchase of these 120GB Intel drives would be because of Sandforce's unproven reliability? As an OS drive, I would say that a backup image should be ready to go at all times anyway, and I would give my money to Sandforce and really get the most out of current generation SSD technology (at this price point). For the 120GB intel drive to be worth the purchase it would have to be priced at $200 without rebates.
    Reply
  • keplenk
    xbeaterdam you guys!!! I just got myself a nice 40GB SSD, (for a painful $130) and you are already making me regret this. Why is it that since the moment that I got this SSD, SSD's have been all over the news??
    I don't mean to bust your balls but check this out.

    http://www.frys.com/product/6165889?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

    I know it sucks.
    Reply
  • jomofro39
    scook9Why are people still so convinced that SSD prices will drop quickly? As long as mechanical hard drives are around and there is high demand for flash (also caused by things like smart phones) there is no reason for the vendors to lower prices. Instead they have been at the same prices roughly since launch and just gotten much faster.Because that is the capitalist model: The first ever launched SSDs should be dropping to reasonable prices, while the newer technology SSDs take their price points. Similar to the gfx card price wars. Get it? There are newer SSDs coming out all the time and the older models are not dropping to lower price points. If demand is really this high, then supply should be following religiously, because nobody would lose money over any investment into an SSD market. But it is not. I feel that by now you should be able to pick up a budget SSD of 80 GB for 50 bucks. Maybe without TRIM, or a newer tech controller, but an SSD none the less giving the middle ground of performance. The article today about HDD raid 0 vs SSD raid 0 showed the tremendous gap we already know exists. There is a middle ground, which (I think seagate?) tried to cover by combining the technologies with their hybrids. I haven't seen any performance figures for these, but it is a step in the right direction IMO. It is just frustrating as a consumer when there are performance/price gaps that are insurmountable. Imagine no available vehicle in the 10k-30k price range, and your only choices are a neon or a benz? Wtf?
    Reply