Intel's X25-M Solid State Drive Reviewed

PCMark Application Performance

PCMark05’s File Write benchmark reflects the low-level write throughput very well, but it is performance on an NTFS partition and hence results in more applicable results. Clearly, the Intel X25-MSSD is fast, but the SLC-flash based Samsung SATA-2 SSD and the 7,200 RPM Momentus drive by Seagate are faster when it comes to writing large amounts of data sequentially.

The Windows XP Startup benchmark is extremely relevant, as it simulates booting Windows XP from the test hard drive. And the results are amazing : Intel’s flash SSD outperforms the Samsung SSD easily, which you’ll notice quite drastically in real life systems. Although drivers, programs and other tools slow down the Windows boot process, the fast drive still has a noticeable impact. Enthusiasts need this !

The PCMark tests were performed on our storage reference test system. Please refer to the test setup page for details.