The original release of the DC S3700 redefined the expectations of high-endurance data center SSDs and set new benchmarks for performance consistency and value. Intel enjoys a big lead in data center SSD market share, but 3D V-NAND-powered foes, such as the Samsung 845 DC PRO, have come along to challenge Intel's dominance.
Samsung has made waves with its new 3D NAND products in the interim, and after two years the DC S3700 series was badly in need of a refresh. Intel's DC S3710 is an evolutionary product that improves upon its predecessor by packing in more capacity (up to 1.2 TB), and that alone gives Intel a leg up in the market. However, competing high-capacity SSDs are on the horizon from the other major vendors, so a capacity boost alone won't cut it. Intel also boosted the DC S3710's random write performance by 25 percent along with robust sequential read/write performance to help stave off the competition.
Intel and Micron recently announced their impending move to 3D NAND-based SSDs, but make no mistake, Samsung has a big lead in the technology. Is the DC S3710's refresh enough to keep the Samsung wolves at bay until Intel can get its 3D products to market? Let's take a closer look as we pit the Intel DC S3710 against the leading SSDs in its class on Tom's IT Pro.
Paul Alcorn is a Contributing Editor for Tom's IT Pro, covering Storage. Follow him on Twitter and on Google+.
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