Review: Intel 520 Series

Chip giant Intel has been at the forefront of solid-state storage for a while now, but its new Cherryville represents a slight departure from past models.

As it lacks its own SATA 3.0-capable controller, Intel used the third-party Sandforce SF2281 controller for the 520 drive. However, Intel has used its own multi-level Flash chips, using its 25nm process. These new chips adhere to the latest ONFI 2.2 standard – which basically means that they handle flash memory better. Intel has also had a hand in writing the controller firmware, and promises improved reliability, rating life expectancy at 1.2 million hours between failures.

The drive is also preconfigured with AES 256-bit encryption for security, suggesting that they are intended for high-end or enterprise use. Intel ships the drive as a kit with management software, mounting brackets and both SATA and power cabling, making it straightforward to install.

In most of our tests, which included PC Mark 7 storage, our 240GB review drive performs comparably to other Sandforce SF2281-based drives such as the OCZ Vertex 3. The Intel drive has substantially better write performance, however. With sequential writes, the 520 scored 240Mbyte/s compared to 175Mbyte/s for the Vertex 3 in AS SSD. Random 4kbyte writes, as measured by CrystalDiskmark3 were 15-20% faster with the 520.

Excellent performance is a big draw card, but unfortunately, Intel charges a premium – our 240GB review model costs around $800, $200-$250 higher than other Sandforce SF2281-based drives. Serious enthusiasts and enterprise users may consider the 520 drive worth the premium however.