Intel planning 335 and 525 series SSDs for 2013

On the consumer side of the SSD market for 2013, Intel is planning the realease of two new SSD series, the 335 and 525. The company is expected to deploy its newest 20nm flash memory for some of these drives.

The Intel 335 series will replace the current mainstream 330 series of SSDs. The SSD 335 series will get the new 20nm flash, updated firmware but use the same Sandforce-LSI SF-2281 controller which is capable of much more performance than the SSD 330 series currently offers. The initial launch for the 335 series will comprise of 80GB and 180GB models in Q1-2013, with a 240GB model joining the forces later.

While the 335 series was a mainstream SSD replacement, the 525 is a performance SSD replacement. The 525 series replaces the 520 series but won’t get the new 20nm flash memory, it will stick with older 25nm flash. The 525 series will also use the Sandforce-LSI SF-2281 controller, again with updated firmware to squeeze out extra performance. The SSD 525 series will ship in mSATA and 2.5-inch form-factors, and will be available in 30 GB, 120 GB, 180 GB, and 240 GB capacities.

Given that the only differences with these drives seems to be the addition of new firmware, we find it slightly sad that Intel doesn’t offer these firmware updates straight to customers (like how Crucial do with their M4 drives) – instead taking the money-making option where customers have to buy new SSDs to get the simple firmware updates.

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