Introduction

The company Intel does not really need much of an introduction. It has been a market and technology leader in CPU technology since ages. One of their less well-known area of expertise is the production of flash memory chips, so it comes as no surprise that Intel went into the Solid-Storage business not too long ago.

Intel's 320 Series SSD is based on the aging X25-M, so it does not support the new SATA 6 Gbps interface. Also the drives have been plagued by some data loss issues not too long ago, which are supposed to be fixed with a new firmware. We installed the new firmware on our drive and can report that no data has been lost so far.

Packaging

Intel's package is a very OEM-looking beige cardboard box. A sticker has the important product details listed, but I would prefer a slightly fancier package.


You will receive:

• The SSD
• Intel Speed Demon Sticker
• Installation Guide

The Drive

The drive conforms to the dimensions set forth by the 2.5" form factor. It uses a rugged metal casing that feels extremely solid and high quality.


Unlike recent SSDs, the Intel 320 Series does not support the new SATA 6 Gbps interface. It supports SATA-II with up to 300 MB/s, which is of course forward and backward compatible to any other SATA interface revision.


Intel is using 20 flash chips, the SSD controller and a DRAM chip which serves as RAM for the SSD controller.


A Hynix memory chip provides the system RAM for the SSD controller.


As controller Intel's own PC29AS21BA0 is used.


The 20 flash chips are made by Intel and have a capacity of 16 GB each, they are produced in a 25 nanometer production process.