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.

Their Intel SSD 510 Series is the current consumer SSD flagship. Being based on MLC Intel memory, with support for SATA 6 Gbps it aims to be the fastest consumer SSD that money can buy.

Intel's approach to building their 510 Series SSD is quite interesting. They have chosen to use a fairly generic Marvell flash controller, which we have also seen on Crucial's M4. Intel's secret sauce to a high-performance 510 SSD lies in the drive firmware. Like all other SSD manufacturers they do not tell any implementation details, but their changes yield an almost 10% performance improvement in the 510 Series over other drives using the same hardware platform.

Packaging

Intel's drive comes in a quite flashy but still elegant package. The important product highlights like capacity and warranty are immediately visible on the front. Additional product details can be found in smaller print on the front and back.


You will receive:

• The SSD
• Documentation + CD with further documentation
• 3.5" mounting frame
• 2x screw package
• Molex to SATA power adapter
• SATA 6 Gbps cable
• Speed Demon sticker

The Drive

The drive conforms to the dimensions set forth by the 2.5" form factor.


Intel's 510 Series uses a SATA 6 Gbps interface which produces speeds up to 6 Gb/s. It is downward compatible to any other SATA version.


Intel is using 16 flash chips and the Marvell flash controller, which is located in the middle of the PCB. An additional DRAM cache chip can be found next to the flash controller.


As controller Intel has chosen to use a Marvell 88SS9174-BKK2 which we have also seen on Crucial's M4 SSD. However, Intel has put a significant amount of magic into the firmware of their SSD, which is able to make a huge difference in performance.




The flash chips are made by Intel and have a capacity of 16 GB each, they are produced on Intel's 34 nm process node.