If you’re looking for the fastest and most reliable SSD to keep your files safe, there’s no other than the Intel 520 Series 240GB that can deliver this kind of quality. We all know what Intel has done to our computing world; they always trust reliability before speed. True, it is more difficult to find this uniqueness in a single unit, be it speed or reliability. When the 520 series launched recently, you can now enjoy both worlds.
Intel has largely relied on the Marvel controller as its main choice in recent years since the birth of the X25-M; It’s the most reliable out there, but not a speed demon. Last seen in their earlier 510 series, Intel waited for the SandForce SF-2281 to fully mature before they finally decided to jump on it. Without a doubt, he is now the reigning king of the hill when it comes to speed; this is why today’s fastest SSDs get hooked on it like the famous OCZ Vertex 3.
Intel 520 series is available in different sizes that can perfectly suit your needs starting with 60GB, 120GB, 180GB, 240GB and 480GB as the largest. Prices depend on size, from $119 for 60GB to $829 for 480GB.
Intel has listed the following speed starting at 60 GB with 550 MB/s writing and 475 MB/s reading. For the 120 GB model, 550 MB/s read and 500 MB/s write. Finally, the 180 GB, 240 GB and 480 GB share the same read/write speeds at 550 MB/s and 520 MB/s respectively. As you may have noticed, all drives allocate the same read speed and write speed varies depending on their sizes, as a general rule of thumb the bigger the faster.
It has a slim 2.5″ design with plastic spacer to perfectly fit any laptop or desktop computer. It weighs only 78 grams and has the same power consumption for all models, Intel has listed 0.85W while charging heavy duty and 0.6W idle This is a pretty downhill low power consumption unit, you got the full advantage when you installed it in your laptop, leaving you with more battery life.
The 520 series model is built with 25nm MLC NAND synchronous flash memory from Intel’s best chipset. The 240 GB size packs sixteen pieces of 16 GB each chip giving us an equivalent of 256 GB. However, the face value is only 240 GB. Where does the 16GB go? It was reserved for data parity use. When formatted in Windows, you’re left with 224 GB of space, that’s another 16 GB ripped off.
It uses the second generation SandForce SF-2281 running on a SATA 600 GB/s interface. Giving us the specs of 550 GB/s in read, although you can use it on SATA 300 GB/s, we must keep in mind that the nominal speed is impossible to reach its full potential. The SandForce controller has a data compression feature in the form of DuraWrite, an excellent technology that minimizes data written to disk, giving you more space and fewer program erase cycles helping to extend its lifespan.
Performance
To fully determine how good the drive is, the Intel 520 240 GB series was tested against another worthy competitor using the exact same specs with Core i7-2600K, 8 GB DDR3 1600 MHz, Asus P8P67 Deluxe, GeForce GTX 580 1.5 GB .
The 240 GB 520 series excels at handling compressible data that exceeds Intel’s read and write specifications. It gets an amazing 555MB/s score and 527MB/s write using the Atto Disk Benchmark. However, when dealing with the incompressible data, it doesn’t fall too low, but it manages a good score of 494 MB/s read and 290 MB/s write, this is much better than its competition.
In the file copy test, it delivers a blistering speed of 173MB/s when booting the 240GB Vertex 3 10% faster and 4% faster than the fastest drive to date, the ADATA S511 from 240GB. All of these drives have the SandForce controller, but the Intel 520 series really stands out from the game. This is definitely faster than its 510 Series predecessor and the Crucial M4 which uses the traditional Marvel controller.
In Windows 7 boot time, it shows ultra-fast performance ending in just 9.2 seconds, which was 38% faster than the 510 series and 18% faster than the Samsung 830 512GB. This is one of the best results in any of the SF-2281 based drivers.
In gaming it always gives us great numbers on load time, it took just 9.8 seconds to complete StarCraft II, breaking the 10 second barrier for the fastest SSD. It completely outperforms its competitors such as the 512GB Crucial M4, 240GB Kingston HyperX, 512GB Samsung 830 Series, and its rival 120GB Intel 510 Series.
Conclusion
Based on test results, Intel 520 240GB series has rock-solid performance, we can see a big improvement over its 510 series predecessor. Intel has waited for the right time for SF-2281 before finally using it, due to some bug issues with the SandForce driver that I was facing before. For years, Intel SSDs have a near perfect record and go through an extensive testing procedure before being shipped to consumers. This is what reliability is all about.
Finally, they did it to combine a fast and highly reliable SSD in a single drive; this is what most enthusiasts were looking for. We saw a huge leap from its predecessor version of the 510 Series, the SandForce SF-2281 is definitely the biggest factor and backs it up with some outstanding firmware. Intel cleverly develops this tandem to stand out from the rest.
Intel SSD prices are higher compared to other brands. If we try to compare it to the 240 GB OCZ Vertex 3, you will have to pay an extra dollar for it. Is it worth the premium? The good trade-off here is that if you’re just looking for speed the Vertex 3 is a good choice, if you’re looking for reliability the Crucial M4 or Intel 510 Series are a good choice. If it’s speed and reliability you crave, the Intel 520 series is definitely a good choice.
