Intel X25-M G2: Dissected and Performance Preview
by Anand Lal Shimpi on July 22, 2009 6:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Storage
Be sure to read our latest SSD article: The SSD Relapse for an updated look at the SSD market.
Earlier today the FedEx man dropped off a box with this in it:
That's the new X25-M G2 I wrote about yesterday, which features a slightly improved controller and 34nm NAND flash. Im hard at work on a full review but I thought I'd share some preliminary data with you all.
As I mentioned yesterday, the new drive has a silver enclosure. Intel says the new enclosure is cheaper than the old black one:
The X25-M G2 (top) vs. the X25-M G1 (bottom)
Our sample also shipped with a plastic spacer so the drive can be used in 9.5mm 2.5" bays as well as 7mm bays by removing the spacer.
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InternetGeek - Wednesday, July 22, 2009 - link
Price/Capacity wise I'm just one or two steps away from buying my first SSD.tomoyo - Wednesday, July 22, 2009 - link
I'd make a conjecture that intel's very good random write performance may somehow relate to why the sequential write isn't as good, although this isn't evident in the SLC version of their SSD. The other possibility is that Intel is distinguishing between their SLC and MLC series through lower write. I'd have to say that random read and write are way more important for a normal desktop user than anything else though, I always notice latency and responsiveness far more than a small change in long term transfer speed. Personally I'm very interested in getting a 80GB/160GB as a main os drive for both my primary box and a ZFS RAID server/storage box.haze4peace - Wednesday, July 22, 2009 - link
With the recent price drops I'm considering getting this drive in its 80GB flavor as an OS drive. Sequential write speed is the least of my concerns, because once you load on your OS and other apps, you barely write in big blocks.pennyfan87 - Wednesday, July 22, 2009 - link
I think Anand forgot to include the G.Skill Falcon series along with the other Indilinx MLC drives.Just sayin'.
Anand Lal Shimpi - Wednesday, July 22, 2009 - link
woops, you're right, table updated :)hyc - Friday, July 24, 2009 - link
And isn't the Samsung controller in the OCZ Summit also used in the Corsair P256 and SuperTalent MasterDrive SX?hyc - Friday, July 24, 2009 - link
doh. Corsair P256 is already listed....deputc26 - Wednesday, July 22, 2009 - link
Given the choice which controller would you rather have in your drive? despite samsung's reputation, I'm going with indilinx.Anand Lal Shimpi - Wednesday, July 22, 2009 - link
My pick is still the Intel drive, but I'd take Indilinx over Samsung (assuming there are no compatibility issues with the system I was putting it in).Take care,
Anand
deputc26 - Wednesday, July 22, 2009 - link
I also pick Intel as number one but the battle for second place is a little grayer, Samsung is more expensive which leads many to believe it is faster which of course is not the case.