Intel Ships 20nm Solid-State Drive Family
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The 335 SSD series uses a 20-nanometer (nm) NAND flash memory process, which Intel claims is an industry-first innovation.
Chip maker Intel announced Oct. 29 that it was shipping the industry’s first solid-state drive (SSD) line with a 20-nanometer (nm) NAND flash memory process, the 335 Series. The 6G-bps Serial ATA drive, which boasts a 240GB capacity that performs 500MB-per-second sequential reads and 450MB-per-second sequential writes, is Intel’s first SSD to use the latest 20nm NAND flash memory jointly developed by IM Flash Technologies (IMFT). The 20nm IMFT NAND technology uses a planar cell to overcome the difficulties inherent in advanced process technology, enabling performance and reliability equal to the previous 25nm generation. In terms of performance, when measuring random input/output (I/O) operations per second (IOPS), the 335 Series reads up to 42,000 IOPS and writes up to 52,000 IOPS, according to a company release. The drives started shipping worldwide this week and are available in a 2.5-inch form-factor 9.5mm case and backed by a three-year limited warranty. The package also includes a 2.5-inch to 3.5-inch drive adapter and SATA cables. "The Intel SSD 335 uses Hi-K/metal gate planar cell technology, which overcomes NAND process scaling constraints to deliver the smallest-area NAND cell and die in the industry," Rob Crooke, Intel’s vice president and general manager for the Intel Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) Solutions Group, said in a statement. "By pushing technology constraints and using process innovation, Intel can continue to progress SSD technology and pass along savings to our customers." Intel SSD purchasers can also pick up the company's SSD Toolbox, which comes packaged with SSD Optimizer, a free utility that provides Microsoft Windows users with a set of management, information and diagnostic tools to help maintain the health and performance of the drive. The Toolbox, available in 11 languages, is also Windows 8-compatible. Among the features in the Toolbox is the ability to view model number, capacity and firmware version, as well as drive health and estimated drive life remaining, and identity device information, which is also available for hard-disk drives and non-Intel SSDs.
