Enthusiasts with SSDs are loathe to swap back to mechanical storage. And for good reason. Wonderful though they might be for cramming lots of information into a compact space, disk drives aren't as responsive, and they're not as fast. Getting the best of each world often involves a desktop machine with both technologies under the hood. Use a decently-sized SSD for loading Windows and performance-sensitive apps, then throw your other programs and user data on the big disk.
Unfortunately, mobility often precludes such a luxury. Compact enclosures mean that storage is usually limited to a single drive. Only the larger notebook chassis give you room for two or more disks, and those are commonly desktop replacements--hardly ideal candidates for getting dragged back and forth from class each day. Looks like it's time to make a choice. SSD or hard drive; which will it be?
It's fair to say that, given the choice, most enthusiasts would opt for solid-state technology over a hard drive any day of the week. The problem, of course, is that an SSD gives you limited capacity. Not only that, but it's comparatively very, very expensive when you look at cost per gigabyte. An SSD in a laptop sounds nice, but getting enough space for your OS, games, apps, and information is only really affordable for a fortunate few. Everyone else gets to drool over the killer data rates and plug along on 2.5" 7200 RPM disks, at best.
If only it were possible to mix and match storage technologies using conventional hard drives and solid-state storage packed into a more space-conserving form factor.
That's exactly what Intel is trying to do with its Solid-State Drive 310-series--small form-factor SSDs aimed at some of the most mobile environments you could imagine. Designed to work in a mSATA interface and available in capacities of 40 or 80 GB, we could be looking at the answer to hybrid storage subsystems in thin-and-light designs. Additionally, Intel is aiming at the netbook, mini/sub-notebook, all-in-one, and embedded markets.
In one fell swoop, the company claims to be addressing size, weight, power, performance, and reliability issues with which 2.5" and 1.8" hard drives cannot compete. Is this the end-all for the folks who sit in front of online configurators trying to figure out if it's worth spending so much extra money on an SSD, when they really need the space afforded by that 320 or 500 GB hard drive?
We set up a handful of different usage scenarios with the goal of digging deeper. Lets dissect the SSD 310-series and what it might do for your next mobile machine.
The 310-series marks the entry-point of mSATA for the masses. This new standard brings the native SATA protocol straight to a slot form factor. We are talking about pure SATA performance without any bottleneck.
In case you were wondering, the two sets of contacts on the cards pictured below do not correspond to the power and data connectors you'd normally attach to a SATA hard drive (15 pins and seven pins, respectively). Even still, the 52-pin interface hosts a pair of differential signal pairs, just like the desktop SATA interface.
If that number rings a bell, it's because that's how many pins you'd find on a mini PCI Express slot instead. We'll go into more depth on the slot specifics shortly.
Intel's latest SSDs are rather small, but they are supposed to deliver performance on par with full-sized SATA-based SSDs. Indeed, there's certainly the potential for high-end throughput, as the mSATA-based SSD 310-series uses Intel's PC29AS21BA0 NAND controller--the same one seen on the company's X25-M drives.
Remember, though, the controller represents only one variable in the SSD performance equation. Intel's X25-M and X18-M drives employ a 10-channel parallel architecture that facilitates sustained sequential reads of up to 250 MB/s and writes of up to 100 MB/s (for the 120 and 160 GB versions of the drives).
Though Intel doesn't cite the figure specifically, its SSD 310-series features five NAND flash ICs, suggesting a more conservative five-channel architecture employed on the 80 GB version we have here for testing, rated for up to 200 MB/s reads and up to 70 MB/s writes. Intel also claims 4K read IOPS of up to 35 000 and 4K write IOPS as high as 6600--identical to the 80 GB X25-M that earned so much praise more than two years ago when it launched.
The 40 GB drive's stats are notably handicapped in comparison, ducking in at up to 25 000 read IOPS and 6600 write IOPS. But with maximum reads at 170 MB/s and writes clocking in at up to 35 MB/s. Write performance, at least, might suffer compared to the faster 7200 RPM mechanical disks out there.
Incidentally, Intel's 40 GB X25-V also employs a five-channel architecture. Not surprisingly, its performance specifications are identical to the 40 GB SSD 310
| 40 GB | 80 GB | |
|---|---|---|
| Components | 34 nm NAND Flash Memory (MLC) | 34 nm NAND Flash Memory (MLC) |
| Read/Write IOPS (maximum, Queue Depth 32) | 25 000 / 2500 | 35 000 / 6600 |
| Bandwidth Performance Read/Write (Sustained) | 170 MB/s 35 MB/s | 200 MB/s 70 MB/s |
| Latency Read/Write | 65 μs / 100 μs | 65 μs / 75 μs |
| Power On to Ready | 1.5 s | |
| Form Factor | mSATA (50.80 mm x 29.85 mm) | |
| Operating Voltage (3.3V mSATA rail) Min / Max | 3.14 V / 3.47 V | |
| Power Consumption (Typical) Active/Idle | 150 mW / 75 mW | |
| Temperature | Operating: 0 C to 70 C Non-Operating: 55 C to 95 C | |
| Shock | 1500 G/0.5 msec | |
| Vibration | Operating: 2.17 GRMS (5-700 Hz) Non-Operating: 3.13 GRMS (5-800 Hz) | |
SSDs continue to be one of the most expensive upgrades, and the 310s is no exception to that rule. We were originally told to expect prices just under $100 for 40 GB and $180 for 80 GB, which falls in line with pricing for the X25-M. The price for the 80 GB version is a little high at the moment, because we only see it in stock at a single retailer. This should change once more inventory hits the market. Intel says that it's expecting motherboards to start popping up with mSATA slots onboard, which will give desktop enthusiasts an opportunity to try this technology out. Knowing full well that Intel intends to expose SSD-based caching on the desktop with its Z68 chipset in the Computex time frame, we wouldn't at all be surprised to see mSATA become even more prevalent on desktop motherboards in Q3'11 explicitly for that purpose.
Make no mistake, these diminutive drives are purpose-built for systems where there is no physical way to squeeze in a second drive: netbooks, thin-and-light notebooks, mini/sub-notebooks, all-in-one computers, nettops, and embedded platforms.
| Street Price | Price/GB | |
|---|---|---|
| Intel 310 40 GB | $100 | $2.50/GB |
| Intel 310 80 GB | $200 | $2.50/GB |
| Intel X25-M 80 GB | $170 | $2.13/GB |
| Intel X25-M 120 GB | $225 | $1.88/GB |
Don't want to switch out the motherboard for USB 3.0? Why not sink $30 into an Asus PCI-E card!
Although Intel isn't exactly eager to jump on board the USB 3.0 bandwagon just yet, that doesn't mean consumers can't get in on the SuperSpeed USB action. While Asus just unveiled the first motherboard to support USB 3.0, the company also snuck out a nifty expansion card for PC enthusiasts who just don't feel like swapping out the motherboard.
Enter the Asus U3S6, providing two tasty USB 3.0 ports and two SATA 6 Gb/sec. ports across the PCI-E bus. Maximum PC took a few zesty screenshots of the expansion board, and reports that it contains three primary components: a NEC D720200F1 USB 3.0 controller, a Marvell 88SE9123 SATA 6 Gb/sec. controller, and a PLX PEX8613 (also found on the SATA6 boards).
According to Maximum PC, the expansion board worked on par with the USB 2.0 ports found on the P55 used in testing. However, because USB 3.0 is relatively new, the site didn't have any 3.0 devices handy; they didn't have a SATA 6 Gb/sec. drive for testing either. However, the site did say that Asus alleviated any possible bottlenecks by running the card in an x4 PCI-E mode.
The Asus U3S6 PCI-E card is expected to be available soon, and will retail for a measly $30.
