Intel 335 Series SSDs Shipping, First One Reaches Japan

Even with all the fuss over desktops, ultrabooks, laptops and, of course, the many CPUs inside them, Intel still found the time to create a new batch of solid-state drives, even if it isn't ready to sell them all.

The company hasn't quite launched the 335 Series of SSDs. Only one of the models in the line has made its appearance, and it happened in Japan, of all places.

It is the largest-capacity unit of the lot, with 240 GB packed in a 2.5-inch frame (9.5 mm thickness / 0.37 inches).

Priced at ¥16,980 (about $214 / 208 Euro according to exchange rates), it relies on the SandForce SF-2281 controller for performance.

Thanks to it, the read speed can go as high as 500 MB/s, while the writing speed is of 450 MB/s. Not exactly as much as we'd expect from a SF SSD, especially one made of 20 nm MLC (multi-level cell) NAND Flash memory chips.

Then again, if Intel had gone all the way and somehow made the SSD run at 550 MB/s when reading and 540 MB/s when writing, the price would have been much higher, and that isn't exactly the best idea right now, when everyone is trying to make everything cheaper.

Needless to say, the SATA 6.0 Gbps (SATA III) interface is the one that Intel designed its SSD with. Anything else would have been too slow for solid-state chips.

Some Ultrabooksmight end up using 335 Series devices, but with 7mm and even 5mm HDDs and SSDs available now, it is probable that normal notebooks will include them more often.

That said, the 240 GB SSD (art number SSDSC2CT240A4K5) will be followed, in the first quarter of 2013, by 80 GB and 180 GB versions. Their other specs should be the same as above, but prices haven't been discovered yet.