14 DAY TRIAL // Seemingly unaffected by the long list of legal problems having hit it lately, the leading chipset developer Intel introduced a low-cost solid state drive meant to serve as a server boot drive or as part of low-end laptops and netbooks. Although it is part of a line of solid state storage units, the X25-V SSD isn't suitable for much else than supporting the operating system, given its low storage capacity of only 40 GB.
Speaking at an SSD Seminar sponsored by Bell Microproducts Inc. in Westford, Mass, Marketing Manager at Intel Jon Peracchi revealed to Westford SSD enthusiasts that this cheaper drive was actually one of several such products in a new line of SSDs that would come in 50GB, 100GB and 200GB sizes. It is implied that they will mimic the capacities of high-end hard disk drives while being available at more affordable prices.
The 40GB X25-V is known internally as the Glen Brook and uses lower-cost multi-level cell flash chips (MLC). Peracchi said that this would lead to a 40% price cut or about $6.50 per gigabyte over X25-E SSD prices at the moment. While the drive currently exists in a limited number of samples among computer-equipment makers, it is expected to become generally available as a sample to hardware developers in April.
This line of products will bring some of the high-end market possibilities to the lower segments. Although no real pricing details exist, Peracchi speculated that the 50 GB would be available for the MSRP of $350.
Intel is the largest producer of semiconductor microprocessors based on revenue. It is the inventor of the x86 processors, which are found in most PCs today. Based in Santa Clara, California, the IT giant also develops motherboards, network chipsets, flash memory, integrated graphics circuits, etc. Although lately plagued by lawsuits, fines and even a still-ongoing litigation with NVIDIA, the company has continued to launch new products on the open market and has already revealed bits and pieces of its plans for future releases.