Villa Crest Is Intel’s 20nm SSD Series

Intel is getting ready with the new 335 SSD series that will enter the market after the winter holidays, but the company is also preparing the next-generation Villa Crest series, slated for a Q2 2013 launch.

Moving to the 20nm manufacturing node will reportedly make Intel’s new NAND flash cells a bit denser than Samsung’s 21nm chips that are inside the Korean company’s new 840 series we reported about here.

Samsung’s new series are facing durability challenges and the company has invested heavily in wear leveling technologies.

All these investments are increasing the final price of the device and the current downward slope of the SSD pricing will become a little less abrupt.

Intel’s 20nm NAND will most likely be affected a bit more than Samsung’s 21nm NAND, so those who were expecting more affordable SSDs from the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer are in for a disappointment.