Intel has introduced s new family of solid-state drives with significantly faster data transfers when deployed in computer platforms performing complex tasks. Targeting gaming, media creation, and mobile workstation applications, Intel’s new SSD 510 devices are designed to take advantage of the higher-speed SATA III interfaces on the chipmaker’s second-generation Core processors.
Intel’s SSD 510 series doubles sequential read speeds to 500 megabytes per second, outperforming a traditional hard drive by more than 50 percent. Based on 34-nanometer NAND flash-memory technology, Intel’s devices also more than triple the sequential write speeds of Intel’s current crop of three-Gbps SSD offerings.
Currently available in 120GB and 250GB sizes, the new drives were “specifically designed for applications that require high sequential media transfers,” said Pete Hazen, director of marketing for Intel’s NAND Solutions Group. “Whether it’s a gamer wanting impeccable visual performance and faster game loading, or a performance-intensive workstation user, the new six-gigabits-per-second SATA SSD from Intel is not only significantly faster than the top 10,000 RPM gaming HDD, it’s also faster than two RAIDed gaming HDDs.”
Dual-drive Hybrids
For game developers, Intel’s SSD 510 promises to dramatically reduce the iteration time requirements of content creators, noted Dave Lang, CEO of Chicago-based game-development studio Iron Galaxy.
“By transitioning our team to Intel’s six-Gbps SSDs, we’ve seen a dramatic 15 to 20 percent improvement in the time it takes one of our developers to make a change in the editor, then get to try it out in-game,” Lang said. “Faster iterations mean more iterations, which means a better game for the consumer.”
The new SSD 510 devices are designed for deployment in dual-drive hybrid PC configurations in which the SSD hosts the machine’s operating system, favorite applications, and games, while the machine’s standard hard drive is devoted to the user’s data-storage requirements. Under this type of setup, Intel…