Intel X25-V 40GB SSD Review
Introduction – Thirst for more Speed never ends, Gamers and Enthusiasts overclock their CPU, Memory to squeeze the most Juice out of their PC and Boost Performance but unfortunately they are let down by conventional Hard Disks. So, This is where SSD comes to play (Solid State Drives). These drives boost the PC Performance by a Huge Margin. Today we will take a look at the Entry Level offering from Intel, the Intel® X25-V Value SATA Solid-State Drive. Where 25 stands for drive size which is 2.5†and V stands for Value. Currently Intel make these SSD’s in 3 Series.
1) Intel® X25-V High Performance Value Solid-State Drive – Value Series (High-performance storage for netbooks, boot drives for desktops, and embedded applications using 34nm NAND flash memory)
2) Intel® X25-M and X18-M Mainstream SATA Solid-State Drives – Mainstream Series (High-performance storage for laptop and desktop PCs)
3) Intel® X25-E Extreme SATA Solid-State Drive – Extreme Series (Extreme performance and reliability for servers, storage, and workstations)
The Drive which we will be reviewing is Generation 2 Drive as it’s manufactured using MLC NAND on 34nm technology unlike the previous Generation 1 Drives which were Manufactured using 50nm technology.
Specification –
Features –
• Fast Performance—Games, applications and files load faster, while your system is more responsive
• Compatible—Proven technology with installations on tens of thousands of systems worldwide
• Flexible use—2.5" form factor for your notebook or netbook needs, or use with included 3.5" bracket for your desktop computer
• Silent operation—No moving parts means zero noise and high reliability
• Low Power—Extend battery life for notebook and netbook users
• Relable—Over 1,000,000 hours mean time between failures
• Backed by Intel—A respected name with good After Sales Support
• Maximum sequential read speed 175MB/second
• Maximum sequential write speed 35 MB/second
• Generation 2 Drive and MLC NAND flash for fast performance
• Internal SATA II connectivity
• TRIM support (O/S support required)
• No moving parts for increased durability and reliability and quieter operations over standard hard disk drives
• Decreased power usage for increased notebook or netbook battery life
• 2.5" form factor for your portable computer needs
• Included 2.5" to 3.5" bracket for installation on your desktop computer
• Three year International warranty
All information courtesy of Intel @ http://download.intel.com/design/flash/nand/value/prodbrf/323039.pdf
Packaging and Accessories - The SSD comes in a Nice Blue Colour Box, with all Details like Series & Capacity mentioned.
I must say Intel has done very well by using recyclable materials yet made it strong enough.
Inside the box is a Cardboard box which is divided into two parts,
the upper part has a white box which contains the SSD in a ESD Protective Bag with a Tag containing Bar Code and the Serial No. of the SSD.
Below this white box are these
a Portable Disk (with Information regarding the warranty and installation guide),
a Case Badge (for those who like to show off
)
and a piece of paper containing product information.
Coming up to the Lower Part of the box
it contains the 2.5 inch to 3.5 inch adapter, I am very pleased with this adapter as it allows the user to install this SSD in the Desktop without Hassle.
UPSIDE
DOWNSIDE
DOWNSIDE
Intel has also included two types of screws. One which are used to secure SSD on to the adapter and another one to secure the adapter in a 3.5 inch drive bay on to the Desktop.
Last Picture showing everything that comes with the package.
Testing System - We Tested this SSD on HP Pavilion DV9222TX to see how much performance boost it provides to this old system.
System Specs –
• CPU: Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo T5200
• Motherboard: Intel i945PM chipset
• Memory: 2x2GB Crucial PC25300 4-4-4-12
• Video Card: NVIDIA 7600 Go
• Hard Drive: Intel X25-V 40GB SATA SSD
• Optical Drive: LG DVD-R
• OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Benchmarks -
• Drive Tests:
1. HD Tune 4.01 Pro
2. HD Tach
3. Crystal Disk Mark
4. ATTO Disk Benchmark
5. AS SSD
HD Tune 4.01 Pro - measures disk performance to make comparisons between drives or disk controllers. In the 3.50 Pro version, the user can measure not only drive performance as a whole, but more precise file benchmarks, and a random access benchmark as well.
Benchmark -
File Benchmark –
Random Access Benchmark –
HD Tach v3.0.4.0 - HD Tach is another hard drive benchmark utility, much like HD Tune. This benchmark will measure the average read speed, the random access time, and the amount of the CPU used during operation.
• Quick Test 8MB Zones
Crystal Disk Mark 3.0 - Crystal Disk Mark is a hard drive benchmark designed to measure the read and write speeds for the drives in 4k blocks, 512k blocks, and sequential data. For the test we chose the 1000MB option.
ATTO Disk Benchmark v2.46 - ATTO Disk Benchmark is another aged, but good, hard drive benchmark utility designed to test read and write speeds for different file sizes.
AS SSD v1.5.3784.37609 - AS SSD is a benchmark designed for the speeds of solid state drives, though it will also work for traditional hard drives as well. It is designed to measure the read and write speeds and access time for set block sizes. It also assigns a score to the read, write and overall performance of the drive.
Windows Start-up, Shutdown & Reboot Times – This is where one can see the difference between performance of the SSD & HDD in the real world. To conduct this test we will be using the stop watch of my iphone to record the times and we will then post the results along with the screenshot.
NOTE - while conducting these tests Windows Password is not set so as to avoid the time waste during the logon screen.
Windows Start-up – Here we will be recording the time required (in seconds) from the press of the power button till we boot completely into windows.
Windows Shutdown – Here we will be recording the time required (in seconds) from the press of the shutdown button till the power is completely off.
Windows Reboot – Here we will be recording the time required (in seconds) from the press of the shutdown button till we boot completely into windows.
Conclusion – As the SSD’s are still expensive at the moment because of higher Flash Memory Prices this isn’t the right time to move to higher capacity SSD’s now. If anyone is planning to move to SSD now then I will definitely suggest him to go for this SSD as it’s cheaper than other SSD’s, offers way more high speeds then conventional HDD’s. Also, one should remember that 90% of the time data is being read from the Drive, write comes to place only when we are installing some program.
Even this 40GB Drive has lots of Space, currently i am using this SSD in my Laptop with Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit OS along with some essentials like MS Office, Some IM’s & More than 3 Browsers & still have 21GB of free space, not to mention it has also increased the battery life of my laptop by 15% and best of all there is no heat dissipation.
Pros
• Faster Read Speed
• Manufactured Using 34nm Technology
• Native TRIM Support
• Price
• 3 Year International Support from Intel
• Includes the 3.5" desktop adapter
• Upgradable firmware via Intel SSD Toolbox (Only for Generation 2 Drives)
Cons
• Slower Write Speed
• Capacity
Being Reviewer of this Product i will Rate it – 7.5/10
APOLOGIES FOR ANY TYPO & BAD QUALITY PICS..
COMMENTS & QUERIES ARE WELCOMED.
