Intel intros mSATA SSD for ultrabook and low-power embedded apps

USA: Intel Corp. announced the Intel Solid-State Drive 525 Series (Intel SSD 525 Series) in a small mSATA form factor with 6-gigabit-per-second (Gb/s) performance.

The Intel SSD 525 Series gives OEM customers, channel and tech enthusiasts an ultra-portable, low-power storage solution in one-eighth the space of a traditional 2.5-inch hard disk drive (HDD) to drive innovative Ultrabook™, tablet and embedded applications.

The Intel SSD 525 is the latest entry to the Intel 500 Series SSD Family aimed at higher-performance, enthusiast solutions. Measuring 3.7mm x 50.8mm x 29.85mm and weighing 10 grams, the mSATA with PCI Express (PCIe) mini-connector delivers the performance of the company’s Intel SSD 520 Series client drive. This makes the Intel SSD 525 suitable for All-in-One desktops, notebooks, Ultrabooks and workstation upgrades, as well as automotive, digital signage, embedded video and retail solutions.

With random read performance of up to 50,000 input/output operations per second (IOPS) and sequential read performance up to 550 megabytes per second (MB/s), systems using the Intel SSD 525 Series will receive a performance boost for the most demanding applications and intense multi-tasking needs. This is coupled with random write performance of up to 80,000 IOPS and sequential writes of 520 MB/s to deliver a top-performing mSATA SSD.

“The Intel SSD 525 Series is Intel’s latest 6 Gb/s mSATA product, which brings high performance to an ultra-portable form factor targeted for Ultrabooks and a myriad of embedded solutions,” said James Slattery, product line manager for Intel Non-Volatile Memory Solutions Group Client SSDs.

“Intel SSDs reduce the risk of data loss due to shock, vibration or jarring. With these new performance thresholds available in a small form factor package, and backed by Intel quality and reliability, the Intel SSD 525 opens the door to an unlimited number of creative embedded solutions such as in-flight entertainment, mobile workstations, microservers and IP phone storage.”

The Intel SSD 525 Series will be available in 30 gigabyte (GB), 60GB, 90GB, 120GB, 180GB and 240GB capacities. The company has begun shipping the 120GB and 180GB options, with additional capacities and volume shipments to follow this quarter.

The Intel SSD 525 Series features Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 128-bit encryption capabilities for added data protection should a device be stolen or lost. It uses Intel 25-nanometer (nm) multi-level cell (MLC) NAND flash memory and is backed by a 5-year limited warranty.

Also available for Intel SSD purchasers is the Intel SSD Toolbox with Intel SSD Optimizer, a free utility that provides Microsoft Windows* users with a powerful set of management, information and diagnostic tools to help maintain the health and out-of-box performance of the drive. Available in 11 languages, the Intel SSD Toolbox is also Windows 8-compatible.