Intel 520 Series SSD Pictured - True Gold and Possibly Not SandForce Driven.
- Thread starter tweakboy
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Soulkeeper
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Nemesis 1
Lifer
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Check out ramsdale specs . 2 running in raid O is all I want .
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Intel-710-Lyndonville-720-Ramsdale,12956.html
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Intel-710-Lyndonville-720-Ramsdale,12956.html
Edrick
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Arachnotronic
Lifer
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Lifer
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Zap
Elite Member
- Oct 13, 1999
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Sandforce or not, I would wait at least 6 months before buying a newly released SSD. Kudos to all the guinea pigs!
That is good advice. I think the only SSDs I can think of which did not ever need a firmware update were the Samsung units (so far). I think even the various Jmicron variant Kingston V100/V100+/V+100 drives had minor firmware updates on some of the models.
Guys wait for a firmware upgrade,,, before jumping on this .. Also wait a little its going to be expensive. How much you guys think it will be, 1 dollar per GB, about 600 dollars ???
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I personally think the 520 will still be a straight Sandforce design, but you may see the Anobit controller used in the 530 due late 2012.
Sandforce controller with Anobit firmware?
Not a chance in hell of that happening. In order for that to happen SandForce would have had to supply Anobit with top secret engineering information on the inner workings of the SandForce controller, and firmware source code. That would be suicide for SandForce.
From the picture in the link. The firmware version is 31Hi, not 31H. But this means nothing, as the firmware version number is only a "string", and SandForce partners can choose their own if they wish.
31Hi could simply mean something along the lines of. Version 3.1 High IOPS.
Sandforce controller with Anobit firmware?
Not a chance in hell of that happening. In order for that to happen SandForce would have had to supply Anobit with top secret engineering information on the inner workings of the SandForce controller, and firmware source code. That would be suicide for SandForce.
From the picture in the link. The firmware version is 31Hi, not 31H. But this means nothing, as the firmware version number is only a "string", and SandForce partners can choose their own if they wish.
31Hi could simply mean something along the lines of. Version 3.1 High IOPS.
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argh.. i just upgraded my ssd array! oh well... guess i'll grab 2 of these and move my 256gbx2 m4 as my steam drive. i'm down to 100GB free
Makaveli
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- Feb 8, 2002
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argh.. i just upgraded my ssd array! oh well... guess i'll grab 2 of these and move my 256gbx2 m4 as my steam drive. i'm down to 100GB free
how many games do you have installed and actually play?
Zap
Elite Member
- Oct 13, 1999
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Haha, 500GB is a lot of games. I only have just over 100GB in my Steam folder (on a solo 256GB SSD dedicated to games), but then again I only have around half of them installed.
LOL.. that Old Hippie nailed it good this time around.
And I'm with Wendy in my thought process on the controller/firmware combo to be most likely used on this drive.
Anyone well versed in Sandforce's past dealings knows how close they guard their IP and I also doubt that ANY contract/purchase commitment(with nIntel or otherwise) would push them to make that tradeoff. Intel would have to buy Sandforce(or LSI as of now) to make that happen.
Although I will say that it doesn't seem too far fetched that Intel could/would crawl into bed with Anobit to compete with Sandforce's market share. Then again there's always the.. if you can't beat em'?.. buy em'. And if you can't buy em'?.. join em'.. seems to be the leading business model these days.
The other thing that doesn't seem to jive correctly is the max capacity points comparison between Sandforce and Anobit controllers. SF can go to 480 gigs and Anobit only reaches 400 gigs. And at this juncture of the GB/$$$ game.. I highly doubt that Anobit(or Intel) would be leaving that much space set aside for overprovisioning(if that were even possible given the max allowable size of the Anobit controller).
http://www.storagesearch.com/anobit.html
And I'm with Wendy in my thought process on the controller/firmware combo to be most likely used on this drive.
Anyone well versed in Sandforce's past dealings knows how close they guard their IP and I also doubt that ANY contract/purchase commitment(with nIntel or otherwise) would push them to make that tradeoff. Intel would have to buy Sandforce(or LSI as of now) to make that happen.
Although I will say that it doesn't seem too far fetched that Intel could/would crawl into bed with Anobit to compete with Sandforce's market share. Then again there's always the.. if you can't beat em'?.. buy em'. And if you can't buy em'?.. join em'.. seems to be the leading business model these days.
The other thing that doesn't seem to jive correctly is the max capacity points comparison between Sandforce and Anobit controllers. SF can go to 480 gigs and Anobit only reaches 400 gigs. And at this juncture of the GB/$$$ game.. I highly doubt that Anobit(or Intel) would be leaving that much space set aside for overprovisioning(if that were even possible given the max allowable size of the Anobit controller).
http://www.storagesearch.com/anobit.html
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flamenko
Senior member
Myself, I think that unless Anobit has a secret sauce that nobody knows about yet to help Intel, their handshake wth Intel was simply through financial smarts and has nothing to do with the 520 whatsoever.
A bit of background shows that they're current SSD platform uses multiple PCB's where the drive speeds just may be achieved through multiple controllers. I don't think this is feasible in the consumer space. Although the possibility exists where the same partnership exists between Anobit and Sandforce as it does with OCZ and SandForce with respect to combined firmware implementation, I think that is highly unlikely simply because the entire scenario is too close to the LSI purchase and both LSI and Anobit thrive in the enterprise space.
Just my two cents...
A bit of background shows that they're current SSD platform uses multiple PCB's where the drive speeds just may be achieved through multiple controllers. I don't think this is feasible in the consumer space. Although the possibility exists where the same partnership exists between Anobit and Sandforce as it does with OCZ and SandForce with respect to combined firmware implementation, I think that is highly unlikely simply because the entire scenario is too close to the LSI purchase and both LSI and Anobit thrive in the enterprise space.
Just my two cents...
Hulk
Diamond Member
- Oct 9, 1999
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It is beyond them. They are not smart enough. They can design and manufacture a computer processor with 1 billion transistors. That's child's play. But when it comes to SSD controllers you are talking a whole different level of complexity.
Sarcasm alert - In reality I suppose from a cost/profit point of view it doesn't make sense.
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LOL, that is truly hilarious
I am a bit of an Intel fanboy as well. I love their CPU's and I trust them to be able to afford to fix what is not right.
bryanW1995
Lifer
- May 22, 2007
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They used to design their own, but they stopped with the 320 series. I think that their profits were getting squeezed too much, and they were able to make ssd's cheaper by playing nice and teaming up with somebody(s).
And yet, this is the tone that several are often strike on this forum. Sandforce and OCZ are like a tick on Intel's back. It's all about maximizing profit.
flamenko
Senior member
There are actually a few sides involved in the question of Intels capability of developing such. We could first look back at their statements that they originially never intended to develop SSD controllers whatsoever but were not happy with initial offerings. This is supported a great deal by their reliance on the same controller which, easily, has become the most popular in the industry for availability and longevity.
On the other hand, we saw that Intel got caught with their pants down last fall when their SSD footprint was leaked and did not include a SATA 3 drive. As a result, they rushed out the 510 which all will probably admit was a very poor offering as we know now what that processor is capable of.
Intel has demonstrated in every fashion that they dont have the expertise in place and maybe even not the interest to develop SATA 3 processors on their own. The LSI purchase was unexpected by many and maybe even Intel. I wonder now if they will sit at their board tables and talk about bringing in the expertise or simply riding the backs of other controller companies.
On the other hand, we saw that Intel got caught with their pants down last fall when their SSD footprint was leaked and did not include a SATA 3 drive. As a result, they rushed out the 510 which all will probably admit was a very poor offering as we know now what that processor is capable of.
Intel has demonstrated in every fashion that they dont have the expertise in place and maybe even not the interest to develop SATA 3 processors on their own. The LSI purchase was unexpected by many and maybe even Intel. I wonder now if they will sit at their board tables and talk about bringing in the expertise or simply riding the backs of other controller companies.
Arachnotronic
Lifer
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