Intel Corp. has launched its first solid-state drive (SSD) that offers high-performance and improved reliability at an affordable price point. The new SSD does not provide truly high capacity, but are designed to speed up loading of modern operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows 7.

Intel X25-V SSD has capacity of 40GB and features sustained sequential read speed of up to 170MB/s and sustained sequential write speed of up to 35MB/s. Intel declares 65ms read latency, 110ms write latency, random 4KB reads of up to 25000 IOPS and random 4KB writes of up to 2500 IOPS. Performance of the X25-V is comparable to OCZ Technology Group’s Onyx SSD released last week, which will cost even less than $100.

Intel X25-V is based on multi-level cell NAND flash memory made using 34nm fabrication process as well as Intel’s controller feature 5-channel parallel architecture. The SSD supports Trim command for performance optimizations. The manufacturer declares 1.2 million hours mean time before failure (MTBF) for the drive.

"Adding the Intel X25-V to our existing family of high-performance SSDs gives our resellers a full range of high-performing, quality SSDs for notebook upgrades, dual-drive desktop set ups or embedded applications. SSD adoption continues to be one of the more exciting trends in personal computing, and this entry-level product enables users to enjoy the productivity and performance benefits of Intel SSDs at a new price point,” said Pete Hazen, director of marketing for the Intel NAND solutions group.

The release of Intel’s value-series solid-state drives marks the company’s entrance onto the market of mainstream storage. At $125, the new SSD has a chance to become much more popular than the company’s X25-M solid-state storage solutions that offer higher capacities, but come at a much higher price-point, which limits their addressable market to workstations used by professionals demanding ultimate performance.

Intel recommends adding an SSD option to current desktop PC in a dual-drive or "boot drive" set up. In a dual-drive configuration, the Intel X25-V SSD is added to a desktop with an existing hard disk drive. The SSD is loaded with the operating system and favorite applications to take advantage of the speedy performance which is nearly four times faster than a 7200RPM HDD, according to Intel.

The X25-V is priced at $125 for 1000-unit quantities and is currently stocked and available in worldwide distribution.

Tags: Intel, SSD, X25-V