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  • djc208 - Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - link

    Is a SATA 2 SLC SRT setup going to be that much faster than a larger SATA 3 MLC SSD as a system drive for about the same price? Even if you don't include the regular HDD price into the equation you can get a decently sized MLC SSD for about the same price if you keep your eyes open.
  • MrSpadge - Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - link

    Or: Is a SATA 2 SLC SRT setup going to be that much faster than a larger SATA 3 MLC SSD as a cache?

    I'm using an Agility 3 60 GB for my SRT setup, works wonderfully for the entire HDD and I don't have to worry about which files to place where. After almost 1 year it's got 3 TB written on the clock.. so when ever I approach serious wear levels in a few years I can retire it and use it as system drive for some family member (all still on pure HDDs). And get something way more powerful for a fraction of the current cost of SDDs.
  • Alexvrb - Sunday, April 8, 2012 - link

    You must not like your family very much. In a few years, give them a worn-out failure-prone old Agility 3 60GB as a primary drive? Yeeouch.
  • aCuria - Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - link

    Usually, larger capacity SSDs also perform better but in this case the 24GB model actually has inferior Sequential and random read speeds. What's up with that?
  • Kristian Vättö - Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - link

    It's hard to say without knowing more about the 24GB drive but there must be something as the difference is so big. I'm sure this will be covered in our review.
  • Holly - Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - link

    I'd bet a beer that the controller has 5 channels, adding 6th chip makes it stumbling - mainly because controller firmware overhead to handle one channel being twice as big as the rest...

    It's just my guess though ;-)
  • Kristian Vättö - Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - link

    It's the same controller as in X25-M and 320 Series, i.e. a 10-channel design. I don't know if the controller can run in 6-channel mode though, so your logic might still be right :-)
  • Holly - Saturday, April 7, 2012 - link

    Guess I owe you a beer. Shout next time you are around Prague :-)
  • av911 - Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - link

    SATA vs. mSATA.
  • epobirs - Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - link

    So when are we going to see an mSATA unit for HTPC and mobile use? It's silly for a cache unit to be as big as a 2.5" drive and that bulk is holding things up. I realize it's early yet but I'm anxious. I built an SRT system last week and now I'm a believer. Very cost effective for the performance upgrade.
  • Insurgence - Wednesday, April 4, 2012 - link

    Here is the driver

    Intel 310 Series 80GB mSATA
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...

    and here is a board:

    Intel BOXDH61DLB3 LGA 1155 Intel H61
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N8...

    And those are not the only ones out there.
  • Einy0 - Saturday, April 7, 2012 - link

    I thought that you needed the Z68 chipset to enable SRT? Didn't Intel lock their other chipsets out of SRT?
  • Cr0nJ0b - Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - link

    Did Intel get the rights to brand the Apple logo on this or something? I just bought a 60GB for $1/GB AR...can this drive be that much better?
  • MrX8503 - Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - link

    SLC vs MLC

    http://www.supertalent.com/datasheets/SLC_vs_MLC%2...
  • punchdrunk - Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - link

    I struggle with the same question. I agree that SLC is more reliable and faster, but for a SRT cache drive I cannot see how buying the 313 makes any sense.

    For 140 I can get 24GB on SataII, but for 84 or less I can get a 64GB SataIII. The small size means things will be evicted from the cache compared to a 64GB drive, so I doubt that performance would be better with the 313. Plus if I am going to pay that much, I might as well buy a 120GB SSD and avoid caching altogether.
  • Drizzt321 - Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - link

    Any news on any full size mSATA drives coming? Like maybe with the new Intel controller from a few months back? I really want to add one to my laptop (supports mSATA), but I want higher than the 80GB one from Intel that they currently offer. Ideally I'd have 120+GB so I can use the SSD for my apps, plus current photos I'm editing, and offload the rest of the photos I've already done some work on, but still need on my laptop to the 2.5" mechanical disk.
  • MrX8503 - Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - link

    There's not much room on the PCB for a high capacity mSATA drive. You'll have to make due with a full size SSD for now.
  • Kristian Vättö - Tuesday, April 3, 2012 - link

    There is a 120GB mSATA SSD from OCZ. Not SATA 6Gb/s though.

    mSATA hasn't gotten much air under its wings lately. There's a lot potential but so far it seems to be more limited to OEM market.
  • kyuu - Wednesday, April 4, 2012 - link

    I'm aware of the differences between SLC and MLC, and that SLC is necessarily more expensive per GB. Even so, I don't see the value in these products at all. For whom is getting a 20GB cache drive for $120 better than getting a 120GB SSD for $120?
  • wijer - Wednesday, April 4, 2012 - link

    I thought that usually manufacturers settle on a 8-channel controller, except Intel which for a long time preferred 10-channel, so is it the first time we see an SSD with a 5-channel controller ?

    Is it a new trend and will it have some influence on performance in the future ?
  • Kristian Vättö - Wednesday, April 4, 2012 - link

    The controller is the same 10-channel design as used in other Intel's SSDs. This time only 5 or 6 of the channels are in use though. It was the same case with 311 series.
  • wijer - Wednesday, April 4, 2012 - link

    I understand better, thank you for the clarification.
  • melgross - Thursday, April 5, 2012 - link

    I'm not sure I understand the point of these drives. What use today is there for such small units? Are these intended for embedded use in equipment, rather than in general purpose computing?
  • SlyNine - Saturday, April 7, 2012 - link

    Did you read the article?

    I don't know what to say, the whole thing is about SSD caching. That's why Intel built the 313 and that's what the entire article, and what everyone is talking about, is about.

    That's like looking at a jeep and asking, but aren't interstates paved?
  • melgross - Sunday, April 8, 2012 - link

    Yes, I read the article. I still don't see what real advantage these drives would be. Caching doesn't work very well, that's already been seen since it's been available. And the value of having this much cach available is debatable.
  • aurareturn - Thursday, April 5, 2012 - link

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007P71J9W/ref=as...
  • xismo - Wednesday, June 20, 2012 - link

    Would you be able to combine the 24 gb mSata with a SATA III SSD drive instead of a regular HDD? The new Zenbook Prime UX32VD has 24 gb but I'd really like to avoid using HDD altogether.
  • xismo - Wednesday, June 20, 2012 - link

    Would you be able to combine the 24 gb mSata with a SATA III SSD drive instead of a regular HDD? The new Zenbook Prime UX32VD has 24 gb but I'd really like to avoid using HDD altogether.
  • jdvorak - Wednesday, August 22, 2012 - link

    I, for one, would be interested in the results of the Anandtech.com standard (and very representative, IMO) set of benchmarks for this SSD.
  • jollyWitter - Wednesday, January 23, 2013 - link

    I have been running a 50gb OCZ Vertex LE (Limited Edition) mlc as my boot drive on windows 7 for almost 3 years, and I have been contemplating whether or not I should upgrade to a new boot drive. So lately I've been doing research trying to figure out what would be the best upgrade, and I have been looking to upgrade to an SLC such as the 313 series Hawley Creek to use SRT with a brand new mechanical HDD, but I have read that this SLC drive requires a z68 chipset or higher, and I have a p55 chipset on a p7p55d-e pro mobo, will the 313 series Hawley Creek SLC drive still work with my p55 chipset?

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