Intel Intros New Ultra-Compact 310 SSD Series

Intel's new line of SSDs offers X25 performance at one-eighth the size.

Wednesday Intel announced the release of its ultra-compact 310 Series of SSDs. The new line promises X25-performance at just one-eighth the size, measuring a mere 51-mm by 30-mm and only 5-mm thick. The drives also weigh just 10 grams, making them ideal for dual-drive notebooks and AIO desktops, single-drive tablets and low-power, rugged embedded industrial or military applications.

According to the company, the Intel SSD 310 Series contains 34-nm Intel NAND flash memory in 40 GB and 80 GB capacities using the same 10-channel controller architecture found in Intel's X25-M SATA SSD series. The new line also uses an m-SATA form factor, supporting SATA signals over a PCIe mini-connector.

On the bandwidth front, the 40 GB model offers sustained sequential reads of up to 170 MB/s and sustained sequential writes of up to 35 MB/s. The 80 GB model is slightly faster, providing sustained sequential reads of up to 200 MB/s and sustained sequential writes of up to 70 MB/s. Both have a read latency of 65 microseconds however the 40 GB has a write latency of 110 microseconds and the 80 GB with 75 microseconds.

"The Intel SSD 310 Series is the first in a wave of SSD products we will introduce throughout the next year," said Tom Rampone, Intel vice president and general manager of Intel’s NAND Solutions Group. "With this introduction, Intel is offering full SSD performance in a compact, ultra-small form factor."

Intel said that the new SSDs are already shipping to customers, costing $99 for the 40 GB model and $179 for the 80 GB model, both in 1,000-unit quantities.