discussion Intel 525 Series 120GB & 180GB mSATA SSD Review

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SATA 2 Performance

SATA 2 Performance

In a perfect world everyone investing in a new solid state drive would have access to a SATA 6GB/s controller which could pass on the TRIM command. In reality not everyone has this and for many the decision comes down either giving up TRIM – never a good idea with most controllers – and running it off a secondary controller; or taking a performance hit and running in SATA 2.0 mode.

These tests will consist of some of our real world and synthetic benchmarks run on our standard 1155 test-bed; but the drive will be attached to an SATA 2 port.

For synthetic we have opted for the newcomer to our charts: Anvil Storage Utilities Pro. For real world we have opted for our Adobe test. These two tests should give you a very good idea of the level of performance impact you can expect from running a modern SATA 6 drive in compatibility mode.

As expected there is a noticeable drop in performance from running either the 120GB or 180GB 525 Series drive in SATA 2.0 compatibility mode. This is par for the course and once again these mSSDs acts more like a mainstream ‘full sized’ 2.5” form factor SSD rather than a small form factor mSATA drive.

 

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Conclusion

Conclusion

With the ever increasing popularity of small form factor devices such as Ultrabook and mini desktop PCs, Intel has a potentially huge market for their 525 Series mSATA SSDs. And with good reason. These new drives may never be able to compete in the price per GB arena with more popular 2.5” models but from performance to longevity, they still offer something for everyone.

It may sound obvious, but the reason for the 525 Series’ inevitable success is simple: Intel combined high-quality NAND with a good controller and used a heavily optimized firmware stack. In many ways, this product range is simply a miniaturized 520 Series which has been updated and modified to fit into the mSATA form factor. The approach may not be unique, but Intel has nonetheless created a class-leading product, one which will surely resonate with system integrators and home users alike.

While we do wish we have seen a change from SF2281 to Intel’s latest controller, it is hard to argue with the results. The overall performance of both the 120GB and 180GB versions really does belie their small stature, acting more like mainstream and upper level desktop SSDs rather than products destined for the thin and light mobile market. They were literally unstoppable in our tests, even though the 180GB version slightly polled behind it little brother in the partial and full drive benchmarks.

The only area in which the 525 Series is noticeably inferior to the desktop 520 Series is in the warranty department. Unlike other 5 series drive which comes equipped with five years of Intel’s iron clad coverage, the mobile version is saddled with a three year warranty. This is unfortunate and certainly needs to be taken into consideration before going down the 525 route.

Even with a three year warranty, the new 525 Series are excellent mSATA drives. If you are looking for one of the best mSATA upgrades available on the market today, either the 120GB or 180GB version deserves serious consideration. Currently, they’re almost impossible to beat from a performance per dollar perspective.