Intel 520-Series SSDs to Include SandForce Controller

With the launch of the high-performance Cherryville series of solid state drives Intel will continue the tradition started with its the 510-series SSDs and will use a third-party controller which will be built by SandForce, according to SoftPedia. The first rumors regarding Intel's plans to utilize SandForce controllers in their SSDs appeared quite some time ago.

The controller used by Intel for its 520-series solid state drives is similar to the one included in Corsair's or OCZ's SSDs.

If this report is indeed true, than Cherryville SSDs should be able to reach sequential read and write transfer rates in excess of 500MB/s, while the 4K random access performance should be rated at 85,000 IOPS.

This last number is quite a departure from the 40,000 IOPS detailed by previous reports which covered Intel's 520-series drives.

Intel designed the Cherryvile SSDs to spread the series in capacities when compared to the previous 510 Elm Crest drives, so the maximum capacity to be reached now is set at 480GB compared to the previous 250GB.

Furthermore, the Cherryville line of solid state drives will also witness the introduction of a lower 60GB model, which should be a great option for user seeking a fast boot drive for their system.

Intel's 520-series of SSDs is expected to reach retail until the end of this year, pricing is unknown.