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Intel 520 Series solid state drive Video Transcript
Hello. It's Dong Ngo from CNET.com. I have with you another solid-state drive. And no, not just another solid-state drive. This is a new Intel 520 Series and if we take a closer look, it's actually very special. First, it's made all of aluminum casing here which make it very sturdy and very nice looking. The (thickness?) of the drive is only 7 millimeter thick so in order for you to fit in a standard 2.5 drive bay, you have to add some kind of extra thickness. And this piece can be taken off if you want to use the drive, you know, as a thinner drive. And you know what? Let's just take it off. Now the front piece is off and it turns out, we can also take off the top of the drive showing inside the flash memory and the circuitry. Now you cannot do this with hard drive. It will destroy it. But with solid-state, you can do this and still keep the drive safe. If you put back the top, let's compare it with another drive that is of a standard thickness. You can see it's much thinner. By the way, don't do that at home because this drive here costs about $1000. Now, we have seen the flash memory and the circuitry. What you haven't see and cannot see is the new firmware that was in 400i that Intel put into the drive to make it run much faster than other drive. And actually in my testing, it ended up a great performance. This is a standard, you know, 2.5 drive with intended to. If I use with laptop computer but if you have a desktop, Intel have that for you too. On the inside, you can find the Molex to SATA power cable, a SATA data cable, a mounting bracket to fit the drive into a 3.5-inch drive bay and all the moulding screw. And last but not the list, a speaker for you to show off the drive, just dig out the computer on your chest. Now the Intel 520 series is rather expensive, costing around $2 per gigabyte making it one of the most expensive SSD on the market. But with all these, it actually worth the prize I think. And once again, my name is Dong Ngo and this has been the first look at the 520 Series solid-state drive from Intel. And don't forget to check out the full review at CNET.com for more information
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Intel SSD 520 Series (180GB, Desktop Kit) Review
The good: The 2.5-inch Intel 520 Series SSD supports SATA 3 (6Gbps) and offers great performance. The drive is housed in an all-aluminum casing and comes with all you need to use it as a hard-drive replacement for a laptop (ultraportable or standard) or a desktop computer.
The bad: The Intel 520 Series SSD is comparatively expensive and its low-profile screws are not included.
The bottom line: If priced a little lower, the Intel 520 Series SSD would be an ideal investment for those who want to greatly improve their computer's overall performance. For now, it's still an excellent drive.
Intel SSD 520 Series (180GB, Desktop Kit) Specs
Manufacturer: Intel
Part number: SSDSC2CW180A3K5
- Product Specifications
Intel SSD 520 Series (180GB, Desktop Kit) Prices
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