Intel SSD 335 Series 240GB Review

Intel’s 520 series SSD is one of the fastest solid state drives that we’ve tested to date. But all this performance does come at a price, and even for enthusiasts, it’s quite a steep buy. In order to fulfill the need for cheaper, high-performance SSDs, Intel has now launched the new 335 series that uses the smaller 20nm NAND flash memory. This not only makes it cheaper to produce, but Intel has also managed to keep the read and write speeds as close to the 520 series as possible. 

Design and features
The SSD comes in the typical Intel packaging, which includes a SATA 6Gbps cable, a SATA to Molex power cable, instruction manual and 3.5-inch bracket for installing it in a desktop. The SSD itself looks exactly the same as the 520 Series from the outside, and the chassis is constructed out of lightweight aluminium.

Comes with a decent bundle

The 335 Series uses the same SandForce SF-2281 controller as the higher-end series. Intel claims a theoretical sequential read speed of 500MB/s and a write speed of 450MB/s. The 335 series is only available in one capacity as of now and that’s 240GB. The 335 Series also happens to be the first consumer-based SSD to be manufactured using the 20nm Intel NAND flash memory. This results in a considerably low power draw compared to the SSD 520 Series. The drive now idles at 275mW and when active, draws up to 350mW. That’s a drop of around 58 percent compared to the 520 Series, which is very good for those looking to keep the power draw at an all-time low. The reduction in price also comes at the cost of warranty, as the 335 Series comes with a 3-year warranty instead of 5.

The SATA 6Gbps interface

Testbench

• Processor: Intel Core i7-2600k
• Memory: 8GB G.Skill DDR3-1866
• Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z77X-UD5H
• Graphics card: AMD Radeon HD 6870
• Power supply: Corsair Silent Pro Gold 800W
• OS: Windows 7 Ultimate, 64-bit

Performance
Once connected to a 6Gbps SATA port, the SSD 335 reported strong numbers across the board. Starting off with the synthetic tests, HD Tach gave us a score of 414MB/s as the read speed, which is even faster than the 520 series we tested a while back. CrystalDiskMark also reported strong numbers of 502MB/s for sequential read and 341MB/s for the write speed. What was really interesting was the real world read and write speeds, which once again managed to outperform the high-end 520 series SSD. In the write test, we got a speed of 348MB/s for a single file and 330.8MB/s for multiple files. Read speeds were also solid across the board with a sequential speed of 447.3MB/s and multiple file copy speed of 403.03MB/s

Solid performance across the board

Overall, we were really impressed with the read and write speeds of the drive considering the cost of the drive.

Verdict and Price in India
Intel has priced its latest SSD 335 Series at Rs10,700 plus taxes for 240GB. This is very good pricing on Intel’s part given the performance it offers and the capacity of the drive. You’ll usually find 120GB SSDs at this price point and with much lower performance, so the SSD 335 makes for a very tempting buy.