28 - 03 - 2024
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INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

intel ssd 535 240gba

   Intel may be the leading manufacturer of high and ultra-high performance CPUs and mainboard chipsets as we speak (and has been for quite some time now) but they are also one of the most trusted SSD manufacturers around (although certainly not as popular as in the CPU market) with a global market share of around 23%. Now we all know that Intel gathers the spotlight each and every time they release a new CPU line (take the latest Core i7 68xx/69xx for example) but the same doesn't happen with their SSDs and that might just be one of the reasons they are just not as popular as with their CPUs. The most recent example of that is with the release of their 535 Series of SSDs (successor to their 530 Series) back in April of 2015 which as you may have figured out by now was not really advertised and thus just a few reviews made it online all over the world. Today we finally have a sample of our own to test and see just how it compares against many similar models currently available in the market.


   Intel pushes the boundaries of innovation so our work can make people's lives more exciting, fulfilling, and manageable. And our work never stops. We never stop looking for the next leap ahead—in technology, education, culture, manufacturing, and social responsibility. And we never stop striving to deliver solutions with greater benefits for everyone. It began with the Intel® microprocessor, the invention that sparked a revolution. Intel's history of developing groundbreaking technology continues today. We attract the most brilliant minds in science to push the boundaries of innovation and further our position as the world's leader in semiconductor technology. Our passion is to create technology that changes the world.


   Since the 535 Series of SSDs was launched as a slight upgrade to the 530 Series Intel didn't change much so once again under the hood we find an Intel BF29AS41BB0 8-channel NAND flash controller (basically an slightly tweaked Seagate/Avago/LSI SF-2281 controller) which offers several interesting features/technologies like NCQ (Native Command Queuing), RAISE (error correction, RAID like protection and recovery), DuraClass (advanced wear leveling and monitoring algorithms), DuraWrite (up to 20x or more the flash endurance compared to other controllers), DevSleep (ultra-low power consumption), AES 256 bit encryption, TRIM and intelligent garbage collection. What Intel changed from the 530 Series to the 535 Series was the NAND flash modules since whereas the 530 series had 20nm MLC NAND flash by SK Hynix the 535 Series has 16nm MLC NAND flash again by SK Hynix so although it's safe to assume that Intel followed this path to further reduce costs differences in performance should be very small (unfortunately since we never got our hands an 530 Series sample we can't do a direct comparison). The 535 Series is currently available in 56/120/180/240/360/480GB capacities and today we'll be checking out the 240GB model.

 



 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

featspecs

 



 

THE 535 SERIES 240GB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

intel ssd 535 240gb 01t

Although the Intel 535 Series is also available in a colorful retail box (as seen on the intro page) we received the "bulk" version which comes inside a plain cardboard box with a small sticker on which you can see the product serial number, factory rollout date, etc.

 

 

intel ssd 535 240gb 02t

As expected from a bulk package there's just the drive inside wrapped in a static-free bag.

 

 

intel ssd 535 240gb 03t

The 535 Series is yet another typical 7mm thick SSD.

 

 

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On a large sticker at the bottom of the drive Intel has placed the drives installed firmware version, barcodes, serial number, country of manufacture, factory roll out date, capacity and several certification logos (the corrosion issue of the aluminum base we've seen with every SSD by Intel to date still exists).

 

 

intel ssd 535 240gb 05t

The typical SATA power and data ports are located at the rear of the drive.

 

 

intel ssd 535 240gb 06t

Opening the enclosure is very easy since once again Intel has used just 4 Philips screws. So on the top side of the PCB we find 8 NAND flash packages by SKhynix and the Intel BF29AS41BB0 controller.

 

 

intel ssd 535 240gb 07t

On the opposite side we see 8 more NAND flash packages (16 in total on both sides each 16GB in capacity).

 



 

SOLID-STATE DRIVE TOOLBOX

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

pro1t

If you want more control over the 535 Series you will need to download the latest version of the SSD Toolbox. Once you launch it the main screen will inform you of the remaining capacity on the drive and the drive health and remaining life (you can also access SMART info from here).

 

 

pro2t

You can enable the TRIM command of the drive manually (Intel recommends doing so once a week) via the optimizer tab.

 

 

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Intel has also placed two diagnostics in this software so i do suggest running both at least once a month especially if you plan on storing critical data on the drive.

 

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The secure erase feature can be extremely useful in case you decide to sell the drive or transfer it onto another system.

 

 

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Instead of searching online for a new firmware you will need to search for new versions of the SSD toolbox since it's contained inside.

 

 

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Finally the system tuner lets you finetune some system services which are not ment for use with SSDs.

 



 

TEST BED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

cpuz3930ksystem

 

TESTING METHODOLOGY

 

   After roughly 8 years of testing sold state drives i have concluded that it's almost impossible for any single benchmark suite to accurately measure their performance and that's why in certain benchmark suites we see amazing read/write performance numbers with some drives while in others things are quite different. The reason behind this is that some benchmarking suites are configured to read and write random chunks of data while others read and write constant (sequential) ones. So that's why i always use a very wide selection of benchmarking suites including AIDA64, HD Tach RW, HD Tune Pro, Crystal Disk Mark, Sisoftware Sandra Pro, AS SSD, IOmeter and ATTO. To get the most accurate results each test gets repeated a total of 6 times with the average performance numbers recorded into our charts. Also as of February 25th 2015 our results will also include the Storage Networking Industry Association’s (SNIA) IOMeter tests. These tests include a 12 Hour write test used to “simulate” performance degradation over time and a mixed workload test which basically shows what you can expect when using an SSD continuously for roughly two hours. Unfortunately due to the time required for these tests we repeat them a total of 3 times and not 6 as the above.


   Many people have made inquiries about our charts in the past so once again please do keep in mind that the Charts have the average performance numbers of each drive recorded and not the peak (highest) ones. Also although every single one of these programs can help potential buyers choose the right drive for their needs you should also remember that from any kind of benchmark up to real world usage the gap is not small (and usually most differences will go unnoticed by most people). All tests were performed in a fresh Windows 7 Ultimate x64 installation with every update installed up to June 16th 2016.

 



 

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

aida64atto

 



 

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

hdtachrwhdtunepro

 



 

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA PRO / CRYSTAL DISK MARK X64

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sandraprocrystal

 



 

TEST RESULTS – AS SSD / IOMETER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

as ssdiometer4krw

 



 

TEST RESULTS – IOMETER SNIA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

iometermixediometer12hriometer12hrgrapht

 



 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

intel ssd 535 240gbb

   When SandForce released the SF-2281 8-channel NAND flash controller roughly 6 years ago they took the market by storm not only because of its very high read/write performance but also due to its durability numbers compared to the competition. However that was back then so today one would think that there’s little to no reason for any manufacturer to use this controller in a SSD. Judging by our charts however the 535 Series does extremely well and although I don’t know if this is due to firmware tweaks performed by Intel or because of the 16nm NAND by SKhynix the result remains the same. Of course the 535 Series can’t compete with the high-end SATA models in the market today but it can take head on low/mid-end models and for a product based on a 6+ year old NAND flash controller that’s really something. As for the SSD Toolbox well it’s not the first time we’ve seen it and just like in the past it offers more settings when compared to other similar software so that’s also a plus.


   The Intel 535 Series 240GB SSD currently retails for USD97.90 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 90Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) so in terms of price I’d say it does ok. The problem is that Intel just launched the 540 Series of SSDs at around the same price point (actually roughly 10% cheaper) and so it could be worth taking a closer look to see which of the two is better (naturally the 540 should be an improved version but without checking it out we can’t say for sure). At the end of the day the sole problem with the 535 Series 240GB SSD is that it’s based on a 6+ year old controller but if you don’t care about such things and you only look at endurance and performance (although obviously not the fastest SATA SSD in the market) you will not be disappointed and that’s why it gets our Golden Award.

gold

PROS


- Build Quality
- Read & Write Performance
- Feature Set
- 1.2 Milion Hours MTBF
- Also Available In 56GB
- 5 Year Warranty

 

CONS


- SandForce SF-2281 Controller (6+ Years Old)
- Only Available Up To 480GB