Intel SSD 540 series with TLC NAND flash memory is out

With the introduction of the SSD 540, Intel rolled out a new nomenclature for its consumer solid state disks. It's a bit like the company's processor lineup, at the high-end you have the SSD 7 series with the highest performance and form factors like M.2 PCIe, U.2, and PCIe add-on card as well as support for the NVMe protocol, and one step lower you have the SSD 5 Pro lineup with 2.5" SATA 6Gbps and M.2 SATA-based products with fast MLC NAND flash memory.

Now Intel introduces a more cost-efficient SSD 5 series that uses TLC NAND flash memory. The Intel SSD 540 lineup comes in 7mm thick 2.5" disks and 80mm M.2 sticks with SATA 6Gbps interface.

Depending on the model, you get a maximum read speed of up to 560MB/s and a maximum write speed of up to 480MB/s. Intell ships its SSD 540 series in 180GB, 240GB, 360GB, 480GB and 1TB capacities.

Pricing is unknown but we do know that Intel offers a 5-year warranty on these disks, which should alleviate some of the concerns about the TLC NAND flash memory.



Source: TPU