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Intel will introduce a new range of 313 series SSD drives to coincide with the upcoming launch of Ivy Bridge processors and chip sets, replacing he former 311 series.
The new 2.5-inch drives codenamed Hawley Creek will be thinner, at 7mm vs 9mm, and will move to the more modern 25nm SLC NAND flash. Other than that, the drives are based on the same Intel controller capable of 3Gb/s SATA.
The small capacity drives are designed are designed to compliment Intel’s Smart Response Technology caching system which will be more widely available in the upcoming Ivy Bridge 7-series chipsets. Today SRT is only in high-end chipsets where users would be more likely just to use a large capacity SSD instead.
Curiously Intel is to offer the 313 series in two capacities, 20GB and 24GB. It’s not currently known why the firm is to offer a second fractionally larger version, possibly it’s something to do with Windows 8.
The 20GB model will appear for around US$100. No doubt the benefits of SRT will be more widely discussed when 7-series motherboard arrive in the hands of reviewers.
