Intel to launch SSDs using 3D NAND technology in 2015

Shawn Knight

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intel nand 256gb storage ssd flash memory 3d nand

Intel has announced intentions to launch solid state drives based on its 3D NAND technology sometime during the second half of next year.

Developed in cooperation with flash memory specialist Micron, the tech stacks 32 planar layers which delivers 256Gb (32GB) of storage in a single MLC die. Pushing it even further, the 3D NAND can be packed with three bits per cell to end up with 385Gb (48GB) per die as noted by The Tech Report.

Senior vice president and general manager of the non-volatile memory group at Intel, Rob Crooke, said the technology will enable 10TB solid state drives within the next couple of years. On the mobile side, it’s possible to squeeze 1TB of storage into a form-factor that’s just two millimeters thick.

intel nand 256gb storage ssd flash memory 3d nand

3D NAND technology in general has been around for a few years at this point and is lauded for its ability to increase storage capacity while simultaneously reducing cost. The same is true with Intel’s solution as Crooke said it has a “breakthrough cost” but didn't delve into any specifics.

Interestingly enough, the executive hinted at the fact that Intel may not actually manufacture the 3D NAND itself. Crooke said they certainly have the ability to build it in-house but would only do so if it makes sense. I suspect that means it’s probably cheaper or in some other way more beneficial to have someone else do it.

While drives will be ready next year, we don’t yet know which market Intel plans to go after first (nor do they). Corporate clients, datacenters and PC enthusiasts are all at the top of the list, however.

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Samsung beat them to market with their 850 Pro which has the 3D NAND. Also, knowing how Intel likes to price their drives, I doubt they will sell very many.
 
Samsung beat them to market with their 850 Pro which has the 3D NAND. Also, knowing how Intel likes to price their drives, I doubt they will sell very many.
Yes, perhaps, but faced with the choice between an Intel drive and a Samsung one, who in their right mind would choose Samsung? First to market does not mean best and especially over the worlds most advanced, and largest manufacturer of micro chips? From what I've seen Intel's drives also generally tend to be much more durable. Perhaps Samsung may win the speed race, but as far as overall quality goes, I'm not convinced.
 
After I patched (since the boot after the patch) my 240GB Samsung EVO 840 due to the performance issues, boot time was affected negatively and it seems that many processes were delayed (for example the one that controls the fans): so only after a few seconds after log in, fans calm down and lower the noise, something that didn't happen before patching; they calmed down as soon as the user accounts were shown.

So... yeah, being first isn't all. And Micron isn't a noob in this area.
 
Samsung 840 SSD on laptop, 0 issues boot time 10-14 Secs Windows 7

240GB Evo on Gaming Machine 0 Issues, Boot time 5 secs with windows 8.1

no complaints for Samsung SSD
 
Samsung beat them to market with their 850 Pro which has the 3D NAND. Also, knowing how Intel likes to price their drives, I doubt they will sell very many.
Yes, perhaps, but faced with the choice between an Intel drive and a Samsung one, who in their right mind would choose Samsung? First to market does not mean best and especially over the worlds most advanced, and largest manufacturer of micro chips? From what I've seen Intel's drives also generally tend to be much more durable. Perhaps Samsung may win the speed race, but as far as overall quality goes, I'm not convinced.
I have had, and still use both Samsung and Intel SSD drives (ever since the 40 GB models). I have had no issues with either, and from my experience, I wouldn't pay a premium for Intel. Samsung's SSD's (3 x RAID) has worked flawlessly. Pricing on Intel is not justified.
 
Samsung beat them to market with their 850 Pro which has the 3D NAND. Also, knowing how Intel likes to price their drives, I doubt they will sell very many.
Yes, perhaps, but faced with the choice between an Intel drive and a Samsung one, who in their right mind would choose Samsung? First to market does not mean best and especially over the worlds most advanced, and largest manufacturer of micro chips? From what I've seen Intel's drives also generally tend to be much more durable. Perhaps Samsung may win the speed race, but as far as overall quality goes, I'm not convinced.

I don't think you have a very strong argument. The Warranty on the Samsung 850 Pro is 10 years. They could have probably continued offering Warranties of 5 years and I would have been "okay" with that. 10 years is just ridiculously awesome. So, Samsung is definitely standing behind its products.

Yeah, Intel is one of the most technologically advanced companies on planet earth. And they make awesome CPUs. But that doesn't necessarily mean that there SSDs will be superior. Saying that Intel's SSDs are more durable than Samsung doesn't make much sense in the context of a 10 year warranty. So you might wanna post some links or make some additional statements to make your case.

I would purchase a Samsung SSD in a heartbeat if I weren't such a cheap bastard. I have yet to pull the trigger on purchasing an SSD primarily because terabyte+ hard drives are so damn cheap and pretty reliable. Maybe more so at the point of failure so they are not as scary to me. But I hear SSDs are going to be dirt cheap this holiday season. Of course terabyte hard drives will be also. Decisions, decisions. So, this may be the year I purchase an SSD...or not!
 
Samsung beat them to market with their 850 Pro which has the 3D NAND. Also, knowing how Intel likes to price their drives, I doubt they will sell very many.
Yes, perhaps, but faced with the choice between an Intel drive and a Samsung one, who in their right mind would choose Samsung? First to market does not mean best and especially over the worlds most advanced, and largest manufacturer of micro chips? From what I've seen Intel's drives also generally tend to be much more durable. Perhaps Samsung may win the speed race, but as far as overall quality goes, I'm not convinced.

I dunno... Samsung has a ten year warranty on their Pro SSD's and they are very well rated. I'll tell you more when I finish building my new machine which has two of them in it.
 
Samsung beat them to market with their 850 Pro which has the 3D NAND. Also, knowing how Intel likes to price their drives, I doubt they will sell very many.
Yes, perhaps, but faced with the choice between an Intel drive and a Samsung one, who in their right mind would choose Samsung? First to market does not mean best and especially over the worlds most advanced, and largest manufacturer of micro chips? From what I've seen Intel's drives also generally tend to be much more durable. Perhaps Samsung may win the speed race, but as far as overall quality goes, I'm not convinced.

I don't think you have a very strong argument. The Warranty on the Samsung 850 Pro is 10 years. They could have probably continued offering Warranties of 5 years and I would have been "okay" with that. 10 years is just ridiculously awesome. So, Samsung is definitely standing behind its products.

Yeah, Intel is one of the most technologically advanced companies on planet earth. And they make awesome CPUs. But that doesn't necessarily mean that there SSDs will be superior. Saying that Intel's SSDs are more durable than Samsung doesn't make much sense in the context of a 10 year warranty. So you might wanna post some links or make some additional statements to make your case.

I would purchase a Samsung SSD in a heartbeat if I weren't such a cheap bastard. I have yet to pull the trigger on purchasing an SSD primarily because terabyte+ hard drives are so damn cheap and pretty reliable. Maybe more so at the point of failure so they are not as scary to me. But I hear SSDs are going to be dirt cheap this holiday season. Of course terabyte hard drives will be also. Decisions, decisions. So, this may be the year I purchase an SSD...or not!

Granted Intel is technologically sophisticated, but Samsung is no slouch either! They make a lot of phones, TVs, chips, et al. For finished products that USE chips they produce a lot more stuff than Intel does. We shall see. This cannot be a "bad thing" no matter how you look at it. It can only mean the price of SSD drives will go down, and rather quickly I would wager. I know it's not the same technology, but look at the increase in huge capacity thumb drives and their prices. Remember what those things used to cost? Once something goes mainstream things happen fast.
 
Samsung is currently best in class with the 840 Pro Series, and the 3D-based 850 Pro Series. They also manufacture the complete solution from NAND to their multi-core controller.

Intel has up to now been and mid to low end also ran in this space. They actually toyed with overclocking their SSDs and even then, could not meet Samsung's performance of their Pro series. Intel will compete in this space on price. They are not in Samsung's class on performance or quality when it comes to SSDs. That's the reality.
 
As I'm reading this I remember my first hard drive. It was an Apple 5 MB and we swore we would never need anything bigger! Of course that was 30+ years ago. I must say I won't be at all surprised to see a PC based tereflop (sp?) drive before I'm gone .... I'm just going to have to work a lot harder to find enough crap to put on it!!!!
 
As I'm reading this I remember my first hard drive. It was an Apple 5 MB and we swore we would never need anything bigger! Of course that was 30+ years ago. I must say I won't be at all surprised to see a PC based tereflop (sp?) drive before I'm gone .... I'm just going to have to work a lot harder to find enough crap to put on it!!!!

Yes, they DO have 1 terabyte SSD drives, though they don't operate in the teraflop speed category.

You know, while we're on the subject... in my new build currently under way, I splurged and bit on a couple of 1TB SSD drives from Samsung. One was an 840 EVO which I got on sale, and then a few days later saw the newer 850 PRO on sale as well (Thanks TechSpot for the reviews you had on both drives). They are not cheap even at the reduced prices, but along with the Asus Rampage V motherboard and 16gig of DDR4 2666 memory and the Intel i7 5930 processor, the system should be fast and "good enough" for a couple more years of gaming. I'm broke now, and I hope this thing works when I get it together, but I don't regret getting those drives. I'll just pull a couple of 1.5TB WD Black drives out of my old box to use as a backup just in case!

I do have a very understanding wife!
 
Let's hear is for the understanding wives! That's one of the reasons I got rid of the one I had 20 years ago ..... and have had money in the bank every since! LOL
 
Yeah... I agree with you: American made products respects your hard earned money...
 
Samsung drives have been very stable, reliable, fast and competitively priced. If the Intel is more $$ there is really no reason to choose them.
 
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