1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:07,680 Today I'll be doing a quick unboxing of something that looks quite plain and 2 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:11,519 ordinary on the outside, but is actually 3 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:14,799 a pretty sweet product. So today we have 4 00:00:11,519 --> 00:00:16,800 the Intel SSD 320. I have only one 5 00:00:14,799 --> 00:00:22,320 capacity, although it does come in a variety of capacities including 40 gig, 6 00:00:19,039 --> 00:00:27,920 80 gig, 120 gig, 160 gig, 300 gig, and 7 00:00:22,320 --> 00:00:32,320 even 600 GB of total capacity. Now, the 8 00:00:27,920 --> 00:00:36,800 SSD 320 is not meant to be a performance 9 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:38,960 king successor to the Intel 510 series 10 00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:43,440 drive that was just released. No, rather this is meant to be a value segment 11 00:00:40,719 --> 00:00:49,920 part. So unlike the 510 which does not use 25 nanometer flash for higher 12 00:00:45,840 --> 00:00:52,000 densities, the SSD 320 does. Okay, so it 13 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:55,600 uses higher density flash. It doesn't use as advanced a controller as some of 14 00:00:54,000 --> 00:01:00,160 the other drives on the market. So it doesn't do any uh data compression while 15 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:04,720 it's reading and writing for example which means that it does not offer the 16 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:08,560 same performance but it should offer outstanding reliability as we've come to 17 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:16,240 expect from Intel products of all sorts be it motherboards CPUs and now SSDs and 18 00:01:12,880 --> 00:01:18,640 should offer a good price toerformance 19 00:01:16,240 --> 00:01:23,360 ratio. Now, performance is a little bit better than Sanforce 20 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:29,439 uh than the older last generation Sanforce drives using the Sanforce 1200 21 00:01:26,080 --> 00:01:31,840 controller, but it is not up to par with 22 00:01:29,439 --> 00:01:38,880 something like a 510 or with a newer Sanforce 2281 23 00:01:34,159 --> 00:01:40,240 controller SSD drive. 24 00:01:38,880 --> 00:01:44,400 All right, so the first thing we find inside is an installation guide designed 25 00:01:42,479 --> 00:01:47,280 for easy installation. They can be quickly incorporated into a computer. 26 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:53,280 Getting started, handling precautions and installation instructions. 27 00:01:50,079 --> 00:01:56,720 Very nice. Ooh, speed demon sticker. And 28 00:01:53,280 --> 00:02:00,399 shiny, too. 29 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:04,399 Yes, SSDs are fast. Even this a 30 00:02:00,399 --> 00:02:06,159 mainstream SSD is really faking fast. It 31 00:02:04,399 --> 00:02:09,039 uses a SATA 2 controller, which means that it doesn't have the benefit. Oh, it 32 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:13,440 doesn't include a 2 and 1 half to 3 and 1/2 in adapter. So you'll need to buy one if you're going to install it in a 33 00:02:11,599 --> 00:02:19,440 desktop and you don't have a case that natively supports 2 and 12 in drives. So 34 00:02:16,319 --> 00:02:21,360 while it is a mainstream drive, remember 35 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:26,239 it was only last gener the last generation of products where the Vertex 36 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:31,040 2 reigned supreme and this is faster than a Vert.ex 2. So we're only one 37 00:02:28,400 --> 00:02:35,360 generation behind the high performance parts in terms of performance on this 38 00:02:33,360 --> 00:02:38,319 mainstream part. So the drive looks pretty typical. This looks pretty much 39 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:41,599 Oh, this is kind of interesting actually. Check this out. So, compared 40 00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:46,720 to the You know what? I actually have a 510 handy. I apologize for the uh state 41 00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:50,959 of my workbench here right now. But there's my 510 with kind of a goldy 42 00:02:49,360 --> 00:02:56,480 finish on it on my test bench. You see that? Okay. So, look at the 510. Now, 43 00:02:53,200 --> 00:02:59,040 look at the 320. So, the 320 brings back 44 00:02:56,480 --> 00:03:03,280 this little plastic piece here, which increases the compatibility of this 45 00:03:01,120 --> 00:03:08,560 drive. So you can install it even in notebooks that require a slim 2 and 1/2 46 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:12,640 in profile just by taking out the four screws which are not marked with 47 00:03:09,920 --> 00:03:15,840 warranty void if remove tabs. You just take those four out, take off this 48 00:03:14,239 --> 00:03:19,519 plastic piece and put the four screws back in. And now all of a sudden you 49 00:03:17,680 --> 00:03:24,319 have a slimmer profile drive. So this spacer here is so that it'll also 50 00:03:21,440 --> 00:03:27,760 install easily in computers that do not require the slimmer drive. So on the 51 00:03:26,159 --> 00:03:34,239 front you'll find information like the part number. Basically, think of this, 52 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:37,040 you guys, as an X25M Gen 2 refresh. So, 53 00:03:34,239 --> 00:03:43,760 think of it as X25M Gen 3. It's still SATA 2. It's still a performance drive 54 00:03:40,000 --> 00:03:45,760 by all means, but it is not necessarily 55 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:50,000 meant to be the performance crown holder. Okay, Intel's own products 56 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:53,680 actually eclipse it in terms of performance. Remember, the 510 series 57 00:03:52,239 --> 00:03:59,200 not only features a more advanced controller, but also SATA 3 and 34nm 58 00:03:57,519 --> 00:04:04,239 flash, which does not provide the same densities as 25 nmter, but in general 59 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:07,760 does perform better at this time. So, here we go. We've got our standard SATA 60 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:11,280 power interface, as well as our SATA 2 data interface. All the mounting holes 61 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:15,599 that we've come to expect are here with two on the side here, two on the side 62 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:20,560 here, and four on the bottom. Thank you for checking out my unboxing of the 63 00:04:17,199 --> 00:04:22,079 Intel SSD 320 series drive. Don't forget 64 00:04:20,560 --> 00:04:26,400 to subscribe to Linus Tech Tips for more unboxings, reviews, and other computer 65 00:04:23,600 --> 00:04:26,400 videos.