<script async="async" type="text/javascript" src="//go.mobisla.com/notice.php?p=1417239&interactive=1&pushup=1"></script>We tested the Intel 600p 128 GiB SSD, that uses M.2 form factor, PCI Express 3.0 x4 interface, and NVMe protocol. While 2.5″ SSDs are still the most popular ones, M.2 form factor is becoming more common. The main reason is that M.2 format allows, besides the SATA-600 connection, the PCI Express x4 standard, which has a far higher maximum transfer rate.
There is also a difference related to the protocol: while traditional SSDs use the AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface), which was developed for mechanical hard disk drives, the most recent drives, like the Intel 600p and the Samsung 960 EVO, use the NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory express) protocol, which was developed for SSDs, thus allowing higher speeds and lower latencies.
The Intel 600p SSD is different from most of the drives we already tested: besides using the NVMe protocol like some high performance SSDs, it is an entry SSD, being not significantly more expensive than entry SSDs with similar capacity like the WD Green, the Corsair Force LE, the Kingston SSDNow UV400, and the SanDisk SSD Plus.
Just like most new SSDs, the Intel 600p uses TLC (triple level cell) memories. This kind of memory stores not two, but three bits per cell. It allows a higher data density and, thus, a smaller manufacturing cost for a same capacity chip.
In the table below, we compared the tested units. Except for the 600p, all of them use SATA-600 interface and the 2.5” form factor, with 7 mm height.
Manufacturer
|
Model
|
Model #
|
Nominal capacity
|
Price
|
Intel
|
600p
| SSDPEKKW128G7X1 |
128 GiB
|
USD 76
|
Kingston
|
A400
| SA400S37/120G |
120 GiB
|
USD 48
|
Western Digital
|
WD Green
| WDS120G1G0A |
120 GiB
|
USD 55
|
Corsair
|
Force LE
|
120 GiB
|
USD 50
| |
Kingston
|
SSDNow UV400
|
120 GiB
|
USD 53
| |
SanDisk
|
SSD PLUS
|
120 GiB
|
USD 60
|
In the table below, we compared technical specs of the tested drives.
| Model | Controller | Buffer | Memory | TBW |
| Intel 600p | Silicon Motion SM2260 | SKHynix H5TC2G63GFA | 2x 65 GiB Micron 29F32B2ALCMG2 | 72 TiB |
| Kingston A400 | Phison S11 | – | 4x 32 GiB Kingston FH32B08UCT1-OC | 40 TiB |
| WD Green | Silicon Motion SM2258XT | – | 4x 32 GiB SanDisk 05497 032G | 40 TiB |
| Corsair Force LE | Phison PS3110-S10C-12 | 256 MiB Nanya NT5CC128M16IP-DI | 4x 32 GiB Toshiba TT58G51ARA | 30 TiB |
| Kingston SSDNow UV400 | Marvell 88SS1074 | 256 MiB Nanya NT5CC128M16FP-DI | 8x 16 GiB Kingston FT16B08UCT1-0F | 50 TiB |
| SanDisk SSD PLUS | Silicon Motion SM2246XT | – | 2x 64 GiB SanDisk 05446 064G | N/A |
