The 330 Series is one of the most affordable solid state drives from Intel. It is the SATA III version of the 320 Series which means it offer higher 
sequential speeds and IOPS. The drive is rated at 500 MB/s for read and 450 MB/s for write with IOPS of 22,500 and 33,000 for random 4k reads and writes respectively. Capacities for the 330 series are 60 GB, 120 GB and 180 GB.
Costs were slash because of the use of 3,000 P/E NAND modules, an obvious lesser version of the 5,000 P/E NANDs used by other Intel SSDs. Firmware provisions should be able to address some issues as a result of using such type of Flash module. The 330 series comes with a three-year warranty.
As for the performance difference between the 330 and the 520 series, they are quite small; both drives use Intel’s own variety of the SandForce SF-2281 controller and are therefore equal besides the lower-end NAND used in the 330. Unlike the 520 SSD, which is also targeted at enterprise users, the 330 series is intended for consumers.
Specifications:
- Sequential Read: Up to 500 MB/second
- Sequential Write: Up to 450 MB/second
- NAND type: MLC (25nm)
- Interface: SATA 3
- Controller: SandForce SF-2281
- Form Factor: 2.5 inch
- DRAM Cache: N/A
- Power Consumption (Active): N/A
- Power Consumption (Idle): N/A
- TRIM support: Yes
- SMART support: Yes
Price Comparison:
Reviews:
In the end it’s good to see Intel playing aggressively on price. The 330 is likely one of the best SandForce drives on the market, and not having to pay a premium for it is pretty awesome.
The Intel SSD 330 delivers on Intel’s plan to expand their mainstream SSD offering with a much more competitive drive than what they had to offer with the SSD 320. Even with current street pricing the SSD 330 is appealing, and the value proposition will only get better with time. For those looking for an SSD that’s reliable and won’t break the bank, the SSD 330 is a great option.
The SSD 330 is an impressive product. It bests the mainstream SandForce-based offerings it was seemingly designed to slay. But because Intel’s pricing again appears off (the same thing happened when it launched SSD 520), it finds itself going up against higher-end models. Until Intel gets more price-competitive, it may find it difficult to sell the SSD 330 to first-time buyers craving the famed performance of a solid-state drive, and eager to get a good deal.
RegHardware
Intel has pitched the 120GB 330 SSD into the most competitive SSD market segment – covering 120GB/128GB capacities. While there are cheaper SSDs in this price range, many will re-assured by the Intel badge on the device alone. That said, the warranty has been pruned back to three years, which if you’re prepared to make the sacrifice, does enable higher capacities to be more affordable
The numbers speak for themselves – two Intel 330 SSDs in RAID 0 over an integrated RAID controller perform very well.
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