Intel DC S3500 480GB SSD Review (Single & RAID)

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Real World Data Transfers

Real World Data Transfers

No matter how good a synthetic benchmark like IOMeter or PCMark is, it can not really tell you how the device will perform in “real world” situations. All of us here at Hardware Canucks strive to give you the best, most complete picture of a review item’s true capabilities and to this end we will be running timed data transfers to give you a general idea of how its performance relates to real life use. To help replicate worse case scenarios we will transfer a 10.00GB contiguous file and a folder containing 400 subfolders with a total 12,000 files varying in length from 200mb to 100kb (10.00 GB total).

Testing will include transfer to and transferring from the devices, using MS RichCopy and logging the performance of the drive.

Here is what we found.

The DC S3500 480GB once again posts some excellent read numbers, but the performance does noticeably drop off in write orientated tasks.

 

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Conclusion

Conclusion

As the SSD market evolves we are beginning to see lower prices slowly cascade down from the mass market into the enterprise and datacenter segments. The pace may have been slow but it has allowed technologies to be refined within less expensive mainstream products before making their debut in mission critical environments. Intel’s new DC S3500 exemplifies the push towards more affordable solid state storage and manages to be a nearly perfect drive for its intended audience.

There are many parallels which can be drawn between this new drive and Intel’s higher end and staggeringly expensive DC S3700. Both use the very capable X25 Gen3 controller and feature datacenter-centric features like Flush in Flight to ensure data continuity in every situation. Where they diverge is on the firmware and NAND levels with the DC S3500 using lower priced yet highly binned 20nm ONFi 2 modules. This allowed Intel to take a targeted approach to this drive, ensuring it would become a high performance yet practical and economical choice for enterprise consumers. Naturally, the native 256-bit encryption protocol and a 5 year warranty will also help things along in this area.

With that said, the DC S3500 is far from perfect and won’t be suited for all scenarios, nor does Intel expect it to be. In any situation which requires a compact installation alongside balanced performance between read and write bandwidth, the DC S3700 may end up being a better choice since it can accomplish more with less drives. That goes for write-heavy environments as well.

Where the DC S3500 truly shines is in situations where its read strengths can be leveraged to provide lightning quick data access. For cloud and web servers, VMware drives, simple workstations and other data replication uses, this is an excellent option which combines rock solid longevity with such an affordable initial cost.

Intel has really created something interesting here but it does fall slightly short of its ‘hard drive killer’ goal due to the DC S3500’s Total Drive Write rating and rather anemic write performance. The write performance may indeed be miles ahead of a 15K HDD, but by opting for 20nm MLC NAND Intel has left the door open for spindle-based drives to flourish in write heavy scenarios. On the surface a 275TB total drive write rating is more than adequate, but outside of mainly read-centric scenarios the low write endurance rating will be worrisome for a group of customers known for their ultra-conservative outlook on new technology. The end result merely a cleanly delivered uppercut instead of what could have been a knockout blow in the enterprise marketplace’s value segment.

To some reading this review, questions will be raised as to whether Intel just opened up a pandora's box by blurring the lines between enterprise and high end consumer SSD markets. Truth be told, nothing will really change for the enthusiast SSD market since the DC S3500 is too narrowly focused on read performance to be a good fit for most desktops. Many of today's mid-tier drives will outperform it -sometimes by a significant margin- and offer endurance that's well tailored to intensive home use. Certain users may appreciate the longevity and data security being offered here but gamers should look elsewhere.

It may not be a hard drive killer, but inside its rather narrow performance window, the DC S3500 will provide Enterprise users with excellent performance, low power consumption and a small heat signature, particularly when placed in a RAID array. While it may not be as powerful or flexible as its DC S3700 counterpart, for value minded clients searching out additional bandwidth in read centric tasks, the DC S3500 will prove to be a highly competitive option.