Intel DC P3520 Enterprise SSD Review

[Guest]

Intel designed the DC P3520 to revitalize its read-centric enterprise SSDs with 3D MLC NAND. The new series features a head-turning $0.55-per-GB.

Intel DC P3520 Enterprise SSD Review : Read more

 

[Game256]

Paul, Chris, any updates regarding possible release dates of Samsung 960 EVO/PRO? Have you received the samples already?

 

[DocBones]

Glad to see more u.2 formats, really dont like m.2 for desktops. That 2mm screw is a pain.

 

[Tom Griffin]

Am I am idiot but should this be on Tom's IT Pro? Aside from that the M.2 for an enterprise drive simply does not jive on current motherboards look at PCIe lane allocation. 4x lanes one drive even the high end CPUs with 40 lanes will choke with more than 4.

 

[bit_user]

this be on Tom's IT Pro?

You might be right, but I'm glad it's not. It represents superb read-oriented SSD performance. Especially for the price.

Aside from that the M.2 for an enterprise drive

It's not M.2. They have PCIe add-in cards and U.2 form factors. M.2 wouldn't fly, due to the power dissipation, if not also the board area needed.

simply does not jive on current motherboards look at PCIe lane allocation. 4x lanes one drive even the high end CPUs with 40 lanes will choke with more than 4.

How many of these are you planning to use? This is for read-intensive workloads, so you'd hopefully just need one, which could be paired with cheaper storage for everything else. I guess at the high end, you might pack a machine full of them, but then you might have more than one CPU (which adds yet more PCIe lanes).

BTW, did you know that M.2 is a popular form factor for high-end desktop SSDs? It supports up to 4-lanes. So, it would seem that some people think such performance is worth the resource footprint.

 

[bit_user]

The P3520 actually takes a step back on the performance front in comparison to the previous-generation DC P3500, which featured up to 430,000/28,000 read/write IOPS.

Given the deals out there to be had, the real star of the show is the DC P3500. If you can live with the lower endurance than the P3520, it offers a compelling alternative to the 750-series. Here's how they compare:

http://ark.intel.com/compare/86740,82846

Update: snagged a 400 GB DC S3500 at $225. Price is now back up to $275. Worth keeping an eye on, if you're interested. Supposedly, a full-height bracket is included in the box. I'll update again, to confirm.

 

[bit_user]

I'm just interested in the read performance, but I noticed two pairs of images that are nearly identical. I loaded them in different tabs and flipped back and forth. The only difference seems to be whether the lines from different queue depths are connected.

http://media.bestofmicro.com/ext/aHR0cDovL21lZGlhLmJlc3RvZm1pY3JvLmNvbS9leHQvYUhSMGNEb3ZMMjFsWkdsaExtSmxjM1J2Wm0xcFkzSnZMbU52YlM5R0x6WXZOakV3T1RZeUwyOXlhV2RwYm1Gc0x6QXpMbkJ1Wnc9PS9yXzYwMHg0NTAucG5n/rc_400x300.png
http://media.bestofmicro.com/ext/aHR0cDovL21lZGlhLmJlc3RvZm1pY3JvLmNvbS9leHQvYUhSMGNEb3ZMMjFsWkdsaExtSmxjM1J2Wm0xcFkzSnZMbU52YlM5R0x6a3ZOakV3T1RZMUwyOXlhV2RwYm1Gc0x6QTBMbkJ1Wnc9PS9yXzYwMHg0NTAucG5n/rc_400x300.png

And:
http://media.bestofmicro.com/ext/aHR0cDovL21lZGlhLmJlc3RvZm1pY3JvLmNvbS9leHQvYUhSMGNEb3ZMMjFsWkdsaExtSmxjM1J2Wm0xcFkzSnZMbU52YlM5R0x6Y3ZOakV3T1RZekwyOXlhV2RwYm1Gc0x6QXhMbkJ1Wnc9PS9yXzYwMHg0NTAucG5n/rc_400x300.png
http://media.bestofmicro.com/ext/aHR0cDovL21lZGlhLmJlc3RvZm1pY3JvLmNvbS9leHQvYUhSMGNEb3ZMMjFsWkdsaExtSmxjM1J2Wm0xcFkzSnZMbU52YlM5R0x6Z3ZOakV3T1RZMEwyOXlhV2RwYm1Gc0x6QXlMbkJ1Wnc9PS9yXzYwMHg0NTAucG5n/rc_400x300.png

Not really a complaint - just an observation. As long as the data is accurate, no harm done.

Then, at the end of the read graphs, it seems like some AMD slides crept in? Oops?


BTW, the Latency vs. IOPS is now officially my second favorite SSD performance graph (after IOPS vs. queue depth, of course).