Intel 330 Series Solid-State Drive 180 GB SATA 6 Gb/s 2.5-Inch - SSDSC2CT180A3K5

by Intel

• Capacity: 180GB
• Interface: SATA 3
• NAND Flash: MLC
• Random 8GB Read: up to 42,000 IOPS
• Random 8GB Write: up to 52,000 IOPS

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 5.7 x 4.7 x 1.8 inches ; 2.9 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B007P71JJM
• Item model number: SSDSC2CT180A3K5
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (150 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 2, 2012

Product Description

Size: 180 GB

Intel 330 Series SSDSC2CT180A3K5 2.5 inch 180GB SATA3 Solid State Drive (MLC)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 55 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Choice May 26, 2012

By Brian Foreman

Size Name:60 GB|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have used various SSD drives but have always been happiest with Intel. These drives are astonishingly fast, and also include the mounting bracket you'll need to adapt them to a 3.5" bay (consider that worth about $13 when you're bargain-shopping against cheaper brands).

Installation could not be easier: connect power and a SATA cable (ideally to a 6GB/sec port, and no, you don't need a special cable for 6GB/sec) and you're done. After you've installed your Operating System (you ARE buying this to be your boot drive, right?), visit Intel's website for their SSD Toolbox software. This will properly configure certain Windows features (like Superfetch, Prefetch, Defrag and Trim) to optimize your SSD's functionality and keep it running smoothly for you.

With Windows 7 64-bit and all its updates installed, plus Microsoft Office Home & Business, I have used only 35GB of my 60GB drive, leaving plenty of room for other software. (Note: if you do the same thing and end up with less spare room, research "hibernate mode" for one potential reason. Also, if you are going to have more than 8GB of RAM installed, your Windows pagefile may need to be bigger than mine and take more room also. In short, your mileage may vary, but for most people, this drive is plenty big as long as you have a large second drive on which to store files.)

I have a large 1TB hard-drive for bulk storage, and with my Intel motherboard (check my other reviews) I get boot times of around 18 seconds---very nice (your boot-time mileage may vary, mostly based on whether or not your motherboard enables you to disable most of the Power-On Self Test functions or not). Two of these striped into a RAID 0 configuration will give you double the storage and even better throughput; for the rest of us, one of these is enough to make us very happy!

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Debated for 6months on if I should buy SSD or not. Why did I wait so long? May 14, 2012

By VXV

Size Name:120 GB|Amazon Verified Purchase

Not sure why I waited, maybe I psyched myself out, thinking I wouldn't like it.

What I was afraid of:

-Having to rewipe and start over losing an entire evening in updates. (Reality: Took me under an hour to install, load OS, do all the Win7 updates and move folders over from old drive)
-I wouldn't notice that much of a difference. (Reality: Bootup time under 15s, browsing speed faster, loading of all my games about 20% faster)

Things I didn't expect:

-Processor/case temps dropped slightly.

I'm very pleased so far with this drive. I'm considering now getting another for my notebook where I feel I'd get better battery life and faster performance.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Drives May 25, 2012

By robotman321

Size Name:120 GB|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm running two of these in a RAID0.. Windows Loads so fast that it beats out the loading audio to the start screen.. it's amazing, installing applications.. well.. let's just say I blinked a few times and it was done.. these are truly amazing drives.

I will recommend these to everyone that asks, the sheer speed that they bring to the table will blow you away.. Couple these with a set of GeForce 560's (like I have) and prepare to never leave your computer..

I'll post a followup in a year with the performance updates with time..