The Intel 730 series SSDs, which are overclocked by default, should become available soon. Last year we reported about Intel SSDs that could be overclocked and we revealed some settings that would be available. Now the Chinese website Xfastest has leaked additional information on these drives and claims they should hit the stores anytime. The site shows screenshots of what appears to be an online retailer. The images reveal 240 GB and 480 GB drives in both OEM and regular versions.
According to Xfastest the sequential read speed is specified at 550 MB/s and sequential writes at 450 MB/s. Intel specifies 86,000 IOPS for 4k random reads and 68,000 IOPS for random writes. These speed are achieved using 20 nm MLC NAND and an Intel controller.
Both the NAND and the controller can be overclocked and Intel wil deliver the 730 SSDs overclocked by default (factory tuned as Intel calls it). According to Intel the performance of the drives would be increased with 50% and bandwidth with 20%. Overclocking should be possible using the Intel Extreme Tuning Utility.
The SSDs will be backed by a 5 year warranty, the 240 GB model should cost around €220 ($300) and the 480 GB model around €420 ($575)
