Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) has unveiled a new 710 series of multi-level cell-based solid-state drives that the company says offer far greater reliability than current MLC-based SSDs.

While MLC NAND flash memory costs only half that of the more reliable single-level cell, its inferior long-term reliability has meant that enterprise and data centers have generally steered away from them.

Built using 25-nanometer "compute-quality" MLC chips, the new 710 Series has more than 30 times the write endurance of current MLC-based SSDs, Intel says. According to ZDNet, this includes a form of RAID-5 redundancy achieved via firmware and the controller, as well as the use of High Endurance Technology, which uses error-correction code and tweaks to the NAND flash to extend the life of the drive.

Intel says the 710 Series is a replacement for its X25-E Extreme SSD, offering comparable reliability at greater affordability.

The Intel SSD 710 Series is available in capacities of 100GB, 200GB and 300GB, priced at $649, $1,289 and $1,929 respectively for quantities of a thousand units. The 3Gbps SATA drives are guaranteed by Intel for up to 1.5PB (petabyte) of writes over their lifetime and are backed by a 3-year limited warranty.

For more:
- check out the press release
- check out this article at eWeek
- check out this article at ZDNet

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