Leaked roadmaps from Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) have revealed that the company has big plans ahead for its solid state drives (SSD), with larger capacity SSDs chief among them. For one, the popular Intel X25-M range of SSDs will be replaced by a new model that comes in 160GB, 300GB and 600GB variants. As was the case previously, these new drives will make use of cheaper 25nm MLC NAND flash.

In turn, Intel's entry level SSD drive, the X25-V, will see its capacity bolstered from 40GB to 80GB, using the same MLC flash as the (new) X25-M. An entry-level SSD with capacities of 40GB and 80GB will also be arriving in Q1 2011, and will come in the form of a PCIE card.

On the enterprise front, it appears that Intel plans to switch from 50nm SLC flash to what the company terms "Enterprise Grade" MLC flash created by the 25nm process. The decision to drop the use of proven SLC flash is surprising, though is likely to be related to cost. However, it remains to be seen whether the MLC enhancements will match up with SLC's traditional performance superiority. These new enterprise-level drives will come in 100GB, 200GB and 400GB capacities, replacing earlier 32GB and 64GB ones.

For more on this story:
- check out the article at PC Authority
- check out the article at The Register

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