Average Bench: 74% (592nd of 1071)

more Based on 19,348 user benchmarks.  Models: INTEL SSDSC2CW120A3, INTEL SSDSC2BW120A3, INTEL SSDSC2CW120A3H, INTE SSDSC2CW120A3, INTEL SS DSC2CW120A3, INTEL SSDSC2CW12, INTEL SSDSC2CW120A

The Intel 520 Series was Intel's first SSD to feature a Sandforce 2281 controller. This controller has powered countless SSDs over the last three years but is now dated and is known to be limited in the area of incompressible write speed. The 120GB Intel 520 scored peak and average sequential read/write speeds of 514/157 and 421/133. These read speeds are good but the peak write of 157 MB/s lags the group leaders average of 313 MB/s by nearly 100%. This relative inability to write lowers the 520's overall effective speed to 403 MB/s or 15% lower than the 459 MB/s achieved by the group leaders. At two years of age the Intel 520 can no longer compete with newer drives, there is far better value available amongst the group leaders[Feb '14 SSDrivePro]

Good average bench

The Intel 520 Series 120GB averaged 25.9% lower than the peak scores attained by the group leaders. This isn't a great result which indicates that there are much faster alternatives on the comparison list.

Strengths

Avg. 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed 164MB/s
Avg. 4K Random Read Speed 32.1MB/s

Above average consistency

The range of scores (95th - 5th percentile) for the Intel 520 Series 120GB is 31.5%. This is a relatively narrow range which indicates that the Intel 520 Series 120GB performs reasonably consistently under varying real world conditions.

Weaknesses

Avg. Sustained Write Speed 133MB/s
Avg. Sequential Write Speed 156MB/s
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Average Bench

(Based on 19,348 samples)
Min Avg Max
307 Read 392 446
132 Write 156 179
188 Mixed 209 224
95.2 SusWrite 133 168
49.2% 222 MB/s
Min Avg Max
22.3 4K Read 32.1 39.6
41.4 4K Write 78.9 114
25.2 4K Mixed 36.4 45.5
137% 49.2 MB/s
Min Avg Max
136 DQ Read 217 239
119 DQ Write 150 169
83.2 DQ Mixed 164 191
128% 177 MB/s
User Benchmarks Bench Sequential Random 4k Deep queue 4k
The fastest SSD (mainstream) averages a speed of 100%
39GB free (System drive)
Firmware: 400i
SusWrite @10s intervals: 141 133 141 139 129 126 MB/s
Read 378
Write 159
Mixed 209
SusWrite 135
49% 220 MB/s
4K Read 31
4K Write 84.9
4K Mixed 38.8
142% 51.6 MB/s
DQ Read 237
DQ Write 161
DQ Mixed 182
141% 193 MB/s
104GB free
Firmware: 400i
SusWrite @10s intervals: 153 18 9.5 12 11 9.6 MB/s
Read 450
Write 162
Mixed 211
SusWrite 35.3
47% 215 MB/s
4K Read 35.6
4K Write 83.2
4K Mixed 38.9
148% 52.6 MB/s
DQ Read 237
DQ Write 163
DQ Mixed 176
138% 192 MB/s
112GB free
Firmware: 400i
SusWrite @10s intervals: 84 81 80 82 80 81 MB/s
Read 325
Write 155
Mixed 184
SusWrite 81.4
41% 186 MB/s
4K Read 24.8
4K Write 37.2
4K Mixed 26.9
92% 29.6 MB/s
DQ Read 231
DQ Write 129
DQ Mixed 156
122% 172 MB/s
19,348 MORE »

 Market Share (See Leaders)

The number of benchmark samples for this model as a percentage of all 65,445,621 SSDs tested.

 Prices

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MSRP ≈ $160 @ launch in Feb '12
AmazonUS $19918 mins
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Typical 520 Series 120GB Builds (Compare 18,241 builds) See popular component choices, score breakdowns and rankings.
Gaming
Gaming 2%
Tree trunk
Desktop
Desktop 61%
Destroyer
Workstation
Workstation 2%
Tree trunk

Disqualified System: bin bin

EDIT WITH CUSTOM PC BUILDER Value: 42% - Average Total price: $496

Popular 520 Series 120GB systems:

How Fast Is Your SSD? (Bench your build) Size up your PC in less than a minute.

Welcome to our freeware PC speed test tool. UserBenchmark will test your PC and compare the results to other users with the same components. You can quickly size up your PC, identify hardware problems and explore the best upgrades.

UserBenchmark of the month

How it works

  • - Download and run UserBenchmark.
  • - CPU tests include: integer, floating and string.
  • - GPU tests include: six 3D game simulations.
  • - Drive tests include: read, write, sustained write and mixed IO.
  • - RAM tests include: single/multi core bandwidth and latency.
  • - SkillBench (space shooter) tests user input accuracy.
  • - Reports are generated and presented on userbenchmark.com.
  • - Identify the strongest components in your PC.
  • - See speed test results from other users.
  • - Compare your components to the current market leaders.
  • - Explore your best upgrade options with a virtual PC build.
  • - Compare your in-game FPS to other users with your hardware.
Solid State Drive Rankings (Price vs Performance) March 2023 SSD Rankings.

Welcome to our 2.5" and M.2 SSD comparison. We calculate effective speed for both SATA and NVMe drives based on real world performance then adjust by current prices per GB to yield a value for money rating. Our calculated values are checked against thousands of individual user ratings. The customizable table below combines these factors to bring you the definitive list of top SSDs. [SSDrivePro]

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Group Test Results

  • Best user rated - User sentiment trumps benchmarks for this comparison.
  • Best value for money - Value for money is based on real world performance.
  • Fastest real world speed - Real World Speed measures performance for typical consumers.

 Comments

Controller: LSI SandForce SF2281. Flash Memory: Intel Synchronous 25nm MLC

Get fast, play fierce...

Added 9 years ago.

Poor

9 years ago.


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opinion?
1071 Drives (Compared) Thousands of user benchmarks compiled into one comparison list.

See how consistently different SSDs perform with varying real world conditions. The charts also illustrate overall performance, popularity and rank.

 Frequently Asked Questions

 Best User Rated

The Best.
CPUGPUSSD
Intel Core i5-13600K $315Nvidia RTX 3060-Ti $420Crucial MX500 250GB $31
Intel Core i5-12600K $194Nvidia RTX 3060 $365Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $106
Intel Core i5-12400F $155Nvidia RTX 4070-Ti $830Samsung 860 Evo 250GB $50
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $34Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $43SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $30Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $43SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $80G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $381SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16
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