CONCLUSION

   When SandForce released the SF-2281 8-channel NAND flash controller roughly 6 years ago they took the market by storm not only because of its very high read/write performance but also due to its durability numbers compared to the competition. However that was back then so today one would think that there’s little to no reason for any manufacturer to use this controller in a SSD. Judging by our charts however the 535 Series does extremely well and although I don’t know if this is due to firmware tweaks performed by Intel or because of the 16nm NAND by SKhynix the result remains the same. Of course the 535 Series can’t compete with the high-end SATA models in the market today but it can take head on low/mid-end models and for a product based on a 6+ year old NAND flash controller that’s really something. As for the SSD Toolbox well it’s not the first time we’ve seen it and just like in the past it offers more settings when compared to other similar software so that’s also a plus.

   The Intel 535 Series 240GB SSD currently retails for USD97.90 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 90Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) so in terms of price I’d say it does ok. The problem is that Intel just launched the 540 Series of SSDs at around the same price point (actually roughly 10% cheaper) and so it could be worth taking a closer look to see which of the two is better (naturally the 540 should be an improved version but without checking it out we can’t say for sure). At the end of the day the sole problem with the 535 Series 240GB SSD is that it’s based on a 6+ year old controller but if you don’t care about such things and you only look at endurance and performance (although obviously not the fastest SATA SSD in the market) you will not be disappointed and that’s why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Read & Write Performance
- Feature Set
- 1.2 Milion Hours MTBF
- Also Available In 56GB
- 5 Year Warranty

CONS

- SandForce SF-2281 Controller (6+ Years Old)
- Only Available Up To 480GB