Intel 320 SSD aka G3

[johnw]

The 320 SSDs are cheaper than the 34nm X25-M SSDs. Maybe not as much as you would like, but they are cheaper. As for your question about economies of scale, I'm not sure what you are thinking. Typically, that term refers to savings from large-scale production, i.e., manufacturing a huge amount of something. So you might expect the price of flash memory to decrease as the production volume increases. And I think it has. But the 25nm flash is new, and currently only IMFT can make 2X nm flash (X <= 5) suitable for SSDs. So the laws of supply and demand are also in effect. And the laws of engineering (including those that yields are lower in a newer process).

So, the prices are a little lower. And they should continue to decrease, although probably not steadily, but in fits and starts. I expect prices will take a leap down when the 2nd and 3rd companies start producing 2X nm flash.

As for having the features available to just turn on. I am nearly certain that is NOT the case. Do you understand what I mean by hooks? It generally means you left room for expansion. In programming, you might put in a line that tests a variable and calls a function, but the function does not exist yet so the variable is set so that the function is not called. But once the function is implemented, the variable is changed so that the function is called.

In the case of Intel's SSD controller, it is not actually the same chip in the 320 as in the X25-M. It is similar, but the revision is different. There were some changes in the silicon. And I am nearly certain that there were significant changes in the firmware. And certainly the features were not put through Intel's testing and qualifications for the older models. So if you think Intel is refusing to flip a switch to give the older parts new features, you are almost certainly wrong. Product development (including feature development) takes a lot of resources. That is built into the price of products. It is unreasonable to expect to get a feature for free.