Intel SSDSC2BB160G4 160 GB DC S3500 SATA 6Gb/s 2.5 inch 7mm Enterprise/Read-Intensive Solid State Drive

US$256 - $267
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General

BrandIntel
ModelDC S3500
Capacity160 GB
Usage ClassEnterprise/Read-Intensive

Interface

Host InterfaceSATA 6Gb/s
Total Interface Bandwidth6 Gb/s

Physical Dimension

Form Factor2.5 inch 7mm

Flash & Endurance

NAND Flash20nm MLC
Drive Writes Per Day0.3
Total Bytes Written100 TBW

Performance

Sequential Read475 MB/s
Sequential Write175 MB/s
Random Read IOPS75000
Random Write IOPS8500
Average Latency50 μs

Reliability

Mean Time Between Failures2 Million Hours
Uncorrectable Bit Error Rate1.0×10⁻¹⁷
Power Loss ProtectionYes

Part Number

MPNSSDSC2BB160G401

Engineer's Note

The Intel DC S3500 160GB (SSDSC2BB160G4) is a strong fit for read-centric boot, logging, and light mixed-workload enterprise nodes, combining 20nm MLC reliability with 100 TBW endurance, 75,000/8,500 IOPS, and SATA 6Gb/s compatibility for easy drop-in deployment. Compared with the earlier SSDSC2BB160G401, SSDSC2BB160G4 represents the later 160GB production revision of the same platform, giving engineers a safer choice for sustaining predictable QoS and enterprise-grade write durability in legacy SATA infrastructures.

Endurance & Reliability

With an endurance rating of 100 TBW and 0.3 DWPD, the SSDSC2BB160G4 is well suited for typical read-focused and mixed business workloads, including OS boot, office applications, and general-purpose system drive use. In practical terms, this level of endurance is sufficient for long-term daily operation in standard enterprise or commercial environments, making it a dependable choice for a system disk over many years of normal use. For reliability, the drive includes power-loss protection (PLP), which helps preserve in-flight data and metadata during an unexpected power interruption, reducing the risk of corruption and improving operational stability. Its enterprise-class UBER of 1.0E-17, together with a 2 million hour MTBF, indicates an extremely low probability of uncorrectable bit errors and supports strong confidence in data integrity and dependable service.

Technical Specs & Insights

1. The SATA interface ensures broad compatibility with mainstream enterprise servers and storage arrays, enabling low-risk deployment and straightforward maintenance in legacy-friendly data center environments.
2. Its sequential read performance is close to the practical ceiling of SATA, making it well suited for accelerating boot images, software distribution, and read-heavy content delivery workloads.
3. Strong random read capability helps databases, virtual desktop pools, and metadata-intensive applications respond faster under highly concurrent access patterns.
4. The endurance profile, paired with MLC NAND, fits read-centric enterprise use cases by balancing better flash reliability than TLC with a cost structure suitable for mixed but not write-intensive workloads.
5. Very low typical latency supports more predictable application response times, which is valuable for transactional systems and latency-sensitive caching tiers.

Endurance & Reliability

Lower capacity reference: 120 GB Higher capacity reference: 300 GB Capacity positioning analysis: In this series, the 160 GB model sits in the practical sweet spot. Compared with the 120 GB version, it gives noticeably more headroom for OS images, logs, swap, and application growth, reducing early capacity pressure in always-on environments. Compared with the 300 GB model, it keeps acquisition cost and power draw tighter while delivering essentially the same enterprise-class sequential throughput and random IOPS profile. It is best suited for small to mid-size virtualization clusters, such as hosting boot and utility volumes for about 40 to 60 lightweight virtual machines.

FAQ

Q: Is SSDSC2BB160G4 suitable for a write-heavy database server?

A: SSDSC2BB160G4 is better suited for read-intensive or mixed workloads. With 0.3 DWPD and 100 TBW, it is generally not recommended for heavily write-intensive database server environments.

Q: How many full drive writes per day can it actually endure over its warranty period?

A: This model is rated for 0.3 drive writes per day, meaning it can sustain about 30% of its full 160 GB capacity in writes daily over the warranty period.

Q: Does it include power loss protection (PLP) and why is that critical?

A: Yes, it includes power loss protection. PLP helps preserve in-flight data and metadata during sudden power failure, which is critical for maintaining data integrity and system reliability.

Q: What RAID level is recommended for this SSD?

A: The recommended RAID level depends on workload and redundancy needs. RAID 1 suits high availability, while RAID 10 is preferred for better performance and fault tolerance in business systems.

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