Intel has finally refreshed their enthusiast SSD line-up by launching drives built on second generation SandForce controllers. Is it another SF-2281 clone? Not at all! Intel's products come with exclusive firmware, which puts them one step above all other currently existing solid state drives.

Is the Intel 520 Series the SandForce SSD you've been waiting for? Maybe. Intel's latest is a little bit faster than comparable drives based on the same controller and flash memory.

While we only have Intel's MSRP's to go on at the moment, it's clear that they have a long way to drop to compete with the likes of the OCZ Vertex 3 - a drive that nips at its heels performance-wise.

The Intel 520 Series 240GB drive has 223GB available to the user after a roughly 7% spare area is set aside, after Windows takes its cut and you do the GiB to GB shuffle.

Intel has just announced its Intel SSD 520 Series based on a 25nm manufacturing process, and this new series targets the high-end enthusiast market. As it stands, this is the absolute best that Intel has to offer in the non-Enterprise space.