Stefan Mileschin

Intel has had a chequered past when it comes to overcocking. First it didn’t care, then it kindly asked people not to torture its lovely processors and then it realised it could make a quick buck peddling unlocked processors for enthusiasts.

Today it’s possible to overcock just about anything, phones, tablets, CPUs, graphics cards, smart toasters. SSDs are apparently the next step. According to Xbit Labs, Intel will demonstrate SSD overcocking at IDF next month. It’s not as straightforward as overcocking a CPU, but it sure does sound a bit easier than making a 7200rpm hard drive run at 10000rpm.

SSD performance is generally dictated by two main factors, the speed and type of controller used and the speed of NAND chips. It is possible to tinker with both, although upping the controller clock sounds a bit easier. However, although it’s possible, it doesn’t exactly make too much sense.

The SATA 6Gbps is the bottleneck right now, so high-end SSDs don’t stand much to gain from overcocking. It does, however, make more sense than Intel handbags.

That said, Intel is planning to rollout SATA Express chipsets next year, effectively doubling the theoretical transfer rates and making overcocked SSDs a possibility.

http://news.techeye.net/chips/intel-...sd-overcocking