Q: Is this SDD compatible with SATA-3 6.0 Gb/s? Just want to make sure before I order, thanks

going into the 2nd decade of SATA 6gb/s, be confident that anything slower is long out of production

Q: I just bought two of these drives and was very disappointed that they did not come with installation screws. Can anybody tell me what size is needed so I can go get some? Thanks! P.S. Intel, spend an extra penny and print the info in your documentation.

mechanical drives "shrank" down to laptop size in the Japanese notebooks, so screws are metric 3mMeter, and about 3mm long Optical drives are japanese, so if you have those screws already, they work.

Q: Is this SSD compatible with an M5A99FX motherboard and an FX-8350 processor?

ssd would compatible with any motherboard

Q: Any clone software included?

There is no Clone Software included with the Intel® SSD 545s, but we can recommend software that can be used for cloning your data. The Intel® Data Migration Software is available on the Intel support site or you could also try a third-party product called EaseUS* Todo Backup (the free version can do the job). *Note: This second option is being offered for your convenience and therefore, should not be viewed as a formal endorsement by Intel.

Question 1

Does this include a 2.5"-3.5" mounting adapter for mounting in a 3.5" drive bay?

Accepted Answer

Good question.  No, it does not include the 2.5" to 3.5" adapter.  If you can,  buy it at the same time.  Search "2.5 to 3.5 adapter "

Question 2

Does it include a SATA cable and/or 2.5"-3.5" mounting bracket?

Accepted Answer

I had to  supply my own SATA cable and mounting bracket.

Question 3

does it work with XP ?

Accepted Answer

Yes, it will work like any hard drive.  That said, XP does not support trimming which means the drive will slow over time.  It will still be way faster than a spinning platter drive, but it's not optimal to run on XP.  Also, you need to make sure you turn off any automatic defrag for this drive as it will simply reduce it's ultimate lifespan.  You really should run it on a modern OS, but I realize that some connected devices are old and only work with XP.  Again, it will work fine and be faster, just realize performance will lag over time.

Question 4

I bought the Intel 545s and I'm a lInux user.  Does anyone have any insight into using the Intel ssd firmware update tool?  I'm not successful getting it going with usb or cd.  Otherwise the SSD works great, fast as heck, or as fast as sata gets. (1st world problem)

Accepted Answer

Haven't tried it on Linux,  but used it on a Windows machine. I downloaded the ISO (OS independent) for the latest firmware update (002C) for the 545s, burned it to a boot CD, and used it successfully. However, there was one glitch:  although it was supposed to bypass the OS, after the update I could not connect to the Internet - turns out that for no apparent reason it completely messed up the Windows  Internet settings and thus prevented connecting. It had wiped them, entered a different IP address, and disabled DHCP in the TCP/IP protocol suite, requiring a complete reset.

Question 5

How in the world can a user rate this latest SSD offering from Intel with four (4) stars and state "It performs worse then (sic) my 2+ year old SAMSUNG 850 EVO which is a fantastic drive."? It seems time & time again Intel - Intel! - has been unable to design/manufacture a SSD that can realistically challenge the offerings of Samsung and other top-of-the-line consumer SSD manufacturers.

Accepted Answer

I have been using an Intel 730 as my C: drive in Windows for over a year.  No issues.  I'm more concerned about reliability than absolute speed.  My 545 is running my virtual machines (VMware), with no issues.  Again, my concern is reliability.  I've had no issues with Intel SSDs.  The speed of both of these SSDs is fully adequate for my use.  Note, my older (and smaller) Intel SSD had 5 years of use with no issues.  Again, reliability is my first priority.

Question 6

What is the TBW for this drive?

Accepted Answer

288 TBW for the 512 SATA version.

Vibration - Operating:  2.17 GRMS (5-700Hz)
Vibration - Non-Operating:  3.13 GRMS (5-800Hz)
Shock (Operating and Non-Operating):  1500 G (Max) at 0.5 msec  
Operating Temperature Range:  0°C to 70°C
Endurance Rating (Lifetime Writes):  288 TBW
Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF):  1.6 Million Hours
Uncorrectable Bit Error Rate (UBER):  <1 sector per 10^15 bit read
Warranty Period:  5 yrs

See full specs at Intel's ark website.

Question 7

Is this SDD compatible with SATA-3 6.0 Gb/s? Just want to make sure before I order, thanks

Accepted Answer

going into the 2nd decade of SATA 6gb/s, be confident that anything slower is long out of production

Question 8

I just bought two of these drives and was very disappointed that they did not come with installation screws. Can anybody tell me what size is needed so I can go get some? Thanks!     P.S. Intel, spend an extra penny and print the info in your documentation.

Accepted Answer

mechanical drives "shrank" down to laptop size in the Japanese notebooks, so screws are metric 3mMeter, and about 3mm long
Optical drives are japanese, so if you have those screws already, they work.

Question 9

Is this SSD compatible with an M5A99FX motherboard and an FX-8350 processor?

Accepted Answer

ssd would compatible with any motherboard

Question 10

Any clone software included?

Accepted Answer

There is no Clone Software included with the Intel® SSD 545s, but we can recommend software that can be used for cloning your data.  The Intel® Data Migration Software is available on the Intel support site or you could also try a third-party product called EaseUS* Todo Backup (the free version can do the job).  *Note: This second option is being offered for your convenience and therefore, should not be viewed as a formal endorsement by Intel.

Questions & Answers