Intel announced today X25-V Value SSD priced $125. The 40 gigabyte (GB) drive is aimed at value segment netbooks and dual-drive/boot drive desktop set-ups to offer users the performance and reliability advantages of solid-state computing at an affordable, entry-level price. In a dual-drive configuration, the Intel X25-V SSD is added to a desktop with an existing HDD. The SSD is loaded with the operating system and favorite applications to take advantage of the speedy performance, which is nearly 4x faster than a 7200RPM HDD.

For example, with 40GB of boot drive capacity, a user could load the SSD with the Microsoft Windows 7 operating system, Microsoft Office applications and their favorite gaming application, such as Dragon Age: Origins, and experience up to 43 percent faster overall system performance or 86 percent improvement in their gaming experience. The SSD also speeds operations such as system start up, the opening of applications and files or resuming from standby.

The X25-V is priced at $125 for 1,000-unit quantities and is currently stocked and available in worldwide distribution.