For the original German review, see here.

As an entry into the PCI Express 3.0 x4 SSD world, Intel introduced the SSD 600p Series in the summer of 2016. Unlike the 750 Series, the 600p is supposed to represent an affordable NVMe SSD. The 600p has the form factor M.2 2280 and uses a Silicone Motion SM2260 controller in connection with 3D NAND TLC Toggle by IMFT. The controller offers 8 NAND Channel and uses a 512 MB DDR3L 1600 cache. Currently, there are currently four variations ranging from 128 to 1024 GB, which differ slightly in terms of performance data. However, the data rates are considerably smaller in the 128 GB version. The data can be encrypted via AES 256 and the chip supports NCQ and TRIM. Intel offers a five-year warranty on the retail version (SSDPEKKW512G7). According to Intel, the power consumption is very small and is stated as 100 mW during operation and only 40 mW while idling. This clearly distinguishes it from more powerful SSDs such as the Samsung SSD 960 EVO 500 GB, which for example is specified as using 5.4 watts during operation.

Currently, the street price of the Intel SSD 600p with 512 GB ranges between 175 and 188 Euros (~$184 to $197). This makes it by far the most affordable M.2 PCle SSD on the market. It is currently followed by the WD Black SSD 512 GB, the Intel SSD Pro 6000p, and the Samsung SSD PM951 starting from 212 Euros (~$223).

We tested the SSD using two desktop systems: a current Ryzen 1800X with an Asus Crosshair VI Hero motherboard and 16 GB of DDR4-3000 RAM, and an Intel Core i7-4790K in the Asus Z97 Deluxe (with Asus Hyper M2 X4 PCIe card for the M.2 connection) and 16 GB of DDR3-1600 RAM. For comparison we used some selected SSDs from notebooks we had tested. The test systems are linked in the charts. 

In the sequential benchmarks the 600p comes in slightly ahead of the fastest SATA SSDs, mainly due to the good rates of sequential reads, which are not limited by SATA 3. Fast high-end NVMe SSDs such as the Samsung 960 Pro, however, play in a different league. Here, a more likely sparring partner is the Toshiba XG4 NVMe. 

The Intel SSD 600p shows less strength in the 4K tests. Fast SATA SSDs like the Samsung SSD 850 Series are not restricted by the protocol and as a result show their capabilities. 

The copy tests vary quite a bit from run to run, and therefore the results would be better evaluated in classes. The 600p can join the game relatively well: 443 to 932 MB/s, depending on the test, are respectable results. Strong variations can also be seen with both Samsung SSD 960 Pros that were built into various notebooks. 

In the PCMark 8 storage test the Intel SSD 600p can score and comes in only just behind the fastest tested (SSD 950 Pro with 5100 points). The average of all tested lies at 4900 points and the slowest tested SATA SSDs manage about 4000 points.