Eagl, I am aware server use is very different from typical users. I do use server load testing to qualify any mass storage device I want to purchase. Yes, I am very critical of mass storage devices. I have spent a good deal of my career focused on mass storage technology. From creating test platforms to giving seminars to hard drive design engineers. I have been around the block a few times in this area.
Personally, I do an enormous amount of video and audio work. When you are writing 16GB to 30GB of data at a time and then re-writing it two to three times after that, it is pretty easy to kill an SSD device. Write-leveling is not a panacea for solving the write problem as it depends on the spares available in the device. It does help extend the life of the device. The projected life of the memory is at best, a guess. We have no idea how the manufacturer rates their devices. There are many factors which can contribute to the failure mode of a memory.
Right now, Intel's SSD's are mostly market-speak. I am not a bleeding edge technology type. I prefer hardware that has a history of success behind it. There is a new memory tech which will obsolete the current SSD's tech and it is showing promise to be a very practical and cost efficient design as well as far more reliable than the current flock of flash based SSD devices.
It is also worth noting that most failures are not write related, but for other problems, although there have been early write failure issues as well. That is the current state of things though. In the real world, they have been failing at a higher rate than they should. Intel's are new, and they may be better. Only way to know is either to jump on the bandwagon early or wait and let others test them for you.
From my perspective, it does not hurt to wait.
