Does Intel 320 SSD require TRIM?

Question

My computer does not recognize Intel 320 SSD drive as SSD (Intel utility does not allow to TRIM it or read SMART data from it), but I can install and use it like any other drive.

I've read that some SSD drives don't require TRIM to maintain performance and longevity as much as others because they have some internal cleaning. Can Intel 320 SSD be safely used without TRIM ? Safely I mean without significant loss of performance and longevity.

Answer 1

A user reviewing the Intel 320 SSD claims the following:

The 320 behaves a lot like the old X25-M G2 did when tortured. Minimum performance drops pretty low - Intel prefers cleaning up as late as possible to extend drive longevity. As a result, I wouldn't recommend using the 320 in an OS without TRIM support.

You can see the difference in the graphs:

Before:

After TRIM: