Intel has just released version 3.0 of its "SSD Toolbox" which sports an entirely new UI and rolls in a ton of new features.

The management and diagnostics of your Intel based SSD with this tool is now about as complete as could be with SMART status, Summary Drive Health and Estimated Life Remaining bars, used/unused capacity pie charts, diagnostics, system information summary and contextual help that integrates one-click same-page help pointers.

With SSDS typically having a limited rewrite cycle count (the amount of times data can be rewritten onto its NAND cells before it's game over and the SSD becomes a doorstep), while the cycle count equates to many, many years of use even for the all day every day user, it's still nice to have peace of mind about the rewrite cycle status.

Thanks to the new SSD Toolbox 3.0 software, it lets you know that via its ability to monitor your Intel SSD for performance degradation and provides an accurate measurement of how many rewrite cycles are left; so if you intend to use your SSD right up until near the end of its lifespan, you can do it comfortably and get your data over to another new SSD before your current one closes shop.

Another nice new feature with the latest toolbox is its ability to update your drive's firmware without the need to head into DOS using a bootdisk.

You can download the SSD Toolbox 3.0 from this page, weighing in at 48MB.