Detailed solid-state drive specifications and reviews are great—that is, if you have the time to do the research. However, at the end of the day, what an enthusiast needs is the best SSD within a certain budget.
So, if you don’t have the time to read the benchmarks, or if you don’t feel confident enough in your ability to pick the right drive, then fear not. We at Tom’s Hardware have come to your aid with a simple list of the best SSD offered for the money.
July Updates: A Couple Of Big Names Resurface
This month, a few big names launched fast SSDs. The two most notable were Samsung's 850 Pro and SanDisk's Extreme Pro. As you might expect, developments in NAND manufacturing play a central role in both products.
The former employs 3D V-NAND. If you want to learn more about that (and what it means to performance), check out Samsung 850 Pro SSD Review: 3D Vertical NAND Hits Desktop Storage. Samsung has been working on this technology for years, and the Korean firm is gradually disclosing more information as it becomes relevant in new markets. While other vendors have designs not entirely dissimilar (from what information I've heard), it’s unlikely we’ll see a solid-state drive using 3D NAND from other companies until late next year.
SanDisk's Extreme Pro picks up where last year’s Extreme II left off. It wields the same Marvell 88SS9187 controller used to great effect across the industry, but packs revised firmware and a substantial overclock to squeeze out more performance. SanDisk’s 1Y flash makes its debut as well. It’s similar to Toshiba’s A19 NAND, which cleverly repackages memory cells to reduce die size, ideally enabling higher yields.
Both Pro-branded drives include incredibly long 10-year limited warranties, and we know that Samsung and SanDisk are sandbagging when it comes to endurance. Their official Total Bytes Written stats are kept artificially low. Because the 850 Pro and Extreme Pro have enterprise counterparts, limiting coverage based on writes helps "guide" IT professionals away from the more desktop-oriented offerings.
Samsung was originally set to introduce the 850 Pro with five years of warranty. However, SanDisk’s announcement that the Extreme Pro would include 10 years compelled action, and company reps informed us of the change just prior to launch. It's a trend that we hope continues, even if the guarantee is bound by time and a maximum write limit. You get 10 years or 150 TBW, whichever comes first. Will you even have a system with legacy SATA 6Gb/s in 10 years? More than likely, no.
Of course, by the time you read this Samsung's 850 Pro still probably won't be available, though units should show up through the end of July and beginning of August. Better still, the estimated prices are notable lower than list. The 128 GB model is projected to sell near $130. Newegg already has the 256 GB version for pre-order at $200, the 512 GB drive at $400, and a 1 TB repository tagged at $700.
Naturally, it's difficult to pin down prices without availability, but it's probable that early adopters will get taxed more severely. SanDisk’s Extreme Pro, already for sale, shipped at similar MSRPs, but has already come down quite a bit. A 960 GB drive goes for $600, slotting in at a class-competitive $0.63/GB. After Samsung's preemptive price cuts, the 1 TB 850 Pro lands around $0.68/GB.
SanDisk’s Pro family doesn’t include a 128 GB-class SSD. But both SanDisk and Samsung's quarter-terabyte models should bounce around the $200 mark, and that's where the 240 GB Extreme II sits now. Per-gigabyte parity on the half-terabyte drives is a safe bet, too. Samsung is still ramping up production of the 850 Pro's 32-layer V-NAND, while the 19 nm flash SanDisk employs is more prevalent. It's not clear how much that affects the bottom line in either case, though.
Elsewhere, IMFT’s L85A flash is responsible for incredibly low prices on mainstream and performance-oriented SSDs. Apparently, it's dirt cheap, despite Micron’s intent to drastically cut shipments to third parties. Crucial, as Micron’s consumer-facing brand, is the primary beneficiary.
The M550 equipped with L85A flash is matched by drives from Adata, PNY, and a few others utilizing that same family of IMFT memory. They might not boast the speed or endurance of the 850 Pro and Extreme Pro, but in some cases, those mainstream SSDs undercut the top-end products by nearly 50%. It’s hard to imagine much more meat to cut from prices on the desktop. However, we've been surprised before.
Some Notes About Our Recommendations
A few simple guidelines to keep in mind when reading this list:
- We only recommend SSDs we've actually used. Recommending SSDs we've never put hands on wouldn't be incredibly helpful.
- There are several criteria we use to rank SSDs. We try to evenly weigh performance and capacity at each price point and recommend what we believe to the best drive based on our own experiences, along with information garnered from other sites. Some people may only be concerned with performance, but that ignores the ever-present capacity issue that mobile users face ever-presently. Even on the desktop, other variables have to be considered.
- Prices and availability change on a daily basis. Our picks will be valid the month of publication, but we can't extend our choices very far beyond that time frame. SSD pricing is especially competitive, and a $15 difference can be the reason why one SSD makes the list, while another does not. As you shop, use our list as a guide, but always double-check for yourself.
- The list is based on some of the best U.S. prices from online retailers. In other countries or at retail stores, your mileage will most certainly vary.
- These are new SSD prices. No used or open-box offers are in the list; they might represent a good deal, but it’s outside the scope of what we’re trying to do.
We've seen Samsung's 840 Pro priced like a premium product in the past. But under $120, where it sits right now, the drive is easier to recommend. Samsung 840 Pro 128 GB
A Performance 128 GB Drive
Simply, this is the fastest MLC-based 128 GB SSD there is, and it outclasses several high-profile 240/256 GB models as well. Samsung’s proprietary controller, flash, DRAM, and firmware combine to create a potent improvement over 2011’s 830. Not that the 830 wasn’t fast. In fact, it was brutally proficient. The 840 Pro takes storage to the next level, though.
Through a recent update, the EVO now supports TCG Opal 2.0 / eDrive security features as well, putting it on par with Crucial's M500.
Adata partnered with Micron to deliver a platform similar to the M550, but branded by Adata as the SP920. Both the 128 and 256 GB models are a little slower than their M550 equivalents due to higher-density NAND. However, the 512 and 1024 GB versions are more comparable. Adata Premier Pro SP920 128 GB
Budget-Oriented Solid-State Performance
The biggest difference is a lack of eDrive and TCG Opal 2.0 support, which may affect your value equation. But Adata does include a 2.5"-to-3.5" adapter mount, its SSD Toolbox app, and a copy of Acronis True Image HD for cloning and backup.
The baby SP920 weighs in at just 128 GB. Composed of eight Micron 128 Gb die, less parallelism does negatively affect performance. As a result, write speed suffers. Even still, it's hard to go wrong with mainstream speed and a matching price tag.
If your decision comes down to Crucial's 120 GB M500 or Samsung's 120 GB 840 EVO, you might want to flip a coin. You get eDrive and TCG Opal 2.0 support from both, and their overall performance is similar. Samsung 840 EVO 120 GB
120 GB of Turbo-Charged TLC NAND
Otherwise, Crucial enables NAND redundancy and power-loss protection, while Samsung enjoys better write performance and a more compelling software package. With Samsung's RAPID host-caching feature turned on, the 120 GB 840 EVO can rival some of the fastest SSDs on the market, justifying its higher price.
How could I possibly recommend spending more money on a slower drive than Plextor's esteemed M5 Pro, with 8 GB less capacity and a two-year-shorter warranty? Crucial M500 120 GB
Security Over Performance
Although the M5 Pro has its advantages (and the same Marvell controller), Crucial's generation-old M500 counters with a more modern feature set that includes power-loss protection and TCG Opal 2.0 support. If you're using Windows 8 Pro or newer, the M500 allows Microsoft's BitLocker to encrypt the drive in hardware, rather than burning CPU cycles. This is arguably the finest way to keep a storage device secure.
SanDisk's X210 is a OEM-styled variant of the company's Marvell platform used by the enviably-quick Extreme II. With less over provisioning and no fluff, it's offered as an option to OEMs looking for the finest in SATA SSD performance. SanDisk X210 256 GB
An Elite Performance Contender at 256 GB
The 256 GB model wields all of the spectacular performance you get from the 512 GB variant. It's "only" rated for 60,000 4 KB write IOPS, but our tests show the SSD earns its recommendation from our in-depth metrics designed to flesh out performance more thoroughly. It supports DevSlp for new mobile Haswell laptops and rocks a five-year warranty for the same price as some budget drives.
Complemented by fancy 19 nm flash from Toshiba's fabs, the M6S provides plenty of pep thanks to Marvell's 9188 controller. Even though the processor is limited to just four channels, it keeps pace with Plextor's well-regarded M5 Pro. Plextor M6S 256 GB
Plextor's Mainstream Performer
DevSlp is supported, and the platform generally offers better efficiency. At the same time, it's capable of considerable write performance. Although it's not quite on par with the fastest SSDs out there (and is expensive), Plextor is a well-regarded name in this segment. We've put the M6S through many hours of testing, and believe you get what you pay for in this case.
Adata partnered with Micron to deliver a platform similar to the M550, but branded by Adata as the SP920. Both the 128 and 256 GB models are a little slower than their M550 equivalents due to higher-density NAND. However, the 512 and 1024 GB versions are more comparable. Adata Premier Pro SP920 256 GB
A Well-Rounded 256 GB SSD
The biggest difference is a lack of eDrive and TCG Opal 2.0 support, which may affect your value equation. But Adata does include a 2.5"-to-3.5" adapter mount, its SSD Toolbox app, and a copy of Acronis True Image HD for cloning and backup.
The 256 GB drive is worthy of praise. Though it's not quite as fast as Adata's larger models, 256 GB is a good enthusiast capacity point, and this SSD is a solid mainstream play offering excellent performance.
There are so many compelling choices around 256 GB that just calling them "good" is too-little praise. But, if you're looking for something a little different, Samsung's 840 EVO has you covered. Samsung 840 EVO 250 GB
An Alternate Option
On the surface, not much changes compared to the 250 GB 840 except its chassis and higher-density 128 Gb flash manufactured at 19 nm (and those aren't strong selling points).
However, under the hood, Turbo Write (an emulated SLC mode) and some additional software goodies are more exciting enhancements. Read performance is superb, with assistance from Samsung's new technologies to help writes. And since the 840 EVO just recently received TCG Opal 2.0 / eDrive support through a firmware update, that's another reason to buy.
More immediately, Samsung's SSD Magician software enables DRAM caching for awesome speed-ups. And whereas the company once included versions of Norton Ghost, it now bundles its own cloning software. Talk about a strong showing for the 840's successor. In fact, the 840 EVO is one of the few SSDs to ever receive an award from Tom's Hardware.
Silicon Motion's SM2246EN four-channel controller is awesome, but it's only recently that we've seen it make a splash. With IMFT flash, Adata's SP610 brings value to the table, offering a compelling mix of speed and price to battle against companies like Crucial that have made an art out of low pricing. Adata Premier Pro SP610 512 GB
Mid-range capacity, high end performance
It's a interesting maneuver, since Adata already has not one, but several mainstream SSD lines. Most of those are SandForce based, but adding diversity to the mix is one of Adata's specialties. SSD management and cloning software sweetens the pot. Read the Full Review
SanDisk's X210 is an OEM-styled variant of the company's Marvell platform used by the enviably-quick Extreme II. With less over-provisioning and no fluff, it's offered as an option to OEMs looking for the finest in SATA-based SSD performance. SanDisk X210 512 GB
A Pro Offering To Please Discriminating Buyers
The more we test the X210, the better it gets. Now that you can actually buy this drive from a number of places, it's worthy of our recommendation. Selling for just north of $300, the X210 at 512 GB is decidedly a bargain for the kind of performance it delivers in all metrics. Five years of warranty coverage imparts peace of mind, too.
Toshiba is one of the world's largest SSD manufacturers, but you don't hear much about it. That's largely due to the company's huge involvement in OEM SSDs, though more than a few drives in this column rely on Toshiba flash. Still, its consumer presence is low-key. Toshiba Q Series Pro 512 GB
Toshiba's Client-Oriented Performance SSD
The Q Pro is Toshiba's answer to competing performance claims, wielding an undisclosed proprietary controller and premium Toggle-mode DDR flash.
The M500 wiggled its way into our hearts with a combination of advanced security features, admirable performance, and awe-inspiring prices. Crucial's newer M550 takes those attributes to the next level. Crucial M550 512 GB
One-Half Terabyte of Awesome
The 512 GB models serves up as much performance as the 1 TB configuration for close to $300. Although the drive is more expensive than the 480 GB M500 it improves upon, you get as much speed as you could expect from a SATA 6Gb/s-based SSD.
A 960 GB Crucial M500 for less than $500 gives you a per-gigabyte cost of roughly $.48. That's insane. Tack on power-loss protection, TCG Opal 2.0 encryption, and even a little bit of NAND redundancy for good measure. Crucial M500 960 GB
A Massive Drive With Attractive Features
Built on Marvell's 88SS9187 processor and Micron's 20 nm, 128 Gb NAND, the M500 puts generous capacity and enterprise-esque features into the hands of consumers. This thing is a luxury item, to be sure. And it's hard for us to recommend that you spend as much on an SSD as some people spend on an entire gaming system. But if you need to maximize solid-state capacity for your dollar, Crucial's 960 GB M500 is the way to go.
How can we recommend one 960 GB drive and not the competing 1000 GB model, now that they're both viable options? Samsung 840 EVO 1 TB
Spacious Capacity Based on TLC NAND
Pricing differences between them are now nearly non-existent. But you get an extra 40 GB of capacity on the Samsung SSD. And believe me, there are times I wish I had access to Samsung's sweet software toolbox when I'm working with other drives.
You do end up with the inherently-lower write endurance of triple-level cell NAND. Otherwise, both drives are similar. Samsung turns in choice power data, while the M500 gets the value vote.
Samsung finally released its EVO firmware to fulfill the promise of TCG Opal 2.0 security and eDrive capabilities, so existing SSDs can take advantage of the upgrade.
It’s hard to find a fast, high-capacity SSD that fits in your pocket. For the discriminating enthusiast on the go, Mushkin's Ventura Ultra 240 GB packs the performance of SandForce’s 6 Gb/s controller and 240 GB of space in a product that isn’t held back by some of the USB interface’s older means of communicating. Mushkin Ventura Ultra USB 3.0 240 GB
The Fastest USB 3 SSD Around
The UASP-capable Mushkin drive is almost as quick as an SSD attached natively via SATA on compatible Windows 8 systems (and newer Linux kernels). As a bonus, its nifty aluminum structure is functional and pleasant to look at. Expect to pay about $1/GB, which really isn’t all that bad.
SanDisk Extreme 3.0 USB 64 GB
There are times when an SSD-only setup doesn't give you the flexibility you need. If you're trying to put some pep in an older machine, or just want a no-hassle upgrade, SanDisk's ReadyCache might be an appropriate upgrade. SanDisk ReadyCache 32 GB
Transparent Tiered Storage
ReadyCache employs a 32 GB SSD based on SanDisk's proprietary controller that works with Conduciv's ExpressCache software to accelerate hot data. For less than the price of a AAA game title, you can speed up your system's existing hard drive with flash memory. Of course, buying a dedicated SSD is more affordable now than ever, but caching is a smart way to make tiered storage transparent for more entry-level folks.
Transcend ESD200 128 GB
A 1.8" Portable Option at 128 GB
Transcend's ESD200-series SSDs marry solid-state speed with the portability of USB 3.0. If you're replacing an older drive, using it as an external repository ensures that it stays useful.
If you're not swimming in solid-state drives to build your own USB-connected solution, but still want snappy responsiveness, lightness, and durability, the ESD200 is particularly convenient.
- Capacity (GB) :
- 128
- Controller :
- Silicon Motion
- NAND :
- N/A
- Format :
- 1.8" USB 3.0
- DRAM Cache (MB) :
- NA
- Interface :
- USB 3.0
- Power consumption (Active Idle) :
- .50 W
- Other :
- AES-256 Encryption
- Warranty :
- 2 Years
- Average Data Rate (MB/s) :
- N/A
- Sequential Read/Write (MB/s) :
- 200/190
Intel's SSD 530 represents the best implementation of SandForce's technology you can find. At a high level, it looks like any other SF-2281-powered drive. But dig deep, and Intel demonstrates its strengths in multiple ways. Intel SSD 530 180 GB M.2
A Great Choice For Mobile Productivity Laptops
Efficiency and convenience are the real reasons to tap the M.2 version of Intel's mainstream SSD 530. We measure just 4 mW of power consumption in DevSlp mode, and just 350 mW at active idle.
Given how few options there are in the M.2 form factor, Intel's design stands out even more prominently. If your system can handle an 80 mm-long module, the SSD 530 belongs on your laptop's short list.
Crucial's M.2-based 480 GB M500 is a beast. It's not that the drive is exceedingly fast. Rather, we like its combination of capacity and pricing most of all. Now that the M.2 form factor is becoming more popular, this drive makes a lot of sense for enthusiasts upgrading newer laptops. Crucial M500 480 GB M.2
Impressive Value In The M.2 Format
Support for eDrive and TCG Opal 2.0 are particularly important in the mobile space, and newer Ultrabooks can additionally benefit from DevSlp mode, which the M500 support.
The only downside we can see is that some laptops only accommodate shorter M.2-based devices, and the M500 is only available in the 2280 format.
Plextor's M6M is more expensive than the M5M it replaces, and isn't much faster, either. But what it lacks in additional speed, it makes up for with features catering to more modern mobile systems. Plextor M6M 256 GB
New Flash, New Controller, Decent Performance
That means you get DevSlp support, primarily. The M6M is quick to enter and exit, and it doesn't use much power along the way. Despite moving to Toshiba's new A19 flash in 128 Gb die, the drive is still plenty fast. Good, honest performance and power efficiency make this a reasonable choice for laptops and other mSATA-based applications.
Take everything awesome about the 840 EVO, the only SSD to garner an award last year, and melt it down into the mSATA form factor. Add DevSlp, and you get an even more compelling offering for the mobile space. Naturally, eDrive/TCG Opal 2.0 is part of the package as well. Samsung 840 EVO 250 GB mSATA
Economy, Efficiency, And Performance
The three-bit-per-cell flash is bolstered by Samsung's Turbo Write technology, which helps get write performance in line with the drive's read performance (already among the best out there). If you aren't spooked by TLC's inherent shortcomings, you could do a lot worse.
Samsung's 840 EVO mSATA comes armed with the power and capacity of the SATA-based 1000 GB EVO, but shoehorns the whole package into a double-sided mSATA form factor. All of the full-sized drive's advantages are there. But instead of living in a 2.5" chassis, mSATA slides into a special slot on some desktop motherboards and notebooks.
Samsung 840 EVO 1 TB mSATA
A First-of-its-Kind 1 TB mSATA SSD
Do you need a lot of capacity in a diminutive package? There aren't many options at this price level, and the Mushkin offers a compelling SF-2281 solution for prospective mSATA buyers. Mushkin Atlas Deluxe 480 GB mSATA
SandForce-Based And mSATA-Equipped
Based on the stalwart SandForce 2281 controller, Mushkin’s big drive isn't at its best beyond 256 GB, but it’s still powerful enough to get almost any storage performance-sensitive application kicked into high gear. The only downside is a price commensurate with its rarity. In a 2.5" form factor, Crucial and Samsung both offer 1 TB-class offerings for roughly the same price. But specificity is often more expensive, and if you need half of a terabyte in the mSATA form factor, there just aren't many choices out there.
Over the past five years, CPU performance has hit new and unforeseen heights, and processors are increasingly spending time waiting on data from hard drives. This is what makes storage today's most glaring bottleneck. Overcoming it requires an SSD.
At the end of the day, the real-world differences between SSDs in a desktop environment aren't altogether very large. The most important jump happens when you go from a hard drive to (almost) any solid-state drive. With that said, there are measurable attributes that separate one SSD from another. But you'll need to approach a purchasing decision as the sum of many parts. Within individual apps, you'll hardly notice the difference between most SATA 3Gb/s and faster SATA 6Gb/s drives. It's the more taxing workloads that make a faster device worth owning.
Sequential performance is an important SSD attribute, but there are points beyond which it's difficult to make use of the performance in a real and meaningful way. That's why the hierarchy chart below relies on information provided by our Storage Bench v1.0, as it ranks performance in a way that reflects average daily use for a consumer workload. It's simply a ranking using one metric, and not gospel. But as far as single-number performance is concerned, it is serviceable for our needs.
If you're interested in figuring out where each product rates on the price/performance continuum of recommendations, this page is for you. Each drive is reflected by a trio of performance attributes: sequential write, sequential read, and Tom's Storage Bench v1.0 Average Data Rate. The numbers are all expressed as a percentage of highest-rated SSD we've benchmarked.
Of course, winners aren't always determined by speeds and feeds. There are plenty of reasons to choose one drive over another, including data protection, bundling, and other value-added features. Admittedly, price always has and always will be a big variable, too.
| Price | Average Data Rate | Sequential Read | Sequential Write | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung 840 Pro 128 GB | ![]() |
114 | Amazon | 85.17 | 71.32 | 60.52 |
| Adata Premier Pro SP920 128 GB | ![]() |
90 | Amazon | 49.01 | 68.55 | 29.26 |
| Samsung 840 EVO 120 GB | ![]() |
90 | Amazon | 59.51 | 70.75 | 53.40 |
| Crucial M500 120 GB | ![]() |
75 | Amazon | 41.34 | 67.94 | 22.24 |
| SanDisk X210 256 GB | ![]() |
160 | Amazon | 76.56 | 67.46 | 76.56 |
| Plextor M6S 256 GB | ![]() |
160 | Amazon | 66.97 | 66.28 | 67.34 |
| Adata Premier Pro SP920 256 GB | ![]() |
160 | Amazon | 60.53 | 68.55 | 59.42 |
| Samsung 840 EVO 250 GB | ![]() |
150 | Amazon | 72.85 | 70.75 | 53.40 |
| Adata Premier Pro SP610 512 GB | ![]() |
239.99 | Amazon | 64.48 | 70.74 | 69.9 |
| SanDisk X210 512 GB | ![]() |
334 | Amazon | 76.91 | 67.42 | 76.44 |
| Toshiba Q Series Pro 512 GB | ![]() |
350 | Amazon | 88.73 | 70.74 | 82.20 |
| Crucial M550 512 GB | ![]() |
360 | Amazon | 70.50 | 68.55 | 80.76 |
| Crucial M500 960 GB | ![]() |
470 | Amazon | 69.43 | 68.55 | 69.73 |
| Samsung 840 EVO 1 TB | ![]() |
500 | Amazon | 85.76 | 70.75 | 76.94 |
| Mushkin Ventura Ultra USB 3.0 240 GB | ![]() |
125.28 | memorydepot.com | 22.47 | 22.24 | 54.23 |
| SanDisk Extreme 3.0 USB 64 GB | ![]() |
60 | Amazon | 5 | 25 | 28 |
| SanDisk ReadyCache 32 GB | ![]() |
50 | Amazon | 7.1 | 61.33 | 17.17 |
| Transcend ESD200 128 GB | ![]() |
125 | Amazon | 5 | 22 | 23 |
| Intel SSD 530 180 GB M.2 | ![]() |
150 | Amazon | 43.09 | 69.88 | 52 |
| Crucial M500 480 GB M.2 | ![]() |
260 | Amazon | 69.43 | 68.65 | 69.73 |
| Plextor M6M 256 GB | ![]() |
160 | Amazon | 66.97 | 66.28 | 67.34 |
| Samsung 840 EVO 250 GB mSATA | ![]() |
160.00 | Amazon | 73.41 | 70.75 | 76.94 |
| Samsung 840 EVO 1 TB mSATA | ![]() |
525 | Amazon | 85.76 | 70.75 | 76.94 |
| Mushkin Atlas Deluxe 480 GB mSATA | ![]() |
250 | Newegg | 40.82 | 70.92 | 45.27 |

























