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Conclusion
Adata is playing a numbers game with its SP550. As more PC users turn to SSDs for better notebook battery life, mechanical robustness and less latency, the company has a solution able to offer those benefits at a lower price than ever before. Having the cheapest drive on Newegg in any given capacity class, for example, yields instant interest from online shoppers. Adata has worked this angle for years now. But low cost doesn't always translate to customer satisfaction.
We spend a lot of time looking at the benchmarks in our SSD reviews. The one-size-fits-all drive is almost always the most expensive option. Not everyone plans to fill an SSD with games and media files, while still expecting it to perform exceptionally. There are SSDs that can do that, but the SP550 isn't one of them.
At $75, the 240GB Adata SP550 is a true stand-out. It delivers enough performance and ample capacity for most users shopping in this price range. The 120GB model at $50 isn't as attractive, since the 240GB model delivers twice as much capacity for an extra $25. Stepping up to the 480GB again doubles your storage space. But it isn't any faster. Still, at just $160, the 480GB model is hard to resist unless you're comparing it to Samsung's 500GB 850 EVO, which sells for $10 more.
The Samsung 850 EVO is still our low-cost market leader at every capacity point. Although Adata's 240GB SP550 is worth considering for light use, Samsung enjoys the benefit of a technology that consistently hides the native sequential write speed of triple-level-cell NAND. Gamers will appreciate this when they're installing games, so it's important to understand your storage needs. If you're not a gamer, then the SP550 is a solid choice for a low-cost build.
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Chris Ramseyer is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware, covering Storage. Follow him on Twitter and on Facebook.
