Conclusion
Mushkin has a reputation of delivering quality and competitive components, and the Pilot carries on that legacy. But that doesn’t exclude it from criticism.
Aesthetically, the Mushkin Pilot is one ugly drive. With a green PCB and bright blue sticker, it most definitely will clash with many of the good-looking motherboards and systems being built today. But this is nothing an aftermarket heatsink won’t remedy. And of course laptop users or desktop builders without a case window won't care how the drive looks.
Currently, Mushkin doesn’t offer any value-add software like an SSD toolbox, nor any cloning software like some others do. As well, the Pilot comes with a 3-year warranty, while many other premium drives offer five years of coverage. But, while the Pilot comes with a shorter warranty, customer service from an American-based company helps differentiate Muskin's drive, at least if you live in the US.
Performance wise, the Pilot isn’t bleeding edge. It only hits 2.7/1.7GBps read and write speeds. But even so, in most real-world use it can keep up with some of the best. In SYSmark it outperformed the WD Blue SN500, Crucial P1, and BPX Pro and was within a few points of the ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro. Furthermore, it bested every other competitor in our 50GB file transfer test, through its read performance could have been better. The Intel 760p with a similar component layout was able to read the 6GB file much faster. Still, the Pilot doesn’t disappoint.
250GB | 500GB | 1TB | |
Crucial P1 | X | 70 | 129 |
WD Blue SN500 | 52 | 70 | X |
Mushkin Pilot | 50 | 72 | 135 |
Samsung 860 EVO | 57 | 80 | 150 |
Adata XPG SX8200 Pro | 57 | 80 | 160 |
MyDigitalSSD BPX Pro | 45 | 80 | 150 |
WD Black SN750 | 70 | 105 | 228 |
Intel SSD 760p | 53 | 119 | 218 |
Samsung 970 EVO Plus | 68 | 127 | 248 |
With such performance, and competitive pricing, Mushin’s Pilot delivers on value. Our 500GB sample comes in at just $72 and the 1TB model just $135. While that is a few dollars more than the Crucial P1 and WD Blue SN500, it's cheaper than the SATA based Samsung 860 EVO, and significantly cheaper than the WD Black SN750 and Samsung 970 EVO Plus. The Pilot is great for those looking to break free of SATA and save a few bucks while still attaining respectable NVMe speed.
Image Credits: Tom's Hardware
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