Best SSDs For The Money: June 2012
Best SSDs: $110 To $200
Best SSD for ~$110: Performance System Drive
Kingston HyperX 3K (Check Prices)
| Kingston HyperX 3K | 90 GB |
|---|---|
| Sequential Read | 555 MB/s |
| Sequential Write | 510 MB/s |
| Power Consumption (Active) | 2.11 W |
| Power Consumption (Idle) | 0.46 W |
SandForce-based SSDs come armed with one of three memory interfaces: Toggle-mode DDR, synchronous, and asynchronous. Although controllers are often said to play the biggest part in defining an SSD's performance, the type of flash memory used has an effect, too. In fact, when you compare SandForce-based SSDs, the drives with synchronous memory consisteny perform well and command reasonable price tags. That's why we think that Kingston's 90 GB HyperX 3K is a solid choice.
Best SSDs for ~$115: Performance 120 GB
Mushkin Enhanced Chronos Deluxe (Check Prices)
| Mushkin Enhanced Chronos Deluxe | 120 GB |
|---|---|
| Sequential Read | 560 MB/s |
| Sequential Write | 520 MB/s |
| Power Consumption (Active) | 3 W |
| Power Consumption (Idle) | 1 W |
As the lowest priced 120 GB Toggle-mode SF-22xx-based SSD, we're recommending Mushkin's 120 GB Enhanced Chronos Deluxe for those who want performance and capacity. As we said, 90 GB is a floor of sorts for getting an operating system and important apps onto an SSD. But 120 GB provides enough space to add personal files and big game installs to the mix.
Best SSDs for ~$145: Performance 128 GB
Samsung 830 - Non Bundle (Check Prices)
| Samsung 830 | 128 GB |
|---|---|
| Sequential Read | 520 MB/s |
| Sequential Write | 320 MB/s |
| Power Consumption (Active) | .15 W |
| Power Consumption (Idle) | .08 W |
We know that SSDs based on SandForce's DuraClass technology demonstrate different behavior depending on the information with which they're presented. That is to say incompressible data like media-oriented files and actively-encrypted partitions aren't handled as elegantly as more easily compressible files.
In contrast, the behavior of Samsung's controller doesn't change based on the information you feed it, and the 830-series drives are arguably the fastest MLC-based offerings available, generally outpacing Crucial's m4. Interestingly, the 830 and m4 are priced comparably, too, making Samsung's SSD the better deal.
Best SSDs for ~$165: Performance 128 GB
Plextor M3 Pro (Check Prices)
| Plextor M3 Pro | 128 GB |
|---|---|
| Sequential Read | 535 MB/s |
| Sequential Write | 350 MB/s |
| Power Consumption (Active) | 5 W |
| Power Consumption (Idle) | 0.1 W |
If you're willing to spend a little extra on a 128 GB repository, Plextor's M3 Pro is a great option for enthusiasts moving lots of data around. Thanks to the company's TrueSpeed firmware enhancements, garbage collection helps maintain top-notch sequential performance, which explains why this drive tops our in-house benchmark.
Samsung 830 240 GB
Sequential Read 560 MB/s
Sequential Write 525 MB/s
Power Consumption (Active) 3 W
Power Consumption (Idle) 1 W
bet you cant tell the difference between RAID0 SS's and a single SSD without benchmarking.
Fixed! Thanks for being so cool about everything.
Cheers,
Andrew Ku
Tom's Hardware
Two thumbs up!
I think for some people the confidence that Intel is going to back your play should something go wrong means a lot. Not saying it's worth the premium, but for some people, it is. That said, I do like the idea of game bundles. I think it's a great way to get more value from an SSD.
Cheers
Andrew Ku
Tom's Hardware
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226318
Your link shows virtually every Mushkin drive except that one.
This is true for enterprises, certainly. Essentially, if the data is more valuable than the storage, the Intel SSD is worth the premium. For everyone else, the Crucial and Samsung SSDs are better value propositions.
1. Yes, please incorporate reliability into your ratings. I've had 2/4 Sandforce drives I bought fail, so I will choose an alternate.
2. I like my Samsung 830, although I am not getting its claimed performance. I suspect it is because I'm running an AMD system, even though it's a 990FX. As the article points out, the performance of a SSD beats the snot out of a mechanical HDD.
Finally, and this article wouldn't be the place to cover it, but I'd like more information on the performance of SRT using a 64GB SSD along with a mainstream (i.e. not "green") HDD. Does such a system generally perform closer to the speed of a SSD, or more like just a fast HDD?
Thanks.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226236
Reliability is subjective and Track Records are just statistics. I've installed 4 SandForce drives, each in a different computer, and never had a single problem. The computers include one desktop and two laptop PCs and one Mac Mini, all of which continue to work without problems.
Mushkin vs. Intel SSD
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/284841-32-mushkin-intel
http://www.mushkin.com/Digital-Storage/SSDs.aspx
The 120GB version (model MKNSSDCR120GB-DX) of the Chronos Deluxe SSD, which actually uses Toggle-mode flash memory, currently sells for $190 on Newegg (and roughly the same everywhere else).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227757
I'm sure most people check newegg anyway, though.