Toshiba Q300 Pro 512GB MLC SSD Review

Toshiba recently launched two new SSDs for the entry-level and mainstream markets. Today, we look at the top-tier MLC-based Q300 Pro and find that it could be a serious contender in the market.

By Chris Ramseyer
published

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Conclusion

We talked a lot about performance today, but only touched on the Q300 Pro's pricing. After comparing Samsung's 850 EVO and SanDisk's Extreme Pro, it's difficult to imagine anyone spending more money to buy Toshiba's contender. When the Q300 Pro arrived you could actually acquire a 480GB Extreme Pro and get an extra 240GB drive to go with it, and still be under what the 512GB Q300 Pro is selling for. The Q300 Pro 512GB price has dropped a considerable margin. The drive sells for the same price as the Samsung 850 Pro 512GB but is still $30 more than the Extreme Pro, the best performing SSD in the premium SSD class.

For most enthusiasts, this would make an excellent boot drive if Toshiba could solve its pricing problems. We've mentioned before that this company's client SSDs are some of the best you've never heard of. Previous models used model names like THNSNF and codes that only appealed to OEMs. The Q Series Pro, HG6 and new Q300 Pro at least get a little more consumer-friendly. Now they're recognizable. Those changes, along with better performance, may breathe new life into Toshiba SSDs.

We're excited to see what the company comes up with for its upcoming toolbox utility. At least you already have access to NTI's Echo software for drive cloning. But a comprehensive management tool will be a nice addition, particularly for enthusiasts who want to keep an eye on their drives' vital statistics.

SSDs have moved well beyond the novelty stage, at least as far as SATA-attached drives are concerned. This is largely a value-driven market, and pricing plays as much of a role as performance. These devices are often considered so reliable that we rarely even second-guess longevity, especially from a manufacturer with access to all of the NAND's hidden secrets. The Q300 Pro just doesn't impress us enough from that value angle. It's a solid performer, but you can buy faster storage for less money elsewhere.

MORE: Best SSDs For The Money 
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Chris Ramseyer is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware, covering Storage. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

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Chris Ramseyer
Chris Ramseyer
Chris Ramseyer is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He tests and reviews consumer storage.
7 Comments Comment from the forums
  • apache_lives
    When iI think Toshiba SSDs i think OCZ. OCZ is rubbish, do i trust this Toshiba product? NO
    Reply
  • stirrupchup
    Thanks for the review.

    I ended up skipping this drive and going for another one, and having read this review, I'm kinda glad I skipped it. Seems to be nothing special, and not worth the price.
    Reply
  • mortsmi7
    "In this market, to sell products you need to either have the fastest SSD or offer the best value."

    I guess I'm the only one that prefers reliability over either of those factors, especially for a system drive. All SSD's fall under the fast category, that there is good enough for me. And as far quality is concerned, you get what you pay for to a certain extent.
    Reply
  • kalmquist
    The 256GB Q300 Pro is currently selling for $100, which is less than half the price of the 512GB unit reviewed here. That doesn't make any sense if both drives use the same controller and only differ in the abount of flash memory installed.
    Reply
  • 3ogdy
    apache_lives. That was EXACTLY may thought. And yeah, yeah, yeah. "Enough with the FUD already...", but the stuff is there. The thing is, Toshiba actually deserves a chance. If problems arise, it's Toshiba's customer support you have to deal with, not OCZ. Moreover, this is a Toshiba product entirely, I believe, which should be at the other end of the spectrum when compared to utter crappy products from OCZ. People over at OCZ should look up "reliability" in a dictionary, ffs.
    Reply
  • ssdpro
    +1 to OCZ being awful. I wouldn't trust Toshiba if they tolerate OCZ. I mean come on, their ARC 100 and Radeon drives had 0 day defects with ass-bottom reviews. Their Trion drives get 2 or 3 stars out of 5 at Amazon and Newegg. Ben from OCZ support responds to people with form responses that are ridiculous. Customer - "Drive died after 3 weeks, don't purchase" OCZ - "We value your purchase. Did you check the sata cable and update the firmware?" Come on guys, if there are a dozen reviews of dead drives stop responding with form spam and saying it is fixed with a firmware update. Firmware updates help replacements but don't mitigate the failure.
    Reply
  • blazorthon
    +1 to OCZ being awful. I wouldn't trust Toshiba if they tolerate OCZ. I mean come on, their ARC 100 and Radeon drives had 0 day defects with ass-bottom reviews. Their Trion drives get 2 or 3 stars out of 5 at Amazon and Newegg. Ben from OCZ support responds to people with form responses that are ridiculous. Customer - "Drive died after 3 weeks, don't purchase" OCZ - "We value your purchase. Did you check the sata cable and update the firmware?" Come on guys, if there are a dozen reviews of dead drives stop responding with form spam and saying it is fixed with a firmware update. Firmware updates help replacements but don't mitigate the failure.

    Trion 100 is horrible, Trion 150 is slightly better but still not great. As far as I'm concerned, only Samsung has a TLC drive even worth considering.

    Is this what you're referring to by issues with Arc 100 and Radeon?
    http://www.anandtech.com/show/8965/ocz-releases-critical-firmware-updates-for-arc-100-radeon-r7-ssds

    Most of the reviews I read on Arc 100 were very positive, so I bought one about a year ago and haven't had any problems with it. Mine is a 240GB model, this article says that the 480GB models were the ones with issues, maybe that's why. Still, so far, this is the only problem I've read about with Arc 100 drives. Are there other issues?
    Reply