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Silicon Power’s P34A60 is an entry-level M.2 NVMe SSD that it does a pretty good job for its price point. The single-sided 512GB drive is slim enough for most devices and even features a black PCB, which is something we usually only see on higher-end SSDs.
In light workloads, like web browsing and office use, the P34A60 should be more than enough, and it could even hold up under amateur video and photo editing workloads. Most importantly, the drive will load up your favorite games significantly faster than any HDD and be much more responsive than even a standard SATA SSD. File transfer performance is often superior to SATA SSDs, too.
Unfortunately, the drive comes without DRAM, so sustained performance suffers significantly once the write cache fills up. However, competing drives like the Crucial P1 write even slower once the cache fills, and the drive comes with DRAM, highlighting the importance of different types of flash memory. In the end, the P1's QLC flash is still slower than the P34A60's TLC flash.
If you're searching for a lower-budget SSD, the P34A60 is a solid pick. It’s cheaper than the WD Blue SN500, Crucial P1, and Intel 660p, and offers similar performance. It also boasts a five-year warranty and significantly higher endurance ratings than QLC SSDs, making it a compelling package for value seekers.
MORE: Best SSDs
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Sean is a Contributing Editor at Tom’s Hardware US, covering storage hardware.
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lackoffaithify A $10 price difference from the SP A80, doesn't really seem like it's a good trade off for the person doing the buying. Time to rein in the hyperbole of, "Rock-Bottom" and "low cost."Reply