Great ssd test. SSD reliability: life test results

Many users dream of their PC responding and launching applications as quickly as, for example, modern smartphones and tablets. And the path to fulfilling this desire lies, as a rule, not through a more powerful CPU or even through a larger RAM. The best results come from replacing a slow HDD (or old SSD) with a really fast solid state drive.

The measure of all things in this regard are modules with an M.2 interface operating according to the NVMe specification. The PCI Express bus and the data transfer protocol specifically designed for the SSDs connected over it break through all the limitations that prevent conventional SATA-enabled SSDs from achieving speeds above 550 MB/s and which pose a bottleneck for parallel requests on multi-core systems.

But such SSDs are usually noticeably more expensive than solid-state drives with a SATA connection and require a modern motherboard. Next, we will tell you which computers this or that type of disk is suitable for and how big the difference in speeds is in practice. Then we present the results of tests of SSDs using the NVMe protocol, and in conclusion we advise the easiest way to migrate the system from an old HDD or SSD to a new one.

Choosing the best technology: NVMe or SATA

The type of drive you choose depends on the system you intend to upgrade. Most laptops (especially older ones) are equipped with only one SATA connector and a hard drive bay. In this case, the disk can only be replaced with a 2.5-inch SATA SSD (see). The same applies to most PCs up to the Intel Broadwell generation, even if some expensive motherboards have an M.2 slot (along with PCIe lines, it can also use SATA with its characteristic limitations). If there is no modern M.2 slot on the board, you can connect an M.2 form factor module to a PCIe slot via an adapter.

If you are going to use an NVMe SSD as a system drive, then UEFI must support booting from NVMe - you should check this on the motherboard manufacturer's website (NVMe Boot option). Otherwise, you can use the SSD as an additional drive running Windows, but this will only be justified in certain cases.
The M.2 slot has become widely used in platforms starting with the Skylake generation (LGA 1151 socket) - information can be found in the technical specifications of the board. But be careful: M.2 is primarily a designation for the card form factor (22x80 mm).

There are two types. The M.2 module with the so-called “B” key supports conventional AHCI technology, which is used to connect drives via the SATA interface. Such drives have the same names as their 2.5-inch SATA counterparts (for example: Crucial MX300 M.2, Samsung SSD 850 Evo M.2) and do not differ from them in speed. Their advantage is that there are no compatibility or driver problems with these drives, and even installing Windows 7 occurs without problems.

A module with an “M” key and support for the NVMe protocol can use up to four PCIe 3.0 lanes. Most modern motherboards and many laptops are equipped with slots with a plug in the “M” position, that is, in principle compatible with NVMe drives. But in any case, before purchasing a drive with NVMe support, you should study the manufacturer's documentation and be sure to take into account the following: it is difficult to initially install Windows 7 on an NVMe drive. If Windows 7 is already installed on the computer you are upgrading, you can transfer the system to an NVMe solid-state drive.

In the early days of solid-state drives, due to their limited capabilities and high cost, it was popular to use one small SSD for the OS and one HDD for files in parallel. Now this option, as before, has a right to exist, but due to falling prices for solid-state drives, it is losing its attractiveness. The best price for one gigabyte currently comes from SATA solid-state drives with a capacity of about 1 TB: these models can be purchased from 17,000 rubles. For desktops and laptops with an M.2 slot and a 2.5-inch bay, a combination of a solid-state drive for the OS and programs and a high-capacity HDD for files is also justified.

NVMe vs SATA: Key Differences
The SATA interface was designed for serial access to the HDD. NVMe protocol enables parallel access to SSDs

On the other hand, the difference in price for a new terabyte hard drive (about 2,500 rubles) and a 256-gigabyte solid-state drive (about 5,500 rubles) on the one hand and a terabyte SSD (from 17,000 rubles) on the other is still quite large, so the option with two disks is still relevant. However, some users find it more convenient when the OS, programs and files are located on the same drive.

Owners of modern systems who want to switch to NVMe SSDs are faced with a choice. On the one hand, there are high-performance and expensive SSD drives (for example, the Samsung 960 line) that fully exploit the potential of NVMe. On the other hand, Intel offers a series of NVMe drives called 600p, which are interesting because the cost per gigabyte of memory is comparable to the price per gigabyte of SATA drives, and their speed, depending on the use case, ranges from “significantly faster than SATA” to "lower than SATA".

Practical comparison of different types of SSDs

The data transfer speeds and IOPS values ​​of NVMe drives are impressive on paper. But what advantages do these drives actually have? First of all, in a purely external comparison with 2.5-inch SATA drives, the practicality of the form factor attracts attention: the M.2 module is neatly located directly in the motherboard slot, while SATA requires the use of a power cable in the PC case, which is the main way and interferes. In order to clearly show the speed advantages, we compared three solid-state drives: an early generation from the Intel Postville family, a modern Crucial MX300, and an ultra-fast NVMe-capable Samsung 960 Evo 500 GB.

The speed advantage should have been evident when the PC booted up, but during practical testing we encountered obstacles. For the M.2/NVMe platform, we only had the latest AMD Ryzen system, whose motherboard spent a full 25 seconds initializing UEFI from the moment it was turned on until the desktop was ready. And this is despite all the parameters optimized for increasing speed: Windows 10 was installed in UEFI mode (that is, both the installation media and the solid-state drive were initialized as supporting the GPT standard), UEFI technology was configured to support Windows 10 and fast boot, etc. .

The next UEFI updates should reduce the delay. For the Samsung NVMe drive, the net Windows boot time is 8.6 seconds. A modern SSD with SATA (Crucial) requires 33% more time, and an Intel Postville drive, due to its low data transfer speed, generally takes twice as long. In other words, in everyday use the difference is quite noticeable.

High NVMe copy speed

The differences were especially striking when copying program folders to storage devices. When reading and writing in parallel, the NVMe drive demonstrated its unparalleled multitasking capabilities, achieving speeds three and four times faster than modern and legacy SATA drives, respectively. But all the more surprising was the slight advantage of NVMe when installing LibreOffice.

After calling the MSI installation package with the “/passive” parameter, the installation process immediately begins without prompting, and both modern drives are noticeably ahead of the old Intel in terms of speed - 23 seconds for Crucial and 22.2 seconds for Samsung versus 38.7 seconds for Intel. When scanning a copy of the “Programs” folder using Windows Defender, it was generally found that the strength of the drives was equal - even the low speed of the old SATA drive was used by Defender to a small extent.

The high-performance eight-core Ryzen CPU can be eliminated as a bottleneck. But during further testing, it was revealed that if the SATA drive is completely busy scanning, the system performs other requests (for example, launching programs) with a significant delay. A system with an NVMe drive continues to respond immediately. Because of this perceived smoothness and future-proofing of the technology, we recommend purchasing a drive that runs to the NVMe specification - as long as it's compatible with your system, of course.

That is why in the next part of the article we will talk in detail about the results of testing NVMe drives conducted at the Chip test center. But even if you're looking to save money or your system isn't compatible with NVMe-enabled M.2 drives, a modern SATA SSD will do the trick, especially since they're relatively inexpensive.

At High Speeds: Testing NVMe Drives to Endurance

If a drive is primarily required to have high data transfer speeds, then it should be an SSD running on the NVMe protocol. If at first there was a very small number of similar models on the market (and not cheap ones), now the choice has become much more diverse. Even small suppliers offer their models. Our testing will show which model is best suited for certain tasks. We decided to limit ourselves to models for the M.2 slot. They are preferable to exotic, expensive PCIe cards because they can be installed on motherboards and laptops either in the M.2 slot or via an adapter in the PCIe slot.

Technical Issues: Controller and Flash Memory

The tasks of the control element of a solid-state drive - the controller - are to exchange data with the PC processor via the PCIe interface, as well as to write to memory cells and read data from them. Its performance plays a special role when working with large amounts of data and parallel read and write access. Our test covers a wide range of modern drives with five different types of controllers.

Samsung develops and produces not only memory chips, but also its own controllers with a five-core processor based on ARM microarchitecture - the most powerful of those tested, which constantly produces high results in almost every benchmark. Corsair and Patriot drives with a Phison controller can compete with Samsung in terms of read and data transfer speeds, as well as the number of operations performed per second - but, nevertheless, their write speeds turned out to be much lower. However, this difference when working on a home desktop or gaming PC will be noticeable in extremely rare cases. In this range of devices with performance and the mark “very good” also falls the Toshiba OCZ RD400 with a Toshiba controller, which reveals similarities with the Marvell chip.

In our table below, Toshiba shows a visible and tangible gap in the overall score, which is based primarily on performance: drives with Marvell and Silicon Motion controllers (from Plextor to WD) are a good ten points behind the previous position. But it should be taken into account that at least their price per gigabyte is much lower. However, Plextor is too underpowered for its price per gigabyte.

Therefore, the Intel 600p becomes an advantageous offer, the cost per gigabyte of which is at the level of SATA drives - however, this drive does not provide the performance typical of NVMe drives for very long. The point is this: Intel uses multi-level Triple Level Cell flash memory technology, in which three bits are stored in a cell. Because this technology is more complex than the commonly used two-bit Multi Level Cell memory, the writing process is slower. To correct the situation, the Intel 600p uses a certain part of the cells for the SLC cache (Single Level Cell), which fills up very quickly.

All incoming data first ends up here, and then is gradually saved into standard TLC memory. While this trick works, Intel reaches the speed of NVMe drives. But as soon as the amount of data increases, the cache can no longer cope. In this case, the cache has to be released (and this is a very labor-intensive process), and only then will it be able to accept new data. And since this overloads the controller, the cache, which in itself is a justifiable solution, becomes a bottleneck, and the speed is reduced to a level below the SATA drive.

Flash memory: MLC, TLC and others

Solid-state drives use flash memory of varying density, which depends on the stage of technology development.

> SLC (Single Level Cell)- the fastest and most reliable flash memory. Each cell stores one bit. Currently, SLC is used either in very expensive drives or as a fast cache.

> MLC (Multi Level Cell)- memory with multiple charge levels, storing two bits per cell.

> TLC (Triple Level Cell) With a large number of charge levels, it stores three bits per cell, which makes it slower and more sensitive than MLC.

> 3D-MLC or 3D-TLC means that the cells are located not only in one plane, but also in layers. The three-dimensional structure provides higher recording density and reliability and a shorter data transmission line, and therefore higher speed.

Heating problem and memory bottleneck

The last problem does not apply to drives that use MLC technology on an ongoing basis. But they are at risk of trouble due to heating. A long write process brings the controller to its maximum possible temperature, and on a small module with purely passive cooling, the heat cannot be dissipated effectively, and so the controller slows down to cool down. But in everyday use this is unlikely to happen often: the Corsair MP500 480 GB shows such a sharp drop after about 50 seconds of continuous recording at the maximum possible speed - and thanks to the high data transfer rate, this period of time corresponds to a 64 GB recording.

Samsung itself designs and produces memory and controllers, so its products outperform most rivals. Its modules use three-dimensional flash memory technology, which allows cells to be arranged not only in a plane, but also in layers, thereby reducing the length of data transmission lines and increasing its speed. The MLC (two bits per cell) version is designed for the expensive 960 Pro models, which are designed to withstand even high loads on workstations or servers. The 960 Evo models run on a cheaper version of 3D TLC memory (three bits per cell), their speed is noticeably lower, and therefore, like Intel, Samsung resorts to SLC cache.

On the 500GB Evo, it's very noticeable when the SLC cache fills up: after 11 seconds, or about 20 GB of writes (incompressible data), the speed drops from 1800 maximum possible to 630 MB/s. This speed remains fixed, indicating that the data is then stored directly into 3D TLC memory. The 960 Evo with a capacity of 1 TB has a larger SLC cache and twice as many memory modules, which the drive can write to simultaneously.

In fact, the drive maintains speeds at 1,800 MB/s for about twice as long (23 seconds) before slowing down to about twice the minimum speed of the 500 GB model. But even then, you need to copy tens of gigabytes of data from a source whose speed matches or exceeds the speed of the NVMe SSD in order to reach the memory bottleneck - something that is unlikely to ever happen in normal use.

The Future of SSDs

As demonstrated by released and announced products, new types of memory open up new possibilities for using disks.

>Intel Optane- the name of the technology for M.2 drives running on the new 3D XPoint memory with instant response. Optane modules, however, are not intended to be used as storage devices, but as a fast cache for frequently accessed files stored on an HDD or SSD.

> Samsung Z-NAND- the next stage in the development of flash memory. The 800GB Z-NAND drive promises speeds of up to 3.2GB/s and 750,000 IOPS. However, when it will be released is still unclear.

Service and warranty terms

If you're buying an expensive drive that's built for the future, make sure your device comes with a long warranty. In general, solid-state drives and their flash memory have not caused much inconvenience lately, so some manufacturers - for example, Adata, Intel, Plextor and Western Digital - give them a full five-year warranty.

Toshiba OCZ even offers to immediately replace the device free of charge during the term: you receive a new disk before sending the faulty one. The Samsung Pro model also comes with a five-year warranty, although it expires when the drive exceeds a specified Total Bytes Written threshold. For the 960 Pro 512 GB, the threshold value is as much as 400 TB.

That is, in order to expire the warranty early, you need to write at least 220 GB to the SSD every day for five years. One way or another, the high speed of NVMe SSDs makes them promising for the next few years.

TOP 10 SATA SSDs under 10 thousand rubles.

1.

Overall rating: 95.6

Price/quality ratio: 74

2.

Overall rating: 91.2

Price/quality ratio: 67

3.

Overall rating: 89.8

Price/quality ratio: 48

4.

Overall rating: 91.3

Price/quality ratio: 22

5.

Overall rating: 89.6

Price/quality ratio: 28

6.

Overall rating: 85.5

Price/quality ratio: 19

7.

Overall rating: 87.9

Price/quality ratio: 69

8.

Overall rating: 83.7

Price/quality ratio: 28

9.

Overall rating: 83.3

Price/quality ratio: 15

10.

Data transfer rate (40%)

: 85.5

: 46.2

: 89.3

: 100

Overall rating: 78.1

Price/quality ratio: 53

TOP 15 M.2/NVME SSDs

1.

: 96.1

: 94.5

Overall rating: 95.8

Price/quality ratio: 63

2.

Read data transfer rate (80%)

: 95

: 92.9

Overall rating: 94.6

Price/quality ratio: 79

3.

Read data transfer rate (80%)

: 91.4

: 89.3

Overall Score: 91

Price/quality ratio: 77

4.

Read data transfer rate (80%)

: 94.1

: 80.9

Now it seems that SSDs have always been around. Like, where would we be without them? In fact, although the first models appeared in the early nineties, SSDs have become more or less widespread since 2009. At first they were a flash drive with a SATA interface, but gradually they became smarter and acquired a lot of useful functions that made it possible to hide the inferiority of flash memory compared to magnetic platters in normal hard drives (yes, that’s right!). Let me emphasize that in this text we are talking exclusively about 2.5-inch consumer SSDs with a SATA interface. I don’t see any point in writing about corporate models with PCI-Express, but it’s better to talk about models with M.2 for ultrabooks and advanced motherboards separately.

I often hear that I want to switch to an SSD, but I know that they are not reliable, there are so many write cycles and that’s it. That's why I don't move on. This is, of course, the right decision. In the metro, trains sometimes stop abruptly. You can fall and get a bump. Therefore, there is no need to take the subway. Cars crash. We cross it out. And in childhood, a bicycle is generally a shaitan machine. If a child wants to ride, let him do it in the elevator. With grandma. And take some water with you.

If you judge by only one indicator, the number of write cycles, then an SSD is a quiet horror. On a regular hard drive, you can write until you’re crazy about carrots, but here it’s like three thousand times – and that’s it, dammit. An inquisitive guy can finish it in a couple of days. Horror, horror, we won’t take it.

I’ll tell you something completely terrible now. Three thousand is ideal. In practice, flash memory can “wear out” after just a couple of thousand cycles. And this is the case if there is MLC type memory inside the SSD. And the newfangled TLC even has an official threshold of 1000 cycles. And the kirdyk-babai can sneak up after 700-800. There are, however, SLC-type memory, where the number of write cycles reaches 100,000, but it costs about 10 bucks per gigabyte. You can estimate how much even the affordable 128 GB will cost.

But here's the thing. I have an Intel SSD. It has been running on different computers for me since 2009. First, the home system has three years as the main one. Then on NAS around the clock until the end of 2014. And so far, according to all tests, the flash memory in it is like new. The controller, however, is one of the first ones, and cannot really do anything, so the recording speed dropped to a ridiculous 26 MB/s. But if you format it, it will again be more than a hundred. And reading remains at the level of 250 MB/s, which is quite acceptable even in today’s times.

How is this possible? Here's how. The Politburo, you know, isn’t full of fools. And the SSD controller will never allow data to be written a thousand times in a row to the same cell. He will carefully select the newest ones and write in them first. So that everyone ages evenly. If the drive is not filled to capacity and there is enough free space on it (say, 60 gigabytes), it is unlikely that you will be able to use the SSD until it wears out in the foreseeable future. There is one more trick. Many consumer SSDs have a stated capacity of 120, 240 or 480 GB. So, in fact, there are 128, 256 or 512 GB of memory, just the hidden volume is used as a safety net. And if you wipe the flash within the stated volume, it will be replaced with a spare one. And you won't notice anything for a long time.

Therefore, in practice, even an SSD with unreliable TLC flash memory will live longer than the time when you want to change it due to insufficient capacity. Unless, of course, it dies due to a defect, an electrical surge, a swollen capacitor, or a controller failure. But regular HDDs are not immune to this.

There is, perhaps, only one way to reliably remove an SSD within a short period of time. A videographer friend of mine mastered it. Several times a day, he recorded a hundred or two gigabytes of data from the camera to the SSD. I sent them on air, erased them, and recorded them again the next day. The SSD was clogged almost all the way. In this mode, the first two SSDs died within six months. Before buying the third one, he asked me what was going on, should I go back to the HDD. I explained to him some of the principles of how SSDs work and advised him from now on to take not exactly custom SSDs, for which the recommended recording volume is 20 GB per day, but something of the Enterprise class with a limit of 80-100 GB. Plus I advised taking the volume not 256 GB, but 480. And leaving some free space. Similar to how part of agricultural land is annually left fallow, without being used for its intended purpose. Apparently, the advice came in handy. I haven’t heard any mournful lamentations for a year and a half now.

Probably, a similar effect can be achieved if you download huge volumes of torrents every day, erase them, and download them again. I don't know, I haven't tried it. In my humble opinion, an SSD is designed to store the operating system, the most important applications (for example, a graphics or video editor), as well as games. Yes, yes, games. They load such inhuman amounts of data into memory that it is better to do this with an SSD. For everything else, there are traditional HDDs located nearby. If an SSD is installed in a laptop, and there is simply no space for an HDD, I recommend getting an external one. At current USB speeds, the difference with internal layout will be negligible. And, in any case, it is extremely useful to organize automatic backup of the SSD to the HDD. Once a week will be enough.

SSD, unlike HDD, is not bothered by kicks to the case in case of an unsuccessful battle in World of Tanks; it is quite indifferent to the temperature around it. A laptop with an SSD will not lose data even after being dropped in a working state, which personally always worries me more than a broken screen. And you can twist and turn it as you like. Well, it’s also definitely FASTER. And not so much in absolute terms (although that too), but in terms of data access time. So, if you approach the matter with understanding, SSDs are very useful. The main thing is not to destroy it deliberately, like the men in the joke about the Japanese chainsaw.

Yes, the SSD does not wear out from reading data. Only from recording. For some reason many people don’t know this.

And now we come to the most important thing - how to choose an SSD to make you happy? Boring hardware guys will start telling you all sorts of things about controllers, sequential recording, a bunch of benchmarks and the like. But I respect your time and will explain everything simply and quickly.

1) Decide on the volume. Even if there is a lot of money, and it has already burned a hole in your pocket more than once, there is no need to take something crazy like a terabyte. SSDs are poorly designed for storing and processing large amounts of data. If you need a file dump, take an HDD, it will be much cheaper and more reliable. For a normal person, a volume of 240-256 GB is quite sufficient. If you need to carry large video files and a database of photos with you (with the reservations made above), you can take 480-512. You can do more, but I don’t beat people’s hands and I don’t count other people’s income. But a terabyte will most likely be based on TLC, which - here's the paradox - is designed very poorly for recording large amounts of data. But I would advise using 128 GB models with caution, because their write speed is often half that of 256 GB models. And what is 128 GB in these days? Laughter alone. The “Tanks” are already reaching thirty.

2) Don't worry about the controller. No, I'm serious. Boring guys write whole stories about them, but you have to understand that even the least successful modern models provide more than 400 MB/s when reading and 200 MB/s when writing. Well, if you're really unlucky - 150 MB/s. But, most likely, you will be lucky. Is there a difference between reading 400 MB/s and, say, 500 MB/s? Yes in benchmarks, but not in real life. It's even more interesting with a recording. Is there any source from which you will stream large files at a speed of at least 150 MB/s? I couldn’t imagine something like this. All real situations are much slower. Plus, the SSD has a buffer of 128-512 MB, where all relatively small files are dumped, and this happens instantly. So, whatever one may say, it is very problematic to run into problems with the recording speed, and therefore you should not worry about it categorically. Yes, of course, it’s wildly pleasant when, according to benchmarks, everything is so cool, but for a normal person it will be good and comfortable in any situation. Personally (I personally) like controllers from Intel, Marvell, Jmicron and Toshiba. But when buying an SSD, even I am usually more interested in reliability and price rather than controllers.

3) Reliability is a relative thing. In the sense that a lot depends on external factors, and even the most proven pieces of hardware can die the death of the brave if their owner is a dunce. For example, drives are traditionally nervous about the quality of the power supply, and if the power supply in the computer is crooked, anything is possible. But you've already read it and you won't miss it. Plus a surge protector. A real one, not a socket with a light bulb.

What brands of SSD can you safely buy?

Intel
Intel(very good, so twice)
ADATA
Crucial
Kingston
OCZ
Sandisk
Seagate
Samsung
Silicon Power
Transcend

There are several other manufacturers with smaller calibers. In principle, you can pay attention to them if the seller is reliable, and there will definitely be no problems with returns/replacements. But I wouldn't. Fortunately, the listed brands have models from very different price categories.

4) An important point is the warranty period. On average it is 3 years, but some particularly responsible manufacturers (Intel! Intel!) give five years. The MTBF of an SSD is enormous, from 1 to 2 million hours, so you are unlikely to hit this parameter (well, 114 years may not be enough, but 228 will certainly be enough). If you constantly make backups, even the untimely death of an SSD during the warranty period is unlikely to upset you. And, I repeat, it is necessary to make a backup of the SSD. That’s why they don’t die in parts, like HDDs, but usually all at once. And it is extremely expensive to extract data from there. Although you need to backup both.

So we decide on the volume, don’t worry about the controller, choose a good brand and see what the warranty period is for a particular model. That's all! You will be pleased.

As usual, here are 10 SSD models that you can safely take.

1. Intel SSDSC2BP240G401 710-Series 240 GB(2 million hours MTBF, 5 years warranty)
2. ADATA Premier Pro SP920 256 GB(well balanced model, read speed up to 560 MB/s)
3. Samsung 850 Pro 512 GB(for those who need a lot of fast space, writing up to 520 MB/s, reading even faster. 512 MB buffer. But not cheap).
4. SanDisk X300s 256 GB(corporate model with increased daily recording resource, up to 80 GB)
5. Silicon Power Slim S55 240 GB(not the fastest, recording “only” 440 MB/s, but the price is nice).
6. OCZ Saber 1000 240 GB(another fast corporate model. You can rewrite up to 100 GB every day at a speed of 500 MB/s, and at the same time it will work for three years, guaranteed).
7. Kingston SSDNow V300 480 GB(many people wince because of the SandForce controller inside, but the speed is enough. Plus, this is one of the most affordable SSD options of this capacity).
8. Transcend SSD370 (Premium) 256 GB(not outstanding in speed, but reliable and inexpensive model)
9. Intel DC S3710 Series 800 GB(an extremely reliable model, capable of overwriting almost 17 Petabytes. Petabyte, that’s not a typo. And if you have 90,000 rubles to spare, you simply won’t find a better option).
10. Samsung 850 Pro 128 GB(it costs more than many 256 GB models, but it has the same speed as many of them - 550/470 MB/s. Fans of small but fast ones will appreciate it).

Now you know everything about SSDs. You don't need to read anything else...

I'll write more about memory and HDD soon.

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A solid-state drive is a new generation of storage devices whose operation is entirely based on memory chips, and eliminates the presence of mechanical parts. The first generation of SSD, which was based on flash memory technology, was in 1995, and was a huge success in scientific circles. Despite the fact that the stability of such a device left much to be desired and it was too early to consider it as a full-fledged alternative to HDD, a great future was predicted for it.

Since 2010, the computer hardware market has been replenished with SSD drive models with memory capacities from 64 to 512 GB, which marked the beginning of the gradual displacement of traditional hard drives. Compared to the latter, solid-state drives had a number of undeniable advantages:

• disproportionately high speed of writing and reading data, which has a positive effect on performance and performance;
• less noise and high resistance to mechanical damage due to the absence of mechanical parts;
• low energy consumption (in some cases up to 70%).

All this clearly indicates the possibility of a decent upgrade of hardware, especially for gaming needs.

To help you make your choice, we have compiled a rating of the ten best SSD drives from recognized market leaders. The selection of applicants was made according to the criteria of reliability, value for money, as well as based on reviews from users and recognized experts.

The best manufacturing companiesSSD- drives

Samsung. One of the most popular and trusted manufacturers of SSD drives on the global market. It has several lines of drives for computers of different levels. Budget and premium models, different form factors and maximum speeds.

Intel. The recognized leader in the field of computer electronics production did not ignore the development of SSD drives. Numerous experiments (including those from independent laboratories) have established the fact of the highest reliability of drives from this company, and partially justified the fact of their high cost.

Kingston. The entry of this company into the solid-state SSD drive market turned out to be very controversial and deserves a portion of censure. The first samples of memory modules were purchased from Intel and relabeled under the Chinese brand. After a short stint as a packager, Kingston established its own production and became a strong competitor to the flagship firms.

Transcend. A company whose main philosophy is to maintain a balance between the cost of products and their quality. As a manufacturer of SSD drives, it has firmly established itself in the niche of the middle price segment, providing users with, although not the most productive, but the most reliable data storage devices.

Plextor. A company from the Land of the Rising Sun that can withstand the competition of leaders thanks to the low price tag for its products. Despite the use of purely budget hardware in the manufacture of SSD drives (for example, Marvell controllers are combined with Toshiba’s not-so-top flash-memory developments), the latter’s performance is practically not inferior to mid-range models from the same Samsung and Intel.

Best external SSD drives

3 Transcend TS1TESD400K

Large memory capacity (1 TB)
Country: Taiwan
Average price: 31,500 ₽
Rating (2018): 4.6

An interesting model of a storage device, created in the best traditions of Transcend. The first thing that catches your eye is the excellent design of the disc case. But does the internal content of the model correspond to what is visible externally?

The answer to this question lies in the field of the concept “controversial”, and the reason for this is not the filling at all. The main problem with the Transcend TS1TESD400K is the strange USB 3.0 cable included, complaints about which are constantly coming from indignant users. Largely because of this, the SSD drive does not produce the stated write and read speeds (out of 380 and 410 MB/s, only 170 and 250 MB/s are realized, respectively, and in the best case). In addition, very often the data transfer process is interrupted due to the “disconnection” of the wire.

It is noteworthy that such problems can be avoided by the notorious replacement of the complete wire, after which the device (not always, but as a rule) continues to work without complaints.

2 ADATA SD700 256GB

Best Rugged Portable SSD
Country: China
Average price: 4,949 ₽е
Rating (2018): 4.7

The second line of the rating is occupied by a model that will clearly be of interest to photographers, videographers and others whose work involves processing a huge amount of information far from civilization. This is a protected device that can withstand shocks, falls, exposure to water and serious vibrations. Protection is provided by a housing made of durable plastic and a thick rubber rim. However, it is worth considering that there is no official compliance with any protection standards, and therefore you should not hope for a miracle and use the SD700 in extreme conditions. It is not recommended to use an external drive in cold weather - the operating temperature range starts from +5 O C

Inside the black or light green case there can be 256, 512 or 1024 GB of TLC 3D NAND memory. The manufacturer claims read and write speeds of 420-440 Mbit/sec. These figures are confirmed by independent tests and user reviews. Data transfer is carried out via the USB 3.1 interface.

Since the invention of SSD drives, HDDs that have been proven over the years have gradually faded into the background. Despite their obsolescence, the latter still have significant advantages, but the superiority of new technologies turns out to be more significant. What are their advantages, and what parameters hide the disadvantages - we find out from the comparison table.

1 Samsung Portable SSD T5 250GB

The most modern. The best portable SSD for modern ultrabooks
Country: South Korea
Average price: 7,110 RUR
Rating (2018): 4.8

Sales statistics in recent years indicate that large desktop PCs are increasingly being replaced by portable laptops equipped with only the minimum required set of ports. Take, for example, the popular MacBooks - on their edges there was only room for USB Type-C ports. External solid-state drives like the Samsung T5 were created to work with such devices. This is an extremely compact (57.3x10.5x74mm) and lightweight (only 51 g) model with a minimalist anodized aluminum body.

Samsung's proprietary V-NAND memory is installed inside. Models available with 250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB. The declared read/write speed is good news - 540 MB/s. The drive is equipped with a USB 3.1 Type-C port. The kit includes two cables: Type-C to Type-C and Type-C to Type-A, which allows you to connect the drive to both modern and fairly old devices.

In conclusion, it is worth noting the accompanying software: there are applications for Mac, Windows, iOS and Android. They can be used to encrypt data using the AES 256 algorithm, update firmware, create data backups, etc.

The best SSD drives for a desktop computer

4 Intel SSDPED1D280GAX1

Fastest PCI-E SSD
Country: USA
Average price: RUB 29,864
Rating (2018): 4.6

Intel is one of the pioneers in the field of electronics. The company is best known for processors, but can also boast of some success in the field of storage systems. For example, the fastest SSD drives of the Optane family. Within this category, we will consider a couple of models at once. The first is a PCI-E card. The model is made in the “video card” format. Color – only black. The entire upper surface is covered with a massive heatsink that prevents overheating of the memory chips. The device looks stylish, is well assembled and gives the impression of a top-level device, which it is. The radiator, by the way, is not for beauty - during operation the card can heat up to 50 ° C.

Why does a solid-state drive with a capacity of only 240 GB cost 30 thousand rubles? It's all about flash memory technology. It uses Intel-developed 3D Xpoint memory, which has the best speeds and lowest latencies to date. In tests, the card produces about 2500 MB/s for reading, and 1700 MB/s for writing. Please note - not megabits, but megabytes per second!

3 Intel SSDPE21D480GAM3

The fastest 2.5' SSD drive
Country: USA
Average price: 44,850 RUR
Rating (2018): 4.7

The second representative of the Optane line is made in a completely different form factor - it is a 2.5-inch drive more familiar to most users. But two things immediately attract attention. The first is the case design. On it we can see many “pimples” and ribs that act as a radiator. You remember that these drives get very hot, right? The second is the connection type. The U.2 connector is used. It cannot be found on all motherboards, and therefore the manufacturer included an adapter for the more common M.2 in the kit.

There are practically no differences in technical characteristics - the bronze medalist only better withstands shaking and shock (withstands overloads of up to 1000 G), operates at a higher temperature (up to 85 degrees), and consumes 12.8 W of energy, instead of 14 W for the previous participant. The remaining differences are in ease of use. Firstly, a 2.5 format disk does not take up space on the computer’s motherboard, and given the class of the device, it probably already has a massive, powerful video card. Secondly, the ability to “hot” swap the disk – you can’t do this with a PCI-E card. Thirdly, the cost/volume ratio.

2 Plextor PX-256M9PeY

Budget PCI-E drive
Country: China
Average price: 6,890 RUR
Rating (2018): 4.7

Let's move on from the exotic to more down-to-earth models, the cost of which corresponds to the capabilities of the majority of ordinary users of desktop computers. The device is made in the form factor of a PCI-E card. The design can be called cheerful, because in addition to the black heatsink and a small red insert, the case has RGB lighting. Gamers will definitely be pleased.

Inside there is TLC 3D NAND flash memory that supports NVMe and TRIM. Read and write speeds are stated at 3000 and 1000 MB/s, respectively. And to some extent, these indicators are true - files up to 3 GB will indeed be processed at maximum speed thanks to the fast cache. When working with large amounts of data, the speed will drop to “earthly” 500-520 Mb/s. Also note that the model from Plextor is the only one in the category that does not support encryption.

1 Samsung MZ-V7E250BW

Best price/performance ratio
Country: South Korea
Average price: 6,150 RUR
Rating (2018): 4.8

The leader of the rating is the long-proven SSD of the 970 Evo line from Samsung. This is the most affordable and most compact model in the category. The drive is installed in the M.2 connector, which means it takes up virtually no space in the case or on the motherboard. This allows you to install an SSD not only in a desktop PC, but also in a laptop. On the other hand, the form factor does not allow the installation of a cooling radiator, which is why temperatures are slightly higher than those of competitors - about 55 degrees.

The situation with speed indicators turned out to be extremely interesting - the 250 GB model lags significantly behind the 500 and 1000 GB modifications. For example, the sequential read speed is 2900 and 3500 MB/s for the younger and older models, respectively. When recording, the figures vary even more: 1000 and 3000 MB/s! Therefore, if performance is important to you, pay attention to a model with a minimum capacity of 500 GB. Finally, we note that the manufacturer provides a 5-year warranty on its products.

The best SSD drives for a laptop

3 Kingston SMS200S3/240G

The most reliable
Country: USA (made in China)
Average price: 4,240 RUR
Rating (2018): 4.7

The third position of Kingston SMS200S3/240G is due solely to the memory capacity of 240 GB, and does not hide any reproaches to the technical part. Built on the SandForce SF-2281 controller, the SSD uses the widespread MLC technology as flash memory - a multi-level information storage model.

As for the performance characteristics, in addition to 240 GB of memory, the speed of writing and reading information should be equal to 530 and 540 MB / s, respectively. The proven SATA is used as the connection interface, the maximum external data transfer speed of which reaches 600 Mb/s.

Particular attention should be paid to the reliability characteristics. The time between failures is a decent 1 million hours – higher values ​​are available for versions of SSD drives for desktop computers or premium versions for laptops. Combined with the cost, we get a high-quality drive model that can revive any weak system.

2 Western Digital WD GREEN PC SSD 240 GB

Best price
Country: USA
Average price: 2,965 RUR
Rating (2018): 4.7

Western Digital is widely known for producing excellent hard drives. The leaders in the SSD drive market are completely different, but WD can also offer good options. One of them is WD Green with a capacity of 240 GB. This is a great option for those who want to speed up their laptop a little or replace a dying HDD with a more modern analogue. The main advantage of the model is its cost. For the silver medalist they ask only 3 thousand rubles.

You can't expect high performance speed for that kind of money. The model uses a SATA connection, which physically cannot provide speeds above 600 MB/s. Tests show sequential write and read speeds of 460 and 560 MB/s, respectively. Note that users in reviews complain about the low reading speed of 4K sectors. You can also find fault with the lack of TRIM, less time between failures than competitors, and much more. However, we remember the cost and stop paying attention to such trifles. In addition, not all laptops support NVMe, which means a solid-state drive via the good old SATA is a real salvation for them.

1 Samsung MZ-V7P1T0BW

The fastest SSD for laptops
Country: South Korea
Average price: RUB 28,390
Rating (2018): 4.9

In contrast to the previous participant, the top-end SSD M.2 drive is from Samsung. The cost and characteristics of the model directly indicate the scope of application - the drive is designed for the most powerful laptops. It uses proprietary V-NAND memory and a Samsung Phoenix controller. Thanks to the connection via PCI-E (M.2 connector) and NVMe support, the model is capable of delivering speeds of about 2700 MB/s for writing, and 3500 MB/s for reading! At this speed, even 1 TB of disk space can be filled in less than half an hour. Among the nice features, we also note the power consumption of 5.8 W, which is very useful for laptop computers to save battery power.

Drives for testing were provided by the company "Regard ", where there is always a wide choiceSSDat competitive prices

Flash memory-based solid state drives have become a part of our lives. They provide high speed data access - which is why they are used in a large proportion of personal computers today. In fact, any modern productive configuration requires an SSD with a capacity sufficient at least to install the operating system and basic programs.

However, prices for drives based on flash memory remain high enough to completely displace classic hard drives from use. For a flash drive with a capacity of 2 TB, for example, you will have to spend about $800, and a HDD of the same volume will cost 6-7 times less. Therefore, today the unspoken standard has become a two-level organization of the disk subsystem, implying the simultaneous presence of a high-speed, small-capacity solid-state drive and a capacious mechanical hard drive. In this combination, the SSD plays the role of the system disk, and the HDD is intended for storing user files and a multimedia library.

More recently, users who decided to join the SSD were guided by this particular scheme and purchased mainly solid-state drives with a capacity of 60 to 128 GB, which contained only the operating system and a couple of the most actively used programs. And sometimes even Intel’s Smart Response technology was used, which allows using a small SSD to organize caching of any requests to a relatively slow HDD. That is, due to the high prices for solid-state drives, users had to resort to certain tricks and try to get by with SSDs as small as possible.

However, recently the situation has changed somewhat. Improvements in the design of flash memory chips, the development of new technological processes, as well as increased competition among solid-state drive manufacturers have had a very large impact on the prices of consumer SSD models. Just since the beginning of 2015, the cost of popular models of client flash drives has fallen by more than one and a half times. And this, naturally, changed customer preferences. Of course, in most cases it has not yet been possible to get away from the two-level disk subsystem, but quite capacious models have often begun to be used as system drives, which allow storing not only the operating system and main software packages, but also a certain number of games on fast media. Therefore, it is not surprising that 256 GB models have become the best-selling SSDs today. Actually, it is for this reason that our laboratory pays special attention to SSD tests with such a capacity: we almost always get acquainted with the performance of new products using the example of modifications with a capacity of 256 GB.

However, this does not mean that 128 GB SSDs became completely unpopular overnight. In fact, their sales are only slightly inferior to sales of drives with twice the capacity. And this is understandable: for low-cost configurations, a 128 GB SSD is more affordable, and many users simply do not need high-speed storage devices with a larger capacity. Therefore, our readers often turn to us for advice: which of the modern SSDs is better to purchase if they have to choose from among offers with a capacity of 128 GB.

Unfortunately, our regular testing of drives with a capacity of 256 GB or more does not allow us to give an unambiguous answer to the question of how SSDs with a capacity of 128 GB perform in real life. The fact is that such models differ from their older brothers in internal architecture - and this inevitably affects their performance. In order to pack a relatively small 128GB flash memory array, fewer NAND devices than usual are required, which reduces the level of parallelism of the entire NAND array inside the drive. And this not only makes the 128 GB SSD noticeably slower than offerings of larger capacity, but at the same time the load on the controller is also reduced, which somewhat smoothes out the differences between high-end and budget SSD platforms. In total, all this means that in small-volume drives the primary influence on the final performance is the speed of the flash memory used, while a powerful controller is not at all necessary to obtain good performance. Therefore, when comparing SSDs with a capacity of 128 GB, the leaders may not be those models that are usually considered flagship solutions. And therefore, the question of the optimal choice of drives of this volume is by no means idle.

Considering all that has been said, our laboratory decided to turn to research on the performance of 128 GB SATA SSDs and conducted a large combined test, which should clearly answer the question of which small SSDs make sense to purchase today. It's worth noting that this testing is valuable not only because we tested a large number of different SSD models. A separate advantage of the study is that it was carried out simultaneously. That is, all performance indicators were taken on an unchanged test system with the latest version of the Windows 10 operating system with the latest drivers and the latest firmware versions. Moreover, all the drives included in the comparison were taken by us from retail sales immediately before conducting tests, that is, the results obtained characterize exactly those versions of SSDs that can currently be bought in stores.

Brief overview of tested SSDs

ADATA Premier SP550 120 GB

ADATA is famous for its love for various experiments with SSDs. In its product line you can find very rare combinations of controller and memory, and the new Premier SP550 model is just one of such products that has no analogues among the offerings of other manufacturers. The fact is that ADATA decided to be one of the first to try out the new Silicon Motion SM2256 controller, which is the next version of the popular SM2246EN controller with the addition of a hardware error correction algorithm based on LDPC ECC (low-density code). This algorithm is more efficient than the usually used BCH ECC, which allows you to combine the rather capricious TLC NAND with the new controller and at the same time guarantee a level of data storage reliability acceptable for client SSDs.

This is exactly how the ADATA Premier SP550 is made. In it, the SM2256 chip works with TLC NAND from SK Hynix, produced using 16 nm technology. The flash memory array of this drive consists of eight NAND devices connected to the controller via four channels. And this means that the Premier SP550 is a budget solution with relatively low performance.

However, the SP550 implements special technologies aimed at masking the low speed of the flash memory array. Thus, it provides SLC caching technology for write operations. This means that a small part of the memory array is switched to fast SLC mode and serves as a Write-Back cache. The effective size of this area for the 120 GB version of the SP550 is about 2.5 GB.

There are no complaints about the declared reliability: the SP550 comes with a standard three-year warranty, and its declared endurance is 90 TB of records.

ADATA Premier SP610 128 GB

The older brother of the previous drive, the Premier SP610, is based on the older Silicon Motion SM2246EN controller, which does not have TLC NAND support. Therefore, the SP610 belongs to a higher class - it uses full-fledged MLC NAND, produced by Micron using a 20-nm process technology.

However, despite this, the SP610 still remains an inexpensive solution. The SM2246EN controller is a typical budget chip: it has a single-core design and RISC architecture, and communicates with flash memory via four channels. In addition, the Premier SP610 uses 128-gigabit MLC NAND devices. Consequently, the level of parallelism of the ADATA Premier SP610 flash memory array is relatively low, and this significantly limits the performance of this solution, especially on write operations.

ADATA Premier Pro SP920 128 GB

The ADATA Premier Pro SP920 model has been on the market for quite a long time, however, it continues to enjoy steady demand and therefore is in no hurry to become an obsolete product. The secret of its popularity is the use of the Marvell 88SS9189 controller, which has won the title of one of the best platforms for SATA SSD. This is a full-fledged and high-performance eight-channel controller, which is usually based on the most advanced SSDs.

But the Premier Pro SP920 still cannot be called a flagship product. The fact is that it is actually manufactured by Micron, and ADATA only distributes it through its channels. Micron did not create competitors with similar characteristics for its own Crucial MX100/MX200 series with its own hands, but proposed using its own MLC NAND, produced using the old 20 nm process technology, in the Premier Pro SP920. Moreover, the capacity of the flash memory devices that fit into the SP920 is 128 Gbit, that is, the degree of parallelism of the memory array is not too high - only one NAND device is connected to each controller channel.

As a result, the ADATA Premier Pro SP920 can only claim to be a mid-range offering. However, his noble birth allows us to hope for high reliability. For example, although this SSD only comes with a three-year warranty, it claims a relatively good recording resource of 72 TB. In addition, the electrical circuit of the Premier Pro SP920 provides hardware protection of the address translation table from power surges, which is usually not implemented in consumer-level offerings.

ADATA XPG SX930 120 GB

XPG SX930 is one of ADATA's most original drives. And it's not just that it's based on the rare JMicron JMF670H controller. What’s much more interesting is that, having relied on this budget four-channel platform, ADATA engineers tried to create a product out of it that could look decent on a par with flagship SATA SSDs.

To solve this problem, two different methods were used at once. The reliability of the ADATA XPG SX930 has been increased due to special flash memory, which the manufacturer calls MLC+. In essence, this is almost ordinary 16-nm MLC NAND manufactured by Micron, but with an important addition in the form of FortisFlash technology. This technology extends the life of flash memory cells through the use of intelligent algorithms for their management and special software settings of the controller. Unfortunately, ADATA does not disclose specific details regarding the effectiveness of using FortisFlash MLC, however, the XPG SX930, unlike all other drives from this manufacturer, comes with a full five-year warranty.

The second method for improving drive performance is pseudo-SLC caching. Typically, this strategy is typical for drives using TLC NAND, but in the case of the XPG SX930, a similar approach is applied to SSDs based on MLC memory. And here it is quite appropriate, because the level of parallelism of the memory array in this SSD is minimal, since the NAND devices used in the XPG SX930 have a 128-gigabit capacity, and the JMicron JMF670H controller works with the flash memory array only through four channels. The effective size of the SLC cache in the 128 GB version of the XPG SX930, according to our estimates, is about 3 GB, and its presence allows ADATA to indicate fairly high performance indicators for this drive in the specifications.

Crucial BX100 120 GB

Under the Crucial brand, two lines of solid-state drives are traditionally supplied: the older one, MX, and the younger one, BX. However, only cheap Crucial BX100 drives have a capacity of 120 GB, while the flagship MX200 series has a minimum capacity of 250 GB. This is due to the fact that Micron, which owns the Crucial brand, puts flash memory with a core size of 128 Gbit in its modern SSDs. Accordingly, the memory array in the 120 GB modification of the drive receives a low level of parallelism, and it does not make much sense to use a powerful hardware platform with it.

Crucial BX100 120 GB is a typical budget SSD, which is based on a four-channel single-core Silicon Motion SM2246EN controller. It works with a flash memory array, which is assembled from Micron chips produced using 16 nm technology. And this means that in terms of hardware, the BX100 is very similar to many other similar SSDs, for example, the same ADATA Premier SP610.

However, there is one important difference. Micron has a strong engineering team, so the Crucial BX100 is not built using the reference design provided by the controller developers. It has its own layout and its own firmware, by optimizing which Micron engineers have achieved improved performance compared to most SSDs based on the SM2246EN chip.

Intel SSD 535 120 GB

Intel has long ceased to be one of the leading manufacturers of consumer-grade SSDs. Now it is almost entirely focused on the server segment and offers only slightly adapted server models for ordinary users. With one exception, which is the Intel SSD 535 and its earlier versions. However, SSD 535 is produced by Intel rather out of inertia, and simply because many buyers pay attention to Intel SSDs based on old memory. In fact, this is a modern variation of the Intel SSD 520 - an ancient Intel drive that was released at the very beginning of 2012.

In other words, the Intel SSD 535 is almost the only current drive that uses the ever-memorable SandForce SF-2281 controller. And this is a very unflattering characteristic, since, firstly, the SF-2281 is outdated, and secondly, it is characterized by a lot of problems, starting with low speed when working with poorly compressed data and ending with performance degradation over time. However, Intel engineers developed their own firmware for the SF-2281 and were able to significantly improve the efficiency of this hardware platform. Of course, this did not make the SF-2281 controller modern or flagship, but at least Intel's 500th series SSDs are by far the best embodiment of the SandForce platform.

As for memory, the Intel SSD 535 uses inexpensive MLC NAND chips from SK Hynix, produced using a 16-nm process technology. Moreover, the capacity of these chips is 128 Gbit, and due to the low level of parallelism of the flash memory array, the Intel SSD 535 is clearly slower than the original Intel SSD 520. However, to compensate for the negative impact of large NAND cores on performance, the developers implemented an accelerated pseudo mode in the SSD 535. SLC recordings, and as a result, the Intel SSD 535 manages to compete almost equally with modern budget drives from other manufacturers.

Nevertheless, the Intel SSD 535 is far from a flagship, but, on the contrary, a solution with rather mediocre performance parameters and an unreasonably high price. There is only one consolation in this situation: the Intel SSD 535 has not lost Intel’s vaunted reliability and inherited a full five-year warranty from its predecessors.

Kingston SSDNow V300 120 GB

Apparently, Kingston SSDNow V300 can be considered one of the most popular solid state drives. However, he managed to become so not at all thanks to technological superiority. The secret to the popularity of the SSDNow V300 is its low price and the marketing policy of its manufacturer.

Let's start with the fact that the Kingston SSDNow V300 is based on an outdated SandForce SF-2281 controller with a lot of unresolved problems: performance degradation and low speed when working with poorly compressed data. But it is cheap and, provided it is equipped with high-quality flash memory, can compete with modern four-channel controllers in the lower price range.

Actually, the SSDNow V300 was originally equipped with fast MLC NAND, which allowed it to gain a reputation as a fairly attractive solution in terms of price and performance. However, about a year ago, Kingston, without any warning, changed the hardware of this drive, and the place of good flash memory was taken by less good one. As a result, today's SSDNow V300 uses 20nm MLC flash memory from Micron with asynchronous access. It is worth recalling that such memory could be found in cheap solid-state drives several years ago, but then the industry completely abandoned it. But not Kingston, which, in order to reduce the price, decided to return to using this memory and gave its current drive features, for example, the old Kingston SSDNow V+200 (if you still remember the existence of such a model).

However, to be fair, it should be said that asynchronous MLC NAND is approximately equivalent in speed to TLC NAND, so against the backdrop of a new wave of budget solid-state drives based on three-bit memory, the Kingston SSDNow V300 looks quite normal.

Kingston HyperX Fury 120 GB

Essentially, Kingston HyperX Fury is a redesigned SSDNow V300, sold by the manufacturer under the more prestigious gaming brand HyperX. However, if we talk about the hardware platform, then, just like in the SSDNow V300, it consists of an SF-2281 controller from 2011 and MLC NAND with asynchronous access, manufactured by Micron using 20 nm technology. The configuration is not fast, but it is extremely cheap, simple and reliable.

Actually, it is the declared reliability that distinguishes HyperX Fury among ultra-budget solutions. Giving this drive a three-year warranty, the manufacturer indicates an absolutely fantastic recording resource - 354 TB. This means that Kingston is confident in the ability of the asynchronous MLC NAND chosen for this SSD to endure at least 3 thousand rewrite cycles. And if not for this, then HyperX Fury could be considered a solution on the same order as numerous SSDs on TLC memory.

Kingston HyperX Savage 120 GB

Kingston, it must be said, is engaged not only in promoting inexpensive solutions - its model range also includes quite technologically advanced SSDs. One example is the new HyperX Savage drive, which is based on the fairly recent Phison PS3110-S10 controller. This controller is notable for its eight-channel architecture, which is practically not found in low-cost SSD platforms.

However, the main advantage of the HyperX Savage lies not so much in the controller as in the memory. For this SSD, Kingston chose MLC NAND produced by Toshiba using the second generation 19nm process technology. Such a memory not only can boasts a fast Toggle 2.0 front-end, but also has 64-gigabit cores. This gives the HyperX Savage twice the flash array parallelism of most other 128GB SSDs. There are two NAND devices in each controller channel, and this puts HyperX Savage in a slightly more advantageous position among its competitors.

As a result, the Kingston HyperX Savage 120 GB is able to perform in the same weight category as high-performance drives, even though the Phison PS3110-S10 controller does not belong to the top-level platforms. However, it should be borne in mind that HyperX Savage is still not quite a full-fledged flagship. The warranty for this Kingston offer is given for only three years, albeit with a fairly high declared recording resource of 113 TB.

OCZ Trion 100 120 GB

Although Trion 100 bears the OCZ name, its participation in the creation of this SSD is minimal. In fact, the development and production of Trion 100 is carried out by Toshiba, which owns OCZ, and OCZ itself is responsible only for the final stages in the production chain - final validation, marketing and warranty service. But this only makes the Trion 100 more interesting, since Toshiba was able to use not the outdated Barefoot 3 controller for this drive, but the new Phison PS3110-S10.

It is worth noting that the Phison PS3110-S10 controller is good for its flexibility - it can work not only with MLC, but also with TLC memory. True, Phison engineers were never able to implement error correction based on LDPC ECC, and to ensure information integrity when using low-quality memory, solutions based on PS3110-S10 use traditional BCH ECC code. But this turns out to be enough, because parity control is enhanced by proprietary SmartECC technology, which organizes a RAID-5 array at the level of flash memory pages. As a result, the Phison PS3110-S10 turns out to be a completely acceptable platform for creating budget TLC drives. Actually, OCZ Trion 100 is exactly such an embodiment of this platform.

In the OCZ Trion 100 SSD, Toshiba uses its own TLC NAND, which is produced using the second generation 19nm process technology. Yes, this makes the Trion 100 not fast at all, since the TLC memory has a core capacity of 128 Gbit and has an extremely low write speed, but this drive is very inexpensive. The problem with speed is partially solved by the introduction of SLC caching, but the effective cache size of the Trion 100 is quite small - about 0.5 GB.

As for reliability, the OCZ Trion 100 120 GB comes with a three-year warranty and promises a recording resource of 30 TB, which is quite enough for a modern client SSD operating as a system drive.

OCZ Arc 100 120 GB

Arc 100 is, unlike Trion 100, OCZ's own drive. That's why it's based on the Barefoot 3 controller, designed by the engineering team at Indilinx, which OCZ acquired in 2011. It must be said that by modern standards Barefoot 3 cannot be called productive, although it works with a flash memory array over eight channels. But it effectively implements accelerated SLC recording technology, and due to it, SSDs on Barefoot 3 stand out among competitors with high write speeds. The essence of the technology is that free MLC cells are first programmed in one-bit SLC mode, and their transfer to the usual two-bit MLC mode is performed either when necessary or when the drive is idle.

However, the main advantage of the OCZ Arc 100 is not its high write speeds, but the fact that its flash memory array is formed from Toshiba's MLC NAND chips, manufactured using the second generation 19nm process technology, which have a capacity of 64 Gbit. This increases the degree of parallelism of the array and allows you to obtain relatively high performance indicators not only when writing, but also when reading data.

At the same time, Arc 100 does not at all pretend to be a top-level solution, since it uses a slower frequency version of the basic Barefoot 3 M10 controller. And the terms of the warranty are not at all typical for a flagship: its duration is 3 years, and the recording resource is set at 22 TB, that is, the Arc 100 is inferior even to its TLC brother Trion 100 in terms of declared endurance.

OCZ Vector 180 120 GB

Simply put, the Vector 180 is an accelerated version of the Arc 100 with a claim to some elitism. The fundamental differences between these drives are the operating frequency of the base controller. The Barefoot 3 M00 processor used in the Vector 180 is overclocked by about 13 percent. Otherwise, there is almost no difference: the memory in the Vector 180 is the same - Toshiba A19-nm MLC NAND with 64-gigabit cores.

But there is one nuance: Vector 180, unlike Arc 100 (and all other OCZ SSDs), received a redesigned power circuit. Previous OCZ drives often failed due to power failures and address translation table corruption. To combat this problem, the supply circuits in the Vector 180 were strengthened, and in addition, they added a capacitor that can provide energy for the correct completion of work with the translation table. This does not save data that is being processed at the time of a power failure, but it effectively protects the SSD from complete loss of performance.

As a result, OCZ presents its Vector 180 as a flagship and expensive solution. In accordance with this positioning, the warranty conditions are also given: its period for this drive has been extended to five years, and the allowed recording resource is 91 TB.

Plextor M6V 128 GB

Given the gradual decline in prices for consumer SSDs, manufacturers are forced to look for new approaches to reduce production costs. For example, Plextor, which until recently relied only on cooperation with Marvell for controllers, was forced to switch to cheaper SSD platforms. And Plextor M6V is the first example of introducing an inexpensive platform. This drive uses a four-channel budget controller Silicon Motion SM2246EN. However, this is not such a bad choice. Today this processor can be found in a lot of products, and even leading SSD manufacturers do not disdain it.

The uniqueness of the Plextor M6V lies in the fact that, paired with the SM2246EN controller, it uses 15 nm MLC NAND from Toshiba. This is a relatively new flash memory, for the production of which a technological process with advanced standards is used, and the transition to such a technological process has not only led to a near-record level of information storage density, but also made it possible to increase the speed of the NAND chip interface. As a result, subject to proper firmware optimization and a balanced marketing policy, the Plextor M6V can become one of the fastest and cheapest SSDs based on the Silicon Motion SM2246EN controller.

However, you still shouldn’t expect global performance records from the Plextor M6V. The memory used in it has 128-gigabit cores, which makes the flash memory array of this drive endowed with a relatively low level of parallelism. Naturally, SSDs using 19nm MLC memory with 64-gigabit cores, or SSDs built on eight-channel controllers, will be faster.

Plextor M6S 128 GB

But the M6S is just an inexpensive Plextor drive of the “old school”: it is built on the basis of a controller developed by Marvell. However, in this case, the drive is based not on one of the productive platforms, but on an inexpensive solution - a four-channel Marvell 88SS9188 controller. However, this is still a high-quality and solid platform that is capable of delivering good speed results, especially in the 128 GB embodiment, where the number of controller channels does not play a very significant role.

However, unlike other drives on four-channel controllers, the Plextor M6S has a clear advantage: it uses flash memory with 64 Gbit capacity crystals. More specifically, it uses Toshiba's MLC NAND, manufactured using the second generation 19nm process technology. As a result, the degree of parallelism of the flash memory array of the M6S is the same as that of the best solutions of a similar size, and four NAND devices work in each of the four controller channels. Further strengthening the M6S is a suite of technologies implemented by Plextor engineers at the firmware level, such as TrueSpeed, which provides flash garbage collection in environments without TRIM support. In general, we have before us a strong middle peasant, which, even if it is quite old, still does not lose its position.

The only frustrating thing about the M6S is that the start of sales of this SSD was overshadowed by numerous cases of its failure during attempts to routinely update the firmware. But by now, it seems that the problem has been successfully resolved. And today the Plextor M6S is a product with the usual three-year warranty and typical levels of reliability.

Plextor M6 Pro 128 GB

The M6 ​​Pro is Plextor's flagship drive, and it uses a full eight-channel Marvell 88SS9187 controller. Moreover, thanks to the choice of such a platform for a 128 GB drive, Plextor came up with a unique solution in many ways. The fact is that other manufacturers dealing with Marvell controllers, such as Crucial or SanDisk, do not use such powerful hardware in 128 GB SSDs. Therefore, the Plextor M6 Pro 128 GB quite reasonably claims to be one of the fastest SSDs in its weight category.

The position of this drive is further strengthened by the flash memory chosen for it - the M6 ​​Pro uses fast MLC NAND with 64 Gbit cores, produced by Toshiba using a second-generation 19-nm process technology. Thanks to this, the memory array has the highest possible level of parallelism: each controller channel contains two NAND devices.

The M6 ​​Pro is not without Plextor's proprietary magic - TrueSpeed ​​technology, which allows you to replenish the pool of blank flash memory pages even in environments where TRIM technology is not supported. Add to this a five-year warranty that is not limited by any amount of data recorded, and the result is that the Plextor M6 Pro is one of the flagship solutions, at least among 128 GB SSDs.

Samsung 850 EVO 120 GB

Due to the fact that Samsung offers technologically advanced and high-quality SSDs, it has currently managed to gain almost 50 percent market share of consumer solid-state drives. And the main weapon thanks to which Samsung was able to quickly achieve such convincing results in its activities is precisely the 850 EVO. The secret lies in the fact that Samsung drives are formed entirely from components designed and manufactured in-house. Accordingly, these components are perfectly matched to each other and produce end products with an advantageous combination of price and performance.

The uniqueness of the Samsung 850 EVO also lies in the fact that it uses proprietary TLC V-NAND, the analogues of which are not yet available from any flash memory manufacturer. Such memory is fundamentally different from conventional TLC: it has not a flat, but a three-dimensional layout with 32 layers and is produced using a conservative 40-nm process technology. As a result, in this memory Samsung manages to combine both high data storage density, that is, low cost, and high reliability: in terms of endurance parameters, TLC V-NAND is not inferior to conventional planar MLC NAND. This is confirmed by the terms of the guarantee. Its lifespan for the 850 EVO is set at five years, and the recording resource is limited to the typical level for MLC drives of 75 TB.

Compared to conventional TLC memory, 3D TLC V-NAND has significantly better performance indicators. Despite the fact that the volume of crystals used in the 850 EVO TLC V-NAND is 128 GB, this drive is positioned as a good mid-level solution. To achieve high performance and unlock the full potential of the memory, the 850 EVO uses a proprietary eight-channel dual-core Samsung MGX controller, on the basis of which, in addition to standard algorithms, the proprietary TurboWrite technology is also implemented, which further improves writing speed. Its essence lies in caching write operations in a dedicated SLC cache, the effective capacity of which in the 120 GB version of the 850 EVO is about 3 GB.

Samsung 850 Pro 128 GB

For those users who find the 850 EVO based on TLC V-NAND not fast enough, not reliable enough or not charismatic enough, Samsung can offer its flagship - 850 Pro. This is an even more outstanding SSD for personal computers, which can offer a set of characteristics that no other competitor has yet been able to surpass.

The most important feature of the Samsung 850 Pro is that this SSD is based on proprietary MLC V-NAND - flash memory with a three-dimensional 32-layer structure in which cells store two bits of information. MLC V-NAND is produced using the same technical process with 40 nm standards as similar three-dimensional TLC. Therefore, the speed and reliability of such memory obviously exceeds similar indicators of planar MLC used in SSDs from other manufacturers. At the same time, the capacity of the MLC V-NAND devices used in the 850 Pro is 86 Gbit, which gives the flash memory array not the maximum, but a sufficient degree of parallelism to generate the entire bandwidth of the SATA interface.

In principle, to create an advanced Samsung solution, MLC V-NAND alone would be sufficient, but for the 850 Pro, a special high-performance Samsung MEX controller was developed, which is based on three cores with ARM Cortex-R4 architecture and has flash for communicating with the array -memory eight channels. As a result, the 850 Pro packs a huge amount of power, which allows this SSD to be used successfully even under intense loads that are not typical for typical personal computers.

Separately, it should be said about the unique warranty conditions. The warranty period for the Samsung 850 Pro is set at 10 years, and there are simply no other 128 GB drives on the market with such a generous warranty. As for the allowed recording resource, for the 128 GB model it is 150 TB, which means, for example, the possibility of daily complete rewriting of this drive for at least three years.

It is also worth mentioning that Samsung SSDs (both 850 Pro and 850 EVO), unlike most competitors, can offer hardware data encryption compatible with the Microsoft eDrive standard. This means that the hardware encryption of these SSDs can be controlled from the Windows operating system using the built-in BitLocker tool.

SanDisk SSD Plus 120 GB

SanDisk, like Crucial, has excluded 120 GB SSDs from its direct interests, so in the volume of consumer drives we are interested in, it only has budget models based on TLC memory. SSD Plus is the youngest of all available options, which should attract supporters with an exceptionally low price.

The entire design of the SanDisk SSD Plus is permeated with the desire to simplify and reduce the cost. To begin with, it is based on the Silicon Motion SM2246XT controller, which is an additional stripped-down version of the already budget four-channel processor SM2246EN. In the SM2246XT, the DRAM interface is eliminated, which does not allow SSDs based on it to use buffer RAM, which is usually needed to store a quick copy of the address translation table.

As for the flash memory array, the SSD Plus is equipped with TLC NAND devices with a 128-gigabit capacity, which are produced by SanDisk itself using a second-generation 19-nm process technology. Three-bit memory is slower than MLC NAND, so drives based on it usually use various SLC caching technologies. But SSD Plus lacks even this.

Thus, under the SSD Plus brand, SanDisk offers an ultra-budget drive with slow memory without an SLC cache and a DRAM buffer, the performance parameters of which seemed so depressing to the manufacturer that he was even embarrassed to indicate them on his website. However, real testing showed that the SSD Plus is not as hopeless as it seemed at first, and it is by no means the slowest SSD in today's test.

SanDisk Ultra II 120 GB

Apart from Samsung, until recently there was only one other manufacturer that was able to mass produce SSDs based on TLC NAND. SanDisk released its first TLC drive a year ago - it was the Ultra II. But this SSD is interesting not only because of the use of three-bit memory - it is also intriguing because SanDisk engineers were able to develop it at a time when specialized controllers designed to work with TLC NAND were not yet on the market. A Marvell 88SS9190 controller was adapted for Ultra II, for which SanDisk engineers wrote firmware creatively adapted for TLC. Its key element was the RAID-like Multi Page Recovery (M.P.R) technology introduced at the level of flash memory pages, designed for enhanced correction of possible read errors.

SanDisk’s experience in creating a TLC drive from scrap materials turned out to be very successful: over the past year since the release of this model, no critical problems have been discovered with it, and SanDisk Ultra II has won the title of a fairly good entry-level SSD. Moreover, the new generation of TLC drives, produced on platforms originally designed for this type of memory, turned out to be no better than Ultra II.

In SanDisk Ultra II, the Marvell 88SS9190 controller works with a flash memory array over four channels, this array itself is made up of 128-gigabit TLC NAND devices produced by SanDisk itself, which are produced using a second-generation 19-nm process technology. However, SanDisk Ultra II also has a special ingredient that makes this SSD faster than all new-wave TLC-based drives - proprietary nCache 2.0 technology. The essence of this technology is quite standard: it adds an additional SLC cache to the drive’s operating scheme. However, the specific implementation is not so simple. Firstly, this cache itself has a relatively large effective volume, reaching 4 GB for a 120 GB SSD. Secondly, caching within nCache 2.0 is two-level; it also uses a DRAM buffer, which in conventional SSDs is used only to store a copy of the address translation table.

Smartbuy Ignition 4 120 GB

Smartbuy is not the name of another SSD manufacturer, but simply a trademark under which the Russian distributor Top Media sells various products from unknown (and not so unknown) Chinese companies. The real author of Smartbuy drives is Phison, a Taiwanese developer and manufacturer of controllers used in budget SSDs. One of Phison’s operating models involves delivering fully assembled SSDs to customers on its own platform, and Top Media takes advantage of this by supplementing the drives purchased from Phison with stickers and boxes with the Smartbuy logo. That is why a couple of Smartbuy drives were included in our tests, because in fact these are not incomprehensible products of unknown origin, but real reference platforms designed by engineers of one of the leading developers of consumer-level SSD controllers.

Smartbuy Ignition 4 is an MLC drive based on the latest Phison PS3110-S10 eight-channel controller. In terms of its hardware platform, Ignition 4 could become an analogue of the Kingston HyperX Savage, however, it does not have high-speed Toshiba memory, but a slightly slower and cheaper MLC NAND from Micron, which uses the ONFI 3.0 interface, is produced using a 16-nm process technology and has a capacity 128 Gbit cores. As a result, Ignition 4 is inferior to Kingston's solution in terms of the degree of parallelism of the flash memory array and is positioned as a fairly ordinary mid-level drive.

Smartbuy Revival 120 GB

Smartbuy Revival is one of the cheapest SSDs present on the domestic market. The secret to the low price is simple: this drive uses the Phison PS3110-S10 platform, equipped with inexpensive TLC memory. This makes the Revival an analogue of, for example, the OCZ Trion 100 or the Kingston UV300, which has not yet appeared on sale.

Since Smartbuy Revival is a pure reference platform, everything in it functions exactly as intended by the controller developers. In particular, error correction is performed through BCH ECC algorithms, which are further enhanced by RAID-like SmartECC technology. And SLC caching of write operations is responsible for improving the speed parameters of the TLC memory array. Moreover, the Revival cache has an effective volume of 1 GB, that is, it is twice as spacious as that of the OCZ Trion 100.

As for the flash memory itself, Revival uses Toshiba’s TLC NAND, produced using the second-generation 19nm process technology. It must be said that Phison has a very close partnership with Toshiba, so the PS3110-S10 controller contains special optimizations for working with this particular memory. And this allows us to believe that Smartbuy Revival is a completely reliable product, at least capable of competing in its durability with budget drives from real SSD manufacturers. Confidence in this is reinforced by the fact that Revival in most stores is given a full three-year warranty without any restrictions on the maximum recording volume.

Transcend SSD370S 128 GB

Transcend SSD370S is an updated version of the fairly popular SSD370 model, the most noticeable change in which is the appearance of an aluminum case. However, the changes are not limited to this.

Like its predecessor, the SSD370S is based on the budget four-channel Silicon Motion SM2246EN controller, which can be found in many modern SSDs in the lower price range. However, Transcend's proposal does not completely replicate the reference design - the company's engineers have worked on optimizing the firmware. But the main feature of the SSD370S model lies in the flash memory used: this drive uses inexpensive 16-nm MLC NAND from Micron. That is, from the point of view of the filling, the Transcend drive has become similar to the Crucial BX100.

The core capacity of the flash memory used in the SSD370S is 128 Gbit, and this is converted into a low degree of parallelism of the MLC NAND array. A four-channel controller, when working with a flash memory array, uses only double interleaving of devices. However, the use of two-bit memory puts the Transcend SSD370S a step higher than the latest generation SSDs based on TLC NAND.

SSD Specifications Table