Intel ssd comparison. SSD reliability: life test results

Since 2014, when we began recommending SSDs, we've studied expert opinions and haven't missed a single drive review. We don't do tests ourselves - it won't teach us anything that we wouldn't learn from the numbers obtained by experts. We only compare data from professional reviews with our understanding of consumer needs, thereby determining which SSD is suitable for gaming computers. In total, we reviewed more than 30 SSD models.

Almost any SSD you buy today will be great, but some are better than others. If you are interested in a SATA SSD, we currently recommend the Transcend TS512G SSD230S. It's not the fastest SATA SSD, but it comes close. More importantly, it has one of the best combinations of price, capacity and stability.

If Transcend is too expensive, or you want to buy a high-capacity drive cheaper, take the Crucial MX300. It is slightly inferior in speed (750 GB is inferior by ~15%, 525 GB version is inferior by approximately 25%), and its energy efficiency exceeds most models available on the market. Plus, this drive is a good value if you need more space: 750GB costs little more than Transcend's 512GB. Crucial drives are slower in some applications, but for most, the MX300 is a great alternative.

I could advise Samsung drives(namely 850 EVO 500GB), which are now the most popular, but that would be too simple. Unlike many manufacturers, Samsung independently produces SSD controllers, firmware and memory (both DRAM and NAND), which means it is the first to have access to interesting technologies and can immediately design an SSD taking into account all the filling. As a result, Samsung drives have gained a reputation as devices you can trust. They have a 5 year warranty versus Transcend's 3 year warranty. But Samsung drives that are comparable in price lose out under long-term loads and in real-world conditions. It's better for reading/writing files, but not for gaming or processing information.

If you need a high-speed M.2 SSD, you need to buy the Samsung 960 Pro. Its read speed is seven times faster than SATA drives, and its write speed is four times faster. It's expensive, twice the price of the TS512GSSD230S, and will require a desktop or laptop with an M.2 PCIe connector, but server administrators, CAD designers, and anyone who works with video and graphics will find its speed very useful. Transcend will have the MTE850 on sale for M.2, which also promises insane speeds. These drives are not for games or everyday needs, and there is no point in paying extra for speed that you will never use.

General rules

In 2017, a 512 GB SSD is optimal. This is enough for the operating system and three modern games. The rule applies if you are not planning a large-scale upgrade in the coming year, or if you are sure that you will transfer the purchased SSD to a new build. You can get by with a 250 GB disk. There's little point in upgrading a computer you're about to replace.

Honestly, if you already have an SSD, you should only buy another one if the first one runs out of space. You won't notice the difference in speed unless you work with huge files every day - editing 4K video, working in AutoCAD or other 3D modeling software. And even in this case, the difference will be a matter of seconds. No matter which SSD you choose, you won't notice any lag.

If your computer allows you to equip it with multiple drives and you need more than 500 GB, use an SSD for the operating system, and allocate one or two regular hard drives for data storage. Prices for SSDs are, of course, falling, but for large amounts of data they are still unprofitable.

The transition from HDD to SSD will be quite noticeable, and to take full advantage, it is worth increasing the RAM if you have no more than 4 GB - again, so that you don’t have to go into the case twice. – this volume will provide a noticeable increase in productivity in everyday use. And 16 GB for most will be too much, such a volume will now only be used by GTA V, but it works great on 8.

Why SSD?

If you have a computer with a regular hard drive, then the performance of the entire system most likely depends on it. All other components have to wait for read/write operations to complete. Anything that requires access to data on the disk - turning on or off the computer, launching a game or rendering a video - will work much faster on an SSD.

Unlike HDDs, SSDs have no moving parts and therefore do not make sounds while operating. In fact, they are better than regular hard drives in almost every way. SSDs consume less power, generate less heat, and do not create vibration. SATA SSD is three to four times faster in read-write sequences, and PCI Express SSD is faster seven more times.

More importantly, SSDs have fast access times, meaning the drive finds random pieces of information faster. To do this, a mechanical disk needs to move the head to a certain place on the rotating data platter, and even the most fast HDDs it takes 17 ms. In an SSD, where only electrons move, this takes less than a tenth of a millisecond. And this increases their speed even more.

SSDs are so fast that they are being limited by the aging SATA interface, so the industry is moving to PCI Express. PCIe models are already available for both desktop computers and laptops, but you will have to pay a hefty premium for high speed.

The only thing in which HDDs are still superior to SSDs is price and maximum volume. Solid-state drives are still expensive, and the highest-capacity ones are smaller than the highest-capacity mechanical drives, but the basic concept of SSDs leaves no doubt that sooner or later they will surpass their predecessors.

The price gap is narrowing as users begin to transfer more and more data to cloud storage. In 2010, a decent SSD cost $3 per gigabyte, in 2012 $1, and in 2016 23 cents. Mechanical drives from the top segment, meanwhile, cost 4 cents per gigabyte.

In general, one SSD may be better than another, but any SSD is always much better than an HDD.

What you need to know about SSDs

Before purchasing, you need to find out which type of SSD is suitable for your computer. Today there are two data transfer interfaces (SATA and PCIe), two data transfer protocols (AHCI and NVMe), four types of connectors (SATA, mSATA, M.2 and PCIe) and four form factors (2.5" SATA, mSATA, M.2 and full-length PCIe). Yes, it’s easy to get confused.

Let's quickly go over the terminology.

• SATA means both the data transfer interface and the connection type. The connector supports conventional hard drives 3.5" and 2.5", as well as most SSDs. If you have a desktop computer or large laptop, it makes sense to take a 2.5-inch SATA drive. SATA drives are also available in miniature mSATA and M.2 form factors; they require different connectors. The current SATA III standard provides a maximum data transfer speed of 600 MB/s, and most modern drives limit this. Without the help of an M.2 PCIe connector or full-length PCIe, you won't make an SSD perform faster.
• PCIe– a faster interface operating at speeds of up to 985 Mb/s per “line”. Most PCIe drives use a four-lane interface (4x), which increases the speed ceiling to 3940 MB/s, which is about 6.5 times faster than SATA. PCIe drives come in M.2 and full-length PCIe form factors. The latter will work in most computers, the former are suitable for new motherboards and almost all ultrabooks.
• M.2 is a connection type that works with both interfaces. M.2 drives are much smaller than regular 2.5-inch drives and are used in ultrabooks and high-end desktop systems. Sizes vary, but the most common is M.2 2280 (22x80 mm). M.2 PCIe drives come with three “keys” that determine the number of PCIe lanes used. When purchasing an M.2 drive, it is important to choose the appropriate interface, size and key, although it is not that difficult. Almost all modern M.2 drives come in 2280 sizes, most SATA drives use a B+M key, while PCIe drives typically use an M key.
• NVMe is a new protocol for PCIe drives, replacing AHCI, working with SATA drives. It is designed from the ground up to work with SSD and flash memory and provides increased read and write speeds. Today, most PCIe SSDs use NVMe.

Before the rise of M.2, most Ultrabooks used mSATA drives. Nowadays, new laptops use M.2, but mSATA connectors are still often available, allowing you to replace mSATA SSD. mSATA drives are no different in performance from other SATA drives.

If you have a laptop, check the manufacturer's website to check the type of drive installed and whether it can be replaced (or use the Crucial Advisor utility). Please note that some laptops - namely the new MacBooks - are equipped with drives of a special form factor, in such cases, upgrading yourself may be difficult or even impossible.

How to choose a size?

Since SATA SSDs are limited by interface speed, in their case it is not the model that is more important, but the capacity. As a rule, it is recommended to take the maximum possible volume that you can afford, or a volume that is twice the size of the data intended for storage.

At the moment, 500 GB is enough for most. Drives with smaller capacities are slower and cost more per gigabyte. Terabyte disks are no less profitable in terms of price per gigabyte, but the price tag of 24,000 rubles can scare off many (if this is not a problem for you, feel free to take it). Drives 2 TB or larger are often more expensive per gigabyte.

If you are purchasing a complete computer, you can almost always save money by ordering a small SSD or HDD and replacing it yourself with a 500 GB SSD. This is because manufacturers demand a lot of money for increasing the numerical characteristics. For example, in the popular Dell XPS 13, the 128 GB SSD and 256 GB SSD models have a cost difference of 512 GB SSD.

But be careful: some laptops and computers in compact cases require complex disassembly to access the drive, and sometimes the drive is completely soldered into the motherboard.

For discs with large capacity There is a nice feature - they work faster. This is explained by the fact that SSDs gain a speed advantage due to parallelization. One memory chip isn't all that fast, but if you take a dozen or more and use them in parallel, performance will increase. The controller is capable of simultaneously writing information to a large number of memory crystals, and if there are few of them on the disk (this is the case with a small capacity), the speed will be limited.

Nowadays, the fastest drives are 1 and 2 TB, but the 500 GB versions are not particularly far behind them. Less capacious drives are much slower; here everything depends more strongly on the number of NAND modules on board. The 850 EVO and MX300 get around this problem thanks to caching technologies, but the higher-capacity versions are still faster under high loads.

When choosing a PCIe SSD, we also recommend taking 500 GB if there is no need for a large volume. Regardless of capacity, PCIe SSD is more expensive than SATA. A 500 GB M.2 PCIe drive will be at least $100 more expensive than a similar SATA drive. But if you need a fast drive for work, the purchase will be worth it. PCIe drives of 1 TB or larger are too expensive and should only be considered if such capacity is truly needed.

Forget about disks with a capacity of 128 GB or less, they are too unprofitable, and such a volume will be enough for few people today.

Installation

To copy data from your previous drive, you will need a disk cloning utility and, in some cases, additional devices. I use Acronis TrueImage HD, but it's paid. In other cases, you can use the free MiniTool Partition Wizard. For Mac, if you can replace the drive at all, there is a utility called Carbon Copy Cloner.

During cloning, you need to somehow connect the disk to the computer. In the case of a system unit, you only need to connect free power and data cables, but owners of laptops with 2.5-inch drives will need a USB adapter. Some models come with an adapter, but it is usually more profitable to buy a special container separately.

If you are using an M.2 SATA drive, you will need an appropriate adapter or container. In the case of M.2 PCIe, the best option is to clone the contents to an external hard drive, and then clone it to a new drive

If desired, the old disk can be inserted into a container and used for backup.

Other models

There are many good SATA SSDs on the market, including Intel SSD 540s, Kingston HyperX Savage, Toshiba OCZ OCZ TL100 and ADATA Premier SP550. All of them will serve as an excellent HDD upgrade, but either price, speed, or energy efficiency prevents them from being called the best. However, prices here change quickly, and the best buy may become too unprofitable over time.

In this article update, we didn't look at "professional" SATA models like the SanDisk Extreme Pro and Samsung 850 Pro because they compete in price with M.2 PCI Express drives, which are seven times faster. If you need highest performance and you are willing to pay for it, you will need a computer with PCIe SSD support.

There are times when the components of one disk model may differ depending on the batch, and what you end up with is not what you expected. Many companies simply take commercially available controllers and memory and assemble them into drives, or simply rename someone else's drive. In any case, you will receive a normal product, but we believe that it is better to choose companies from among the component manufacturers - so at least you will not doubt their experience.

We've seen a lot of decent drives from Samsung, Transcend, Crucial, SanDisk, Toshiba, OCZ and Intel, so we don't see any point in buying drives from other companies unless you're on a very modest budget.

However, today, when the industry has already strengthened, it is not so dangerous to buy products from little-known companies. Today's budget drives operate at the limit of SATA capabilities, and TLC has finally become mainstream. Even 3D NAND is seeping into models from companies that don't make their own modules, as seen with the ADATA Ultimate SU800.

But I’m still somehow more comfortable taking SSDs from companies that at least develop their own firmware, but nevertheless, today you can no longer be afraid to buy any SSD at all (with the exception of unknown Chinese brands without representative offices).

What awaits us next

Blazingly fast NVMe PCIe SSDs (in both available form factors) will continue to proliferate and become cheaper over the next year or two. M.2 SSDs are already seven times faster than SATA read speeds and four times faster than SATA write speeds – it will be interesting to see how much further the technology can advance.

Regarding the long-term prospects: Intel is working on new memory Optane 3D XPoint (a joint project with Micron) with higher capacity modules (which may result in the emergence of higher-capacity SSDs), low latency and incredible write resource (according to Intel, “a thousand times” superior to NAND). The first devices with Optane were planned for this year, but the deadlines have shifted to at least 2018. It is still completely unclear how Optane will affect SSD market overall, but we'll keep you posted as information becomes available.

Solid State Drive is a generation of modern and fast information storage devices. They use non-volatile Flash memory technology called NAND. Thanks to the developments of Asus, Samsung, Kingston and other giant companies, the SSD has been released into mass production and is available for purchase at a reasonable price. Given its technical superiority, namely write/read speed, resistance to physical damage and compact dimensions, HDD drives every year they are losing their position in the market in favor of young and effective technology.

Today you can buy different SSDs from different manufacturers, in different price categories, with all kinds of connection interfaces (SATA, M2, PCI Express, NGFF). But which one is better to choose? We invite you to take a look at our TOP 7 rating best models solid state hard drives 2018 – 2019.

Features, pros and cons of solid state drives

Let's look at the strengths and weaknesses SSDs:

Pros

• there are no moving parts in the device case, which means that the disk does not make noise (unlike HDD) and is less susceptible to mechanical damage;
• high speed of writing (up to 500 MB/sec) and reading (up to 540 MB/sec) information from the disk;
• low power consumption (~1.5 W under load);
• modest dimensions (100x70x7 mm).

Cons

• limited number of rewrite cycles; after resource exhaustion hard drive will be read-only;
• the price of a gigabyte is six to seven times higher than the price of HDD drives;
• Write speed decreases when processing large files.

TOP 7 best SSD drives for a computer: which one is better?

Still, which SSD drive should you choose for your computer? Of the variety of solid-state drives, we have selected the seven best options:

• 120 Gb Kingston SA400S37/120G.

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 grew wiser and gained mass useful functions, making it possible to hide the inferiority of flash memory compared to magnetic plates 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. He works for me at different computers since 2009. First in home system as a basic year of three. 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 full and there is enough free space(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 SSDs with unreliable flash memory TLC type will live longer than the time comes when you want to change it due to insufficient volume. Unless, of course, it dies due to a defect, a power 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, SSD is designed to store the operating system, most important applications(for example, a graphic 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 broken screen. And you can twist and turn it as you please. 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? In the benchmarks there is, in real life No. It's even more interesting with a recording. Is there some source from which you will write in a stream? large files with 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 purchasing an SSD even I'm usually more interested in reliability and price 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 iron 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.

Which 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 let’s decide on the volume, don’t worry about the controller, choose a good brand and see which one warranty period at specific 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(Fine 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 storage, 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 market computer hardware was replenished with models of SSD drives 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 arrival of this company on the market solid state SSD drives turned out to be very controversial and deserving of a portion of censure. The first samples of memory modules were purchased from Intel and relabeled trademark 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 was to maintain a balance between the cost of products and their quality. As a manufacturer of SSD drives, it has firmly settled in the niche of the mid-price segment, providing users with, although not the most productive, but the most reliable devices data storage.

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-end developments in the field of flash-memory), in terms of performance the latter are practically not inferior to mid-range models from the same Samsung and Intel.

Best external SSD drives

3 Transcend TS1TESD400K

Large volume memory (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 Transcend TS1TESD400K is a strange component USB cable 3.0, which constantly receives complaints 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. Not recommended for use external drive and in the cold - 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.

Inside there is a branded Samsung memory V-NAND Models available with 250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB, 2 TB. The declared read/write speed is good news - 540 MB/s. The disk is equipped USB port 3.1 Type-C. 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 solid state drive
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 a 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 really be processed on maximum speed thanks to 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 ones 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.