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Best SSDs For The Money: June 2014

Best SSDs For The Money: June 2014
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This month we introduce new benchmarks based on Futuremark's PCMark 8 storage suite. Most illuminating, perhaps, is that the data we generate shows that there's probably little reason to upgrade if you already own a modern SATA 6Gb/s-attached SSD.

Detailed solid-state drive specifications and reviews are great—that is, if you have the time to do the research. However, at the end of the day, what an enthusiast needs is the best SSD within a certain budget.

So, if you don’t have the time to read the benchmarks, or if you don’t feel confident enough in your ability to pick the right drive, then fear not. We at Tom’s Hardware have come to your aid with a simple list of the best SSD offered for the money.

June Updates: Big SSDs For Little Money

There are several excellent SATA 6Gb/s SSDs vying for your attention. In the 256 GB class, under £100 gets you one of many mainstream options, each enabling unprecedented value.

As IMFT’s 20 nm process matures, it pushes material costs down. Crucial’s M500, Transcend’s SSD340, and PNY’s Optima each use L85A flash, which gives those companies room to get aggressive on pricing. Packing big 128 Gb die, it’s harder for them to hit peak performance at capacities under 512 GB. But with cost per gigabyte so low, we really can't complain. Of course, this is just economics at work. Intel's 250 GB SSD 510 sold for £400 back in 2011. Now we have access to faster drives for a fraction of that.

Crucial's M500 240 GB doesn’t need any introduction. After more than a year on the market, it’s both well-understood and priced to move. The SSD is perhaps the most feature-rich mainstream drive, thanks to its advanced encryption functionality. Capacity is reduced by Crucial's RAIN technology, but that's not a bad thing since it provides some protection against failures. The M500 also supports the ultra-low-power DevSlp mode for Haswell-based Ultrabooks.

Transcend’s SSD340, also equipped with Micron-branded L85A flash (like the M500), is made possible by JMicron’s new JMF667H controller. Although the processor is limited to four channels, it still generally matches the M500's Marvell-based silicon. In fact, the edge goes to the SSD340 in our more complicated metrics. You don't get advanced encryption support, but Transcend does enable DevSlp compatibility in newer Ultrabooks.

PNY’s Optima joins in on the fun using similar L85A flash. It employs a third controller, Silicon Motion's SM2246EN, to do its job, though. With a little extra over-provisioning, it too becomes a 240 GB model. Unlike the M500, though, the Optima doesn’t use that capacity for redundancy. Instead, the spare area helps keep performance more consistent when the drive is under duress. Be aware that we've heard reports of some Optima drives based on second-gen SandForce controllers. Performance is claimed to be unaffected. However, we haven't seen or tested a SandForce-based configuration.

In the meantime, then, all three options are great if you're shopping for mainstream SSDs. But one newer model could shake things up: Crucial’s MX100. It uses the same Marvell 88SS9189 processor found in the company's M550 and Adata's SP920, but also leverages a new weapon: 16 nm flash. Sometimes it's more expensive to implement NAND based on a brand new process. In this case, though, Crucial manages to be less expensive than its competition right out of the gate, all while offering similar performance.

Which drive should you buy, though?

That's tough. The performance differences are subtle. However, I'd go with the Optima for speed. Transcend is certainly competent, but doesn't really distinguish the SSD340 with a unique feature set. It does bundle a management utility, though. Then, if I need eDrive support for accelerating BitLocker on Windows 8, Crucial’s drives are most practical. Samsung recently rolled out firmware for the 840 EVO, adding the same functionality almost a year after Crucial first enabled it.

Let's say Crucial is at the top of your list. If the M500 and MX100 are the same price, which one do you go for? The M500 is mature at this point, with firmware updates addressing issues that might have slipped through validation. Moreover, the MX100 doesn't introduce any new features. And it does use newer flash; I believe there's something to be said for sticking with the older NAND for as long as it's available. In the end, I don't have more concrete guidance on which way to go. I've spent over 1000 hours combined testing the aforementioned list of SSDs, and they're all fairly comparable in real-world use. Although solid-state storage is relatively new to the mainstream market, continual development is addressing most of the issues that plagued early offerings.

Storage Reviews For The Month:

Buffalo LinkStation 420 Review: An Inexpensive Two-Bay NAS
QNAP TS-470 NAS Review: Four GbE Links, With 10 GbE Scalability
SSD Recovery: How Pros Bring Flash Memory Back To Life
Samsung 845DC EVO SSD Review: 3-Bit MLC Hits The Enterprise
A 1400 MB/s SSD: ASRock's Z97 Extreme6 And Samsung's XP941

Some Notes About Our Recommendations

A few simple guidelines to keep in mind when reading this list:

  • We only recommend SSDs we've actually used. Recommending SSDs we've never put hands on wouldn't be incredibly helpful.
  • There are several criteria we use to rank SSDs. We try to evenly weigh performance and capacity at each price point and recommend what we believe to the best drive based on our own experiences, along with information garnered from other sites. Some people may only be concerned with performance, but that ignores the ever-present capacity issue that mobile users face ever-presently. Even on the desktop, other variables have to be considered.
  • Prices and availability change on a daily basis. Our picks will be valid the month of publication, but we can't extend our choices very far beyond that time frame. SSD pricing is especially competitive, and a £10 difference can be the reason why one SSD makes the list, while another does not. As you shop, use our list as a guide, but always double-check for yourself.
  • The list is based on some of the best U.S/UK prices from online retailers. In other countries or at retail stores, your mileage will most certainly vary.
  • These are new SSD prices. No used or open-box offers are in the list; they might represent a good deal, but it’s outside the scope of what we’re trying to do.
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  • 0 Hide
    Adela Pop , 21 March 2014 10:48
    Great overview! It seems that Samsung is getting more and more attention and I think it deserves it. I would definitely prefer Samsung 840 Evo over Crucial M500. It´s true that the differences in performance are not huge between the two, but overall Samsung 840 Evo seems more reliable and it has lower power consumption:http://versus.com/en/samsung-840-evo-500gb-vs-crucial-m500-480gb
  • 0 Hide
    dickh81 , 27 March 2014 19:25
    Intenso also makes a 256 SSD drive. I wonder why that is not on your list.
  • 0 Hide
    nowasus , 22 April 2014 14:07
    I would rather see the "best of..." in a category that considers function instead of price. That way, the user may select proper utility (performance) vs his budget. For example if I am a win7pro64 user with general computer home usage, what would be my best bet for a system SSD to support various amateur level functions (media, graphics, office) with a traditional SSD with AF capabiliy.

    This way I could better choose my price range.
  • 0 Hide
    goozaymunanos , 22 April 2014 14:39
    i'll take a 512GB Sansung SSD over a 480GB Crucial for £10 extra all day and night.
  • 0 Hide
    Plusthinking Iq , 19 May 2014 22:14
    samsung makes the worst ssd when you look at the big endurance test. just goggle it ppl. have very bad experiece with samung products and must implore that no one buy the brand, phones, tv and ssd. its like sony, circling the drain.
  • 0 Hide
    asianteekay , 9 July 2014 14:06
    Quote:
    samsung makes the worst ssd when you look at the big endurance test. just goggle it ppl. have very bad experiece with samung products and must implore that no one buy the brand, phones, tv and ssd. its like sony, circling the drain.


    Being a large all encompassing company has both advantages and disadvantages being that it can leverage its own in-house supplies for components and technologies. And bulk discounts and special order specifics chips. I suspect these SSD have little to no provisioning and there for more likely to fail than compared say a Crucial (512GB 840 Evo v. 480 M550) That's really no reason not to boycott their display panels used in TVs and monitors. Much like Sony does very well in audio but not so well in the PC market.