Solid-State Drives

Solid-state storage is generally faster than mechanical disks. Sure, once you get down into the 40 GB boot drives, write performance really suffers. But for the most part, SSDs rule. However, they're also much more expensive. Every gigabyte of capacity...

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Crucial has released a firmware update that offers up significant performance improvements, among other things, and all for the low, low price of free.

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There have been various attempts to accelerate hard drive storage using different types of caching. Hybrid HDDs failed. However, there are a few product options available now that noticeably speed up system performance

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Meanwhile, Intel is announcing its third-gen X25-M, dubbed the SSD 320. This is substantially different  from the SSD 510. While the 6Gb/s 510 series is intended for enthusiasts based on a Marvell controller, the SSD 320 is a refresh of what we've...

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Consider that the most recent wave of economy SSDs have been low capacity models, such as Intel's X25-V, which has 40GB capacity. A quick comparison makes the SSD 310's value clear. That said, we’re still proponents of Seagate's latest hybrid drive,...

2 expert reviews

The comparison chart below shows how the Kingston SSDs performed when comparing to a standard hard drive and against different configurations.

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The OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G is exactly what we would expect from a SandForce SF-2200 drive – fast and reliable. However, there's stiff competition from both OCZ and Intel with others emerging as the year progresses so tweaks in their firmware may...

2 expert reviews

Prices of SSD disks have dropped radically during the past year. We have finally come to point when buying it is reasonable and even the cheap disks give good performance. Chaintech Apogee SSD gave us good performance in general use -  although it lost...

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Just a few weeks ago the Samsung SSD could convince with its good price per GB. After the prices of Sandforce SSDs fell, they cannot be beaten in terms of price - performance ratio. If Samsung also reduces the price, the PM800 is definitely worth...

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Compared to the Vertex 2 and Agility 2 RRPs, the Runcore Pro V is priced very reasonably. Now, the stores have to follow suit to create a nice price structure

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Without statistical data we can unfortunately not prove whether these protective mechanisms actually do lead to a longer life for the SSD

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In enthusiast circles there is one company who are held in higher esteem than any other when it comes to SSDs, that company is OCZ. This isnt just down to some well-built, high performance models or the pricing which they use. A huge aspect of why they...

3 expert reviews

Looking at the results, the Inferno scores even better than the previous SandForce-based solid-state drive tested, in general. It only really faltered in the Windows 7 boot test, where it was behind by one mere second slower, and the AS SSD benchmark...

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While the G.Skill Phoenix Pro 120GB SSD doesn't visibly standout from its peers, it's certainly a solid offering with performance that won't disappoint.

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Starting with the build quality of the RevoDrive we have a solid foundation for the product. It uses a proven RAID controller with good quality PCIe bridge and both the SandForce controllers and Intel chips are proven, reliable parts. Added to this we...

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...in the ExpressCard arena is far, far away with data transfer rates around 20 MB/s. Sticks: for example, Super Talent Express Drive 32 GB (USB 3.0) or Teamgroup X092 32 GB (eSATA/USB 2.0)

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Please note that this conclusion has been modified on launch date after it became apparent that the actual retail price of the Mercury was

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It's no secret that OCZ produces some of the best SSD's on the planet, if not the best in many cases, and it's devices like the Enyo that helps keep the company's name at the forefront of related technologies. This drive is not a typical desktop SSD,...

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If I can describe the G.Skill Falcon II in one word, I would have to go with “fast” because this drive performs extremely well, especially when compared to the 5400RPM drive I am used to. With read and write speeds upwards of 150 MB/s, everything just...

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Corsair's Performance 3 Series is a big step up from the previous generation with the SATA 6Gbps interface giving it room to stretch its legs. However, they face stiff competition from the similarly equipped Intel drives and the emerging SandForce...

3 expert reviews

Yes, you heard us right, we put "Western Digital" and "SSD" in the same sentence! For a first-in-industry move, a Hard Disk manufacturer has taken the Solid State plunge. We'll put this new unit to the test and see how it stacks up against the fierce...

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The SandForce SF1500 SSD processor is an Enterprise-class Solid State Drive technology that powers products such as the OCZ Vertex-2 Pro. With a potential top-speed of 260 MBps read and write bandwidth, the SandForce SF1500-based SSD series will push...

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The OCZ Vertex LE 100GB hard drive is one of the fastest we have tested, but when it comes to pricing it faces tough competition with other brands!

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There is no getting around the fact that the OCZ Agility EX is one hell of a fast drive. So much so that there were very few competitors

2 expert reviews