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Updated: We’ve added the HP S700 Pro SSD to the ninth slot. Read on find out why this business-oriented drive is one our top picks.
Looking for the best SSD, otherwise known as solid-state drive? You’ve come to the right place, as we list the very best SSDs you can buy in 2017.
We’ve also got some handy buying advice if you’re looking to get a new SSD. Capacity has always been the source of insecurity for SSDs. Even now, 15TB will cost you more than 7,000 clams from Samsung, and that’s where the capacity maxes out (that is, until the company’s 32TB model touches down).
Luckily, there are drives like the Crucial MX300 that’ll set you back less than 300 a terabyte, and even the tiniest solid state drive will soak up a Windows installation. Simply chuck the rest in the big ol’ data bin we call a hard drive.
Note that, for the sake of simplicity, here we will be looking at SATA models only. No mSATA, M.2 SATA, PCIe or standard PCI models. Keep in mind that PCIe drives will generally perform better than SATA drives but also tend to cost far more.
1. Patriot Torch LE 120GB
Best SSD for low capacity
Capacity: 120GB | Interface: SATA 3
Cheap
Not as fast as other SSDs
Low capacity
Anything smaller than 120GB is probably too small if you want to use only one hard drive in your computer.
When it comes to price, the Patriot Torch LE range remains the one to be beaten. Its 120GB model is the cheapest SSD in the UK with a very competitive £0.24/GB pricing. Expect minimal packaging or instructions, which makes it perfect for DIYers.
The drive, which uses a Phison S10 controller, is backed by a three-year warranty and Patriot is a well-known memory computer hardware manufacturer. The 120GB model is rated at up to 425MBps and 560MBps for write and read respectively.
As expected, it comes with a slew of other features including end-to-end data path protection (ETEP), advanced wear-levelling and garbage collection, smart ECC, refresh and flush.
2. Hynix SL301
Best SSD for medium capacity
Capacity: 250GB | Interface: SATA 3
Easy to install
Good performance
While performance is good, there’s faster SSDs out there
Hynix is not a household name but the South Korean company is actually a big player in the world of memory chipmakers, ranking second only to might Samsung.
No surprise that, like their arch rivals, they use their own memory – TLC NAND – in their products. The storage controller is an unknown quantity.
The SL301, with a 250GB capacity, has one of the cheapest per GB price in this category at 20p but that doesn’t mean that corners have been cut.
The drive has a rated read/write speed of 540MBPs and 470MBps with a read/write IOPS of up to 95K and 85K respectively, all backed by a solid three-year warranty.
In the US or Australia? Try the Sandisk Ultra II SSD at 240GB:
3. Toshiba Q300
Best SSD for high capacity
Capacity: 480GB | Interface: SATA 3
Large capacity
Remains small enough to fit laptops
Expensive
Asian SSD manufacturers score another winner here as Toshiba nabs that place with the Q300 (2016 version) which, despite being just a relatively new product, has one of the cheapest per GB price of any SSD in the UK.
The inventor of the Flash memory doesn’t cut corners on this one, using 3-bit-per-cell 15 nm NAND Flash and advanced-speed and Adaptive Size SLC Write Cache technology as well as its own controller, the Toshiba TC58NC1000, a customised version of the popular Phison S10 controller.
As for other SSDs listed here, this one comes with a three-year warranty and the firm, which purchased SSD specialist OCZ not long ago, claims that the SSD is capable of read/write IOPS of 87K and 83K respectively with sequential R/W speeds topping 550MBps and 530MBps respectively.
In the US or Australia? Try the Sandisk Ultra II SSD at 1TB:
4. Sandisk Ultra II
Best SSD for extra high capacity
Capacity: 960GB | Interface: SATA 3
Very large capacity
Very good performance
Expensive
Sandisk is one of the better known SSD vendors out there; it also produces memory cards and other storage devices. Now, as part of Western Digital, it is likely to collaborate with HGST, the other WD company acquired which has some valuable solid state expertise.
Sandisk’s Ultra II has the second cheapest per GB price at just £0.18, offering sequential read/write speeds of 550MBps and 500MBps as well as random read/write speeds of 99K and 83K IOPS respectively.
nCache 2.0 technology, Sandisk claims, will deliver enhanced speed and endurance with the SSD dashboard providing with data in real-time about the drive itself. Coupled with a 3-year warranty, this is one of the better deals on the market.
5. Crucial MX300 SSD 1050GB
Another great high capacity SSD
Capacity: 1050GB | Interface: SATA 3
High Capacity
Good price for an SSD
Not the fastest SSD
Still expensive
The Crucial MX300 SSD 1050GB is another high capacity SSD that lets you have both speed and disk space – you no longer have to sacrifice one or the other. It does come at a price, however, but the Crucial MX300 SSD 1050GB’s price tag is actually relatively low compared to other high-capacity SSDs.
It doesn’t mean it’s cheap, however, and it’s still quite a bit more expensive than a traditional hard drive. However, the decent read and write speeds makes this a hard drive that’s definitely worth considering.
This drive is available in 525GB, 750GB, 1050GB and 2TB capacities so if you don’t need 1TB, there are other sizes that would suit your needs better.
6. Toshiba THNSN1Q60CSE 1.6TB SSD
Capacity: 1.6TB | Interface: SATA 3
Fast
High capacity
Expensive
Not for everyone
If you want a fast, large capacity SSD for your data center, NAS device or other professional use, then the Toshiba THNSN1Q60CSE 1.6TB SSD is worth considering – though it comes with a steep price.
As it is housed in a 2.5-inch body, which is a common size for hard drives, the Toshiba THNSN1Q60CSE can be installed in desktop and laptop PCs, offering huge file capacity while also giving you the speed benefits of solid state drives.
The cost of such a high capacity SSD will be prohibitive for many people, but it’s well worth the money if you need both fast speeds and high capacities.
In the US or Australia? Try the Samsung 850 EVO at 2TB:
7. Samsung 850 Pro
Capacity: 1TB | Interface: SATA 3
Huge capacity
Fast for a SATA drive
Very expensive
Outpaced by M.2 drives
If you are after speedy drives rather than just capacity, then there’s really only two models on the market: Samsung’s 850 Pro and the Sandisk Extreme Pro.
Pair either of those drive in RAID-0 mode and you would have a pretty compelling storage subsystem (although the law of diminishing returns dictates that the improvement is likely to be less than 100%).
The former uses 3D V-NAND memory to deliver some of the best performance on the market despite being more than one-year old. Its sequential R/W speeds reach 550MBps/520MBps while its random R/W speeds top 100K/90K IOPS. Add in a 10-year warranty and a useful 256-bit AES self-encryption feature and it’s easy to see its appeal.
8. Sandisk Extreme Pro
Another very fast performer
Capacity: 480GB | Interface: SATA 3
Fast sequential read and write speeds
Long 10-year warranty
No power-loss protection or encryption
Slightly lower IOPS than class-leading drives
As for the Sandisk Extreme Pro, it has remarkably similar specs, at least on paper, to the 850 Pro. Same warranty, similar sequential read/write performance and random read/write speeds.
It uses a two-tiered cache architecture called nCache Pro and offers a nifty SSD dashboard to assess your drive’s health and performance in real time.
9. HP S700 Pro SSD
Capacity: 256GB – 512GB | Interface: SATA 3
Great build quality
Dependable
Not the fastest
SATA 3 remains a bottleneck
For a SATA 3 SSD with up to 512GB of storage, you’re getting a pretty good deal if you opt for the HP S700 Pro. Of course, you might be hesitant buying a hard drive coming from HP, as the company is historically known for its computers and printers – certainly not its internal PC components.
It doesn’t take advantage of the latest PCIe/M.2 speeds and form factor as the Toshiba OCZ RD400, but it nevertheless packs Micron’s 3D NAND technology and 565MBps/520MBps sequential read/write speeds. The HP S700 Pro SSD is far from the fastest, but it has a leg up on a lot of other SATA 3 drives. Plus, it’s extremely reliable with a low power draw offers protection in case of read/write errors.
Read the full review: HP S700 Pro SSD
Desire Athow and Gabe Carey have also contributed to this article
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