Group test: what's the best SSD (solid-state drive)?

5. Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB SSD

• Reviewed on: 4 January 13
• RRP: £169 inc. VAT
• Rating:

If you're not insisting on absolute bleeding-edge performance, the HyperX 3K is easily one of the best deals going for an SSD.

4. Corsair Performance Pro 256GB

• Reviewed on: 30 November 11
• RRP: £320 inc VAT
• Rating:

It may not have the very highest read/write speeds to market itself with, but make no mistake, the Corsair Performance Pro is the fastest SSD in real terms we’ve ever tested. With circa-half terabyte per second sequential transfer speeds in either direction, and in honest benchmark tests – and IOPS figures also exceeding 60,000 IOPS – this is a startlingly quick storage device. Add in the OS-agnostic housekeeping abilities, and the competitive price, and this SSD becomes easy to recommend as the best all-round internal drive option available today.

 

3. Patriot Wildfire 240GB

• Reviewed on: 19 September 11
• RRP: £380 inc VAT
• Rating:

While it couldn’t match the advertised performance in our tests, the Patriot Wildfire 240GB is still a very quick solid-state drive. In simple drag-racing – the sequential read/write tests – it could easily surpass the capabilities of the previous-gen SATA 3Gb/s interface. But note that, as with all SSDs we’ve seen that use a SandForce controller, those figures are not really indicative of actual usage, as real data is not as perfectly compressible as that used by most benchmark programs. A good gauge of real performance throughput can be the IOPS figure, and here the Patriot Wildfire was pretty quick, faster than the comparable Plextor PX-256M2S, if only half the speed of some current competitors such as our Best Buy, the Crucial m4 SSD.

2. Intel 520 Series 240GB

• Reviewed on: 11 May 12
• RRP: £260 inc VAT
• Rating:

The Intel 520 Series 240GB stands as one of the leading SSDs for enthusiast users today. It’s using a SandForce controller that runs conspicuously slower than the competing Marvell or Samsung controllers in sequential write speeds, but maintains excellent IOPS performance for both reads and writes. And most reassuring is Intel’s own tweaked firmware which bodes well for stability and long-term reliability, sealed with a 5-year warranty.

1. Samsung 840 Pro 256GB

• Reviewed on: 7 January 13
• RRP: £189 inc. VAT
• Rating:

The Samsung 840 Pro is currently the fastest consumer SSD on the market. You'll pay a little more for it, but you always pay more for the best.