The Best SSDs of 2017
As CPU performance hits new and unforeseen heights, processors increasingly spend time waiting on data from hard drives. This is what makes storage today's most glaring bottleneck, and overcoming it requires an SSD. Frankly, the real-world differences between SSDs in a desktop environment aren't altogether large. The most noticeable performance increase occurs when you go from a hard disk to just about any solid-state drive.
Here we’ll sort through hundreds of different SSDs to give you a recommendation on the best SSDs available for the money. As always, because we review a lot of computer hardware here at CPCR, most of our recommendations will be either from our own experience or the experiences of one of the other highly reputable tech publications out there. As such, all SSDs recommended here have been thoroughly researched and are what we feel to be the best of the best for the money.
This is the top SSD on the market, and with good reason. It's astonishingly fast, with up to 3200 MBps read and 1900 MBps write speeds. That's due to the PCIe interface, which allows light-years faster speeds than the already extremely quick SATA interface. On top of that, it's available with up to 1TB capacity. And it only requires 5.7 watts of power when active and a mere 1.2 watts when idle.
Within the past few years, Samsung has soared into the SSD market to become one of the top brands in the space. With instant name recognition, the company has been able to sell a ton of these devices — and with good reason. They’re fast, reliable, efficient and packed with useful features. It’s not exactly the cheapest SSD on the market, but the Samsung 850 EVO does come with a lengthy five-year warranty and the fairly reliable backing of Samsung customer support. The 250 GB 850 EVO, which is perhaps the most popular, well-rounded size, is available for around $90. It has a read/write speed of up to 540MB/s and 520MB/s, respectively, and it comes with a free download of Samsung Data Migration and Magician software.
4. Crucial MX300
5. Transcend SSD370S
The Transcend SSD370S is a solid option if you’re looking to upgrade an old PC. It delivers fast performance, some convenient features (including encryption), strong durability and endurance, and has an affordable price, to boot. It’s got a maximum read speed of 570 MB per second and maximum write speed of 470MB/s. This is a bit slower than the Samsung 850 EVO, but it’s still guaranteed to deliver top-notch performance. And beside, what it lacks in write speed it makes up for in price. The 256 GB SSD370S costs less than $80. With shock and vibration resistance and the DevSleep ultra low power mode, you can also rely on the Transcend to deliver a fast, seamless response while also saving on power and battery life (if you’re using it in a laptop). With these specs, there are few reasons to think twice about the SSD370S, especially if you’re looking to upgrade an old laptop PC.
The NVMe standard is designed to maximize the strengths of solid-state drives, and the Samsung 960 Pro takes full advantage. With an M.2 form factor and ridiculous read speeds of up to 3500 MBps, these SSDs are already enticing, but the fact it's available as large as 2TB is incredible. All that storage doesn't come cheap, but if you need lots (and LOTS) of fast storage, it's definitely worth it.
8. Samsung 850 Pro
Next up, we are looking at one of the best 2.5-inch solid state drives apart from the much loved Samsung 850 Pro. This is the SanDisk Extreme Pro SSD, and much like the Samsung 850 Pro, this is a solid performer when it comes to transfer rates over the SATA interface.
The SSD comes in 240 GB configuration and goes all the way up to 960 GB. However, that is not the selling point of this SSD, the biggest selling point is that this happens to be the only SSD that is available with a 10-year warranty. Yes, you’ve heard it right, the SanDisk Extreme Pro SSD comes with 10-year of warranty, beating out pretty much every other competitor in this regard. But what about the performance, you ask. Well, let’s see.
Despite being a SATA standard SSD, our testing revealed that the SanDisk Extreme Pro is definitely the fastest SATA based SSD in the market, the performance numbers were so good, that the SSD managed to trade blows with the Samsung 850 Pro. Sure, the performance isn’t as fast as what you’d expect from an NVME SSD, but do keep in mind that the price different alone would be massive.
With that said, if you are looking for an SSD that performs super-fast, doesn’t cost a lot, and is probably the one component that will outlive your entire PC, simply go ahead and grab this amazing piece of technology.
Better Performance and Slightly Higher Storage
As CPU performance hits new and unforeseen heights, processors increasingly spend time waiting on data from hard drives. This is what makes storage today's most glaring bottleneck, and overcoming it requires an SSD. Frankly, the real-world differences between SSDs in a desktop environment aren't altogether large. The most noticeable performance increase occurs when you go from a hard disk to just about any solid-state drive.
Building a new PC? Putting the final touches on a PC you already own? Your current PC need a little speed boost?
1. Samsung 960 Evo
2. Samsung 850 EVO - 250GB
Within the past few years, Samsung has soared into the SSD market to become one of the top brands in the space. With instant name recognition, the company has been able to sell a ton of these devices — and with good reason. They’re fast, reliable, efficient and packed with useful features. It’s not exactly the cheapest SSD on the market, but the Samsung 850 EVO does come with a lengthy five-year warranty and the fairly reliable backing of Samsung customer support. The 250 GB 850 EVO, which is perhaps the most popular, well-rounded size, is available for around $90. It has a read/write speed of up to 540MB/s and 520MB/s, respectively, and it comes with a free download of Samsung Data Migration and Magician software.
3. Intel 750 PCIe
The Intel 750 SSD offers a blazing speed of 2,200 MB/s when it’s writing data, and a 1,200 MB/s read speed, and considering how the SSD is basically based on the PCI-express interface, it also opens up a lot of possibilities for other brands to walk the same way.
For those who are wondering whether or not this SSD can be used as a main storage device for those who wish to swing that way. Speaking of storage, the SSD is available in 400 GB, and a whopping 1.2 TB configuration; this actually came as a surprise because Intel has left absolutely no option in the middle for people who are looking for a different storage configuration.
Overall, the Intel 750 PCIe SSD is one of the SSDs you can currently buy in the market, even though it’s a bit expensive, but still a worthy choice for people who want no compromises.
For those who are wondering whether or not this SSD can be used as a main storage device for those who wish to swing that way. Speaking of storage, the SSD is available in 400 GB, and a whopping 1.2 TB configuration; this actually came as a surprise because Intel has left absolutely no option in the middle for people who are looking for a different storage configuration.
Overall, the Intel 750 PCIe SSD is one of the SSDs you can currently buy in the market, even though it’s a bit expensive, but still a worthy choice for people who want no compromises.
For those on a budget or simply don’t need all of the additional performance features that entail with the SSDs above, the Crucial MX300 is the best choice.
Available in capacities of 275GB, 525GB, 1TB and 2TB, the Crucial MX300 features parent company Micron’s new 3D NAND technology. As such, performance on the Crucial MX300 is rated at up to 530 MB/s sequential reads and 510 MB/s sequential reads.
Warranty on the Crucial MX300 is rated at 3 years or up to 220TBW (TeraBytes Written) depending on the drive capacity.
Available in capacities of 275GB, 525GB, 1TB and 2TB, the Crucial MX300 features parent company Micron’s new 3D NAND technology. As such, performance on the Crucial MX300 is rated at up to 530 MB/s sequential reads and 510 MB/s sequential reads.
Warranty on the Crucial MX300 is rated at 3 years or up to 220TBW (TeraBytes Written) depending on the drive capacity.
The Transcend SSD370S is a solid option if you’re looking to upgrade an old PC. It delivers fast performance, some convenient features (including encryption), strong durability and endurance, and has an affordable price, to boot. It’s got a maximum read speed of 570 MB per second and maximum write speed of 470MB/s. This is a bit slower than the Samsung 850 EVO, but it’s still guaranteed to deliver top-notch performance. And beside, what it lacks in write speed it makes up for in price. The 256 GB SSD370S costs less than $80. With shock and vibration resistance and the DevSleep ultra low power mode, you can also rely on the Transcend to deliver a fast, seamless response while also saving on power and battery life (if you’re using it in a laptop). With these specs, there are few reasons to think twice about the SSD370S, especially if you’re looking to upgrade an old laptop PC.
6. Kingston HyperX Predator
Kingston's HyperX line-up is aimed squarely at gamers. Its headsets are known for being much higher quality than their price might hint at, and HyperX customer support is excellent. Its line of SSDs for gaming computers come in an M.2 form factor, but are also available with a half-height adapter that plugs into your PCIe like any other expansion card.
7. Samsung 960 Pro
The NVMe standard is designed to maximize the strengths of solid-state drives, and the Samsung 960 Pro takes full advantage. With an M.2 form factor and ridiculous read speeds of up to 3500 MBps, these SSDs are already enticing, but the fact it's available as large as 2TB is incredible. All that storage doesn't come cheap, but if you need lots (and LOTS) of fast storage, it's definitely worth it.
The 850 Pro is indeed one of the best SSD in the market right now, however, when compared to the competition, it’s a bit expensive. Luckily, the SSD manages to make up for that by offering one of the finest performance we have seen by a SATA SSD.
You also get Samsung’s impressive warranty, a lot of storage options, and a really nifty feature known as Rapid that basically speeds up the SSD’s performance. If the 850 Pro happens to be a bit on the expensive side for you, opt for the 850 Evo; the cheaper variant with some compromises on the performance numbers.
Speaking of performance, the 850 Pro manages to give us an impressive number; on the default settings, the drive managed to score an impressive 246 MB/s in sequential tests, and when the rapid mode was turned on, we saw a performance boost and the drive went to 287 MB/s. Needless to say, that Samsung 850 Pro is definitely the fastest 2.5-inch SSD in the market at the moment.
You also get Samsung’s impressive warranty, a lot of storage options, and a really nifty feature known as Rapid that basically speeds up the SSD’s performance. If the 850 Pro happens to be a bit on the expensive side for you, opt for the 850 Evo; the cheaper variant with some compromises on the performance numbers.
Speaking of performance, the 850 Pro manages to give us an impressive number; on the default settings, the drive managed to score an impressive 246 MB/s in sequential tests, and when the rapid mode was turned on, we saw a performance boost and the drive went to 287 MB/s. Needless to say, that Samsung 850 Pro is definitely the fastest 2.5-inch SSD in the market at the moment.
9. Plextor M5P Xtreme Series
The Plextor M5P Xtreme is a fairly straightforward SSD available at a highly affordable price. There isn’t a whole lot of extra features or enterprise-grade specs, but it gets straight to the point with fast performance, optimal endurance and reliable service. The 128 GB capacity is available for just over $100, and features read/write speeds of 500 MB/s and 300 MB/s, respectively. Those specs combined with roughly $1 per GB price point make it a steal by any measure. Add in the five-year warranty and high-endurance specs and you have probably the best replacement hard drive you can find for the money. The M5P Xtreme Series boasts an estimated 2.4 million hours of mean time between failure (MTBF), which is roughly double that of competing SSDs. This thing will last a long time, and it’s well-versed enough for pretty much any use case. A solid SSD all around.
10. SanDisk Extreme Pro SSD
The SSD comes in 240 GB configuration and goes all the way up to 960 GB. However, that is not the selling point of this SSD, the biggest selling point is that this happens to be the only SSD that is available with a 10-year warranty. Yes, you’ve heard it right, the SanDisk Extreme Pro SSD comes with 10-year of warranty, beating out pretty much every other competitor in this regard. But what about the performance, you ask. Well, let’s see.
Despite being a SATA standard SSD, our testing revealed that the SanDisk Extreme Pro is definitely the fastest SATA based SSD in the market, the performance numbers were so good, that the SSD managed to trade blows with the Samsung 850 Pro. Sure, the performance isn’t as fast as what you’d expect from an NVME SSD, but do keep in mind that the price different alone would be massive.
With that said, if you are looking for an SSD that performs super-fast, doesn’t cost a lot, and is probably the one component that will outlive your entire PC, simply go ahead and grab this amazing piece of technology.
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