The 256GB Crucial M550 is a welcome improvement over the 240GB M500. The new Marvel 88SS9189 controller has addressed our primary concern with the M500 which was poor sequential write speed. With sequential read/write speeds of 510/478 MB/s the M550 has a healthy core performance profile. Comparing the M550 and M500 shows that the new M550 leads on nearly every single performance metric. Unfortunately the M550 is priced significantly higher than the M500 but prices will likely drop as retailers build up stocks of the new M550. A key comparable for the M550 is the similarly priced market leading Samsung Evo. Comparing the Evo and M550 shows that the Evo is around 11% slower in terms of effective speed. [Mar '14SSDrivePro]
The 120GB Sandisk Extreme II proved to be a disappointment. I was expecting the same blistering performance as I saw on its larger 240GB sibling but that proved not to be the case. Comparing the 120GB and 240GB Extreme II's reveals that the larger 240GB version has peak speed ratings that are approximately 35% faster that the 120GB Extreme II. The main weakness of the 120GB Extreme II is its sequential write speed which is just 305 MB/s vs 492 MB/s on the 240GB version. Reduced write ability at lower capacities is explained by fewer NAND modules which reduce a controllers ability to parallelize slow write operations across different memory banks. Overall the Sandisk Extreme II sits amongst the bottom 20% of performers in the 120-128GB capacity category. Several of the drives in the group test have comparable performance at both the 120 and 240 GB capacities, those drives are the ones to go for. [Feb '14SSDrivePro]
Welcome to our 2.5" and M.2 SSD comparison. We calculate effective speed for both SATA and NVMe drives based on real world performance then adjust by current prices per GB to yield a value for money rating. Our calculated values are checked against thousands of individual user ratings. The customizable table below combines these factors to bring you the definitive list of top SSDs. [SSDrivePro]
Welcome to our PC speed test tool. UserBenchmark will test your PC and compare the results to other users with the same components. You can quickly size up your PC, identify hardware problems and explore the best value for money upgrades.