COMPARE
SSD
RANKINGS
TEST
YOUR SSD
ADD TO PC
BUILD
KingstonSH103S3/120G
CrucialCT256M4SSD2
$218
▲ 532,617 ▼

Controller: LSI SandForce SF2281VB1-SDC. NAND Memory: Intel Synchronous 25nm MLC. Release date: Q2 2012.

VS
▲ 521,868 ▼
 $218 

Controller: Marvell 88SS9174-BLD2. Flash Memory: Micron Synchronous 25nm MLC. Release date: Q2 2011.

Effective Speed 
+22%
Real World Speed
Performance profile from 64,004 user samples
Benchmark your SSD here
46,066 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 87% 47GB free
Worst Bench: 57% 21GB free (System drive)
Poor: 57% Great: 87%
SPEED RANK: 595th / 1074
17,938 User Benchmarks
Best Bench: 74% 168GB free
Worst Bench: 43% 72GB free (System drive)
Poor: 43% Great: 74%
SPEED RANK: 798th / 1074
Effective Speed
Effective SSD Speed 		74.1 % Faster effective speed.
+22% 		60.8 %
Average Score 
+19%
Read
Avg. Sequential Read Speed 		366 MB/s 432 MB/s Faster read speed.
+18%
Write
Avg. Sequential Write Speed 		192 MB/s 240 MB/s Faster write speed.
+25%
4K Read
Avg. 4K Random Read Speed 		30.2 MB/s Much faster random read.
+52% 		19.9 MB/s
4K Write
Avg. 4K Random Write Speed 		80.4 MB/s Slightly faster random write.
+9% 		74.1 MB/s
Mixed
Avg. Sequential Mixed IO Speed 		229 MB/s 250 MB/s Slightly faster mixed IO speed.
+9%
4K Mixed
Avg. 4K Random Mixed IO Speed 		38.1 MB/s Hugely faster random mixed IO.
+161% 		14.6 MB/s
SusWrite
Avg. Sustained Write Speed 		142 MB/s 195 MB/s Much faster sustained write speed.
+37%
Peak Score 
+18%
Read
Peak Sequential Read Speed 		438 MB/s 494 MB/s Faster peak read speed.
+13%
Write
Peak Sequential Write Speed 		225 MB/s 268 MB/s Faster peak write speed.
+19%
4K Read
Peak 4K Random Read Speed 		37.4 MB/s Much faster peak random read.
+60% 		23.4 MB/s
4K Write
Peak 4K Random Write Speed 		111 MB/s +5% 106 MB/s
Mixed
Peak Sequential Mixed IO Speed 		262 MB/s 273 MB/s +4%
4K Mixed
Peak 4K Random Mixed IO Speed 		48.1 MB/s Hugely faster peak random mixed IO.
+154% 		18.9 MB/s
SusWrite
Peak Sequential Sustained Write 60s Average 		170 MB/s 265 MB/s Much faster peak sustained write speed.
+56%
Value & Sentiment 
+32%
Market Share
Based on 76,040,469 SSDs tested
See market share leaders
Market Share
Market Share (trailing 30 days) 		0.03 % Much higher market share.
+50% 		0.02 %
Value
Value For Money 		5.52 % Better value.
+24% 		4.46 %
User Rating
UBM User Rating 		53 % +2% 52 %
Price
Price (score) 		$100 Much cheaper.
+54% 		$218
Nice To Haves 
+152%
Age
Newest 		146 Months Slightly more recent.
+8% 		158 Months
DQ Read
Peak 4K-64Thread Read Speed 		248 MB/s Much faster peak deep queue read.
+35% 		184 MB/s
DQ Write
Peak 4K-64Thread Write Speed 		216 MB/s 234 MB/s Slightly faster peak deep queue write.
+8%
AS-SSD Total
AS-SSD Total Score 		851 Pts Stronger server IO.
+13% 		752 Pts
DQ Mixed
Peak 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed 		202 MB/s Hugely faster peak deep queue mixed IO.
+510% 		33.1 MB/s
ADQ Read
Avg. 4K-64Thread Read Speed 		203 MB/s Much faster deep queue read.
+53% 		133 MB/s
ADQ Write
Avg. 4K-64Thread Write Speed 		175 MB/s Faster deep queue write.
+29% 		136 MB/s
ADQ Mixed
Avg. 4K-64Thread Mixed IO Speed 		161 MB/s Hugely faster deep queue mixed IO.
+579% 		23.7 MB/s
Specifications 
Capacity
Capacity 		120GB 256GB
Conclusion 
Average Bench 74.1%
Average Bench 60.8%
ADVERTISEMENT

The 120GB Kingston HyperX 3K is nearly two years old, several generations of SSD have passed since its original release. Better 120GB SSDs have more NAND modules than the old HyperX and are able to write faster than the peak 234 Mb/s achieved by the HyperX 3K. The HyperX 3K also has a Sandforce 2281 controller which is unable to write compressed data as well as its more recent competition. All that said the HyperX still has an effective speed of 367 MBps which is respectable and far faster than even the best mechanical drive. With peak 4K read/write speeds of 33/110 MB/s the HyperX 3K also has competent small file performance. To summarize as a current value proposition the HyperX 3K struggles, simply because the likes of Samsung and OCZ have innovated and moved forward in the two years since the HyperX 3K was released. [Feb '14 SSDrivePro]

MORE DETAILS

The Crucial M4 is one of the oldest SSD's to have made it into the group test. When it was released its primary competitors were Sandforce based drives which suffered from two major problems: reliability and weak incompressible data performance. As a result this drive was one of the top drives of its time. That was back in Apr '11. Today the M4 is no longer able to compete and scores below average (377.9 MB/s) on the Real World Speed Index benchmark and way below average (676) on the deep queue depth orientated AS-SSD Total score benchmark. Of course these figures are still far faster than any mechanical hard drive and owners of this drive should feel in no hurry to upgrade. People looking to make a new purchase will find much better value elsewhere. [Apr '13 SSDrivePro]

MORE DETAILS

User Builds 
46,066
17,938
Custom PC Builder (Start a new build) Build your perfect PC: compare component prices, popularity, speed and value for money

CHOOSE A COMPONENT:

CPU GPU SSD HDD RAM MBD
Solid State Drive Rankings (Price vs Performance) June 2024 SSD Rankings

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]

ADVERTISEMENT

Group Test Results

  • Best user rated - User sentiment trumps benchmarks for this comparison.
  • Best value for money - Value for money is based on real world performance.
  • Fastest real world speed - Real World Speed measures performance for typical consumers.
How Fast Is Your SSD? (Bench your build) Size up your PC in less than a minute

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.

UserBenchmark of the month

Gaming Desktop ProGaming

How it works

  • - Download and run UserBenchmark
  • - CPU tests include: integer, floating and string
  • - GPU tests include: six 3D game simulations
  • - Drive tests include: read, write, sustained write and mixed IO
  • - RAM tests include: single/multi core bandwidth and latency
  • - SkillBench (space shooter) tests user input accuracy
  • - Reports are generated and presented on userbenchmark.com
  • - Identify the strongest components in your PC
  • - See speed test results from other users
  • - Compare your components to the current market leaders
  • - Explore your best upgrade options with a virtual PC build
  • - Compare your in-game FPS to other users with your hardware

 Frequently Asked Questions

Storage Devices FAQ
What is sustained sequential write speed?
What’s the difference between SLC, MLC and TLC?
What is 3D XPoint and how fast is it?
What’s the difference between SATA, PCIe and NVMe?
What’s the difference between NAND and V-NAND?
What is sequential write speed?
What is sequential read speed?
What is incompressible data?
What is queue depth?
Solid State Drives
What is the SSD value for money rating?
What is 4K 64 thread write speed?
Can CPU power saving states (C1,C2,C3) impact SSD speed?
What is the effective SSD speed index?
How is the AS SSD write score calculated?
How is the AS SSD read score calculated?
How is the AS SSD total score calculated?
ALL FAQs »

 Best User Rated
Why does UserBenchmark have a bad reputation on reddit?
Marketing teams operate large numbers of reddit accounts. When UserBenchmark’s data contradicts their marketing spiel, they deflect by systematically attacking our reputation.
Why don’t large PC brands support UserBenchmark?
PC brands make a lot of their profit from flagship hardware sales: 4090, 14900KS, 7950X3D etc. We help consumers to choose hardware that offers similar real world performance at a fraction of the cost.
Why don’t any youtubers promote UserBenchmark?
We don't sponsor youtubers, so they have no incentive to make positive content about us. Additionally, the brands with weaker products tend to spend more on youtube marketing, which puts their youtubers at odds with UserBenchmark.
Why does UserBenchmark have so many negative trustpilot reviews?
Trustpilot hosts user-generated reviews in an online community that's open and accessible to all. Looking at its 200+ UserBenchmark reviews, which are mostly written by virgin accounts, it is glaringly obvious that they were created by a marketing team. Real users don’t have any time or interest to promote one brand over another.
Why is UserBenchmark so popular with users?
Instead of trying to win lucrative sponsorship deals with billion dollar PC brands, we have spent the last 13 years 100% focussed on providing comprehensive, accurate and relevant information for our users. As a result, most of our users return over and over again because collectively they save millions of dollars every year.
The Best.
CPUGPUSSD
Intel Core i5-12600K $159Nvidia RTX 4060 $280Crucial MX500 250GB $39
Intel Core i5-12400F $120Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti $385Samsung 850 Evo 120GB $80
Intel Core i5-13600K $260Nvidia RTX 4070 $550Samsung 870 Evo 250GB $45
HDDRAMUSB
Seagate Barracuda 1TB (2016) $37Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 C16 2x8GB $40SanDisk Extreme 64GB $72
WD Blue 1TB (2012) $39Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4 3000 C15 2x8GB $48SanDisk Extreme 32GB $28
Seagate Barracuda 2TB (2016) $62G.SKILL Trident Z DDR4 3200 C14 4x16GB $351SanDisk Ultra Fit 32GB $16
If you make a purchase via one of these links, our site may earn a commission
Today's hottest
Amazon Ebay
deals
Build Test EFps
Can You Run It?
►
YouTube
*NEW*
About  •  User Guide  •  FAQs  •  Email  •  Privacy  •  Developer  •  YouTube Feedback