Purchase Guide: The best SSDs

SSDs are storage devices that do not have any mechanical parts and offer significantly faster data transfer rates, particularly during random access reading and writing. They also have higher mechanical resistance and are more compact than hard drives. In short: SSDs are the future, even if their price per gigabyte is still slightly higher than that of conventional hard drives. In this article we will give concrete purchase recommendations for SSDs, depending on their intended use and your personal requirements.

First, we would like to put the importance of high transfer speeds into perspective. Many tests show that installing programs on the fastest PCIe SSD takes 5.5 seconds, while installing them on the slowest 2.5-inch SSD takes 6.7 seconds. The difference when starting the program is 0.8 seconds or 15%. In practice, this means that most users will hardly be able to notice the difference in performance. However, high performance in random access operations subjectively increases the speed of searches significantly - although it is difficult to confirm this impression through measurements.

Simply put, M.2 is made up of standards for data transfer and for its form factor. Although the most common width is 22 mm (~0.87 in), the length can be 42 or 80 mm (~1.65 or ~3.15 in), for example. The actual format is then called M.2 2242 or M.2 2280. Unlike mSATA, M.2 was standardized comparatively quickly, so you are unlikely to come across incompatible products from any manufacturers.

An M.2 SSD can be connected via PCIe or SATA. The possibilities of your own hardware should be checked in the technical specifications of your device before purchase. PCIe offers significantly higher data transfer rates and the NVMe protocol, if available, enables lower access rates.

M.2 SSDs with PCIe can be used both in notebooks and in desktop PCs with a compatible motherboard. They can potentially offer very high performance and the modern advantageous NVMe protocol. 

A comparatively cheap entry into the world of NVMe SSDs can be purchased with the Adata XPG SX6000, which offers a capacity of 128 GB and is available for about $50. The Intel 600p is only slightly more expensive, but its sequential data transfer rates exceed the 1-GB mark, at least while reading. Potential buyers should not encounter any difficulties with this model.

Above the 600p, you can also find the Samsung 960 Evo and the similar Plextor M8PeG. The Samsung 960 Evo received better reviews than its competitor from Plextor. Interested buyers will have to compare the current prices - at the beginning of February 2018, the two storage devices were available for the same price.

Desktop users who want to use an SSD with PCIe can usually do this with a suitable adapter card. You can also purchase separate PCIe expansion cards, but these are usually not interesting for private users. The speed of PCIe cards is often very high - and the same can be said for their price.

2.5-inch SSDs can be used in both desktop PCs and laptops. Many devices offer dedicated slots for 2.5-inch drives behind the motherboard tray. They are connected via SATA with a maximum net data rate of 600 MB/s. In practice, these SSDs usually manage to make full use of this connection, at least serially. The U.2 connection based on PCIe is not important for private users. 

Even if the position, height and width of 2.5-inch drives are standardized, buyers have to be aware of what height their device supports. If the SSD is too slim for the slot, you can use plastic spacers to keep it in place.

As 2.5-inch SSDs are the oldest and most popular build in the end user segment, the market is big and it is sometimes hard to keep an overview of the available devices. According to some reviews, the slightly older MX300 is definitely recommendable, and its new version, the MX500, seems to be doing well in its first reviews as well. 250/275 GB currently cost about $75.

The Samsung models 850 Evo and 860 Evo cost only a few dollars more. The 850 Evo was considered the ultimate purchase recommendation for a long time. Compared to the MX300 and the MX500, most benchmarks only show a small advantage in performance.

Intel has been offering its SSD alternative Optane Memory for quite some time. This is based on the 3D XPoint technology, but this can only show real advantages in very specific situations that are basically irrelevant for private users.