Corsair Force LX SSD Review (256GB) – A Great Budget-Friendly SSD

CRYSTAL DISK BENCHMARK VER. 3.0.3 x64

Crystal Disk Benchmark is used for measuring the speeds at which your storage device reads and writes in both compressible (oFill/1Fill) and random, mostly incompressible, data. Random data is more consistent with everyday use of a computer, such as transferring videos, pictures and music. We run the benchmark twice, using oFill data first, and then proceeding to test with random data. Since results typically return with nearly identical scores, we only include the results for random data samples.

 Corsair Force LX SSD cdm random

Our first incompressible data benchmark test demonstrates the consistent performance of the Force LX SSD, as both the read and write speeds are roughly on spec, with the read speeds coming in about 10 MB/s lower. The drive is still performing quite well, and is maintaining its performance through the transition from using easily compressible data to incompressible data.

AS SSD BENCHMARK VER. 1.7

AS SSD Benchmark uses incompressible data in their testing of SSDs, essentially providing results that would be consistent with using the heaviest workload, thus lower speeds are expected. Transfer speeds (MB/s) are seen in the left picture below and IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second) are on the right.

 Corsair Force LX SSD as ssd iops Corsair Force LX SSD as ssd mbps

As we can see above, the Corsair SSD reaches 523 MB/s for read speed and 280 MB/s for write speeds, which is again very similar to what we have seen before. However, it does produce a lower total score of 905. Another interesting feature of the AS SSD Benchmark is that it also can test  durations and speeds of copying various files, this is an important test for our digital media professionals who require top transfer speeds.

 Corsair Force LX SSD as ssd copy

In the compression benchmark test, we see the copy speeds jump around based upon the transfer type. The interesting point here is the 379 MB/s speed listed for ISO transfer, which is surprisingly high considering the other results. This is a good example of why multiple benchmark tests make for a great report, as we get to see the many figurative sides of the SSD.

ANVIL STORAGE UTILITIES PROFESSIONAL (BETA)

Anvil Storage Utilities is essentially an all-in-one tool for all of your SSD benchmarking needs. Anvil can be used for basic consumer testing, as well as endurance testing and threaded I/O read, write and mixed tests. It displays data regarding the SSD, and even about your system.

 Corsair Force LX SSD asu

Through our ASU benchmark, the Force LX SSD returns a sequential read speed of 520 MB/s and write speed of 281MB/s, which again demonstrates the consistent performance of the solid state drive. ASU also awarded the Corsair SSD with a total score of 3890.

PCMARK VANTAGE X64 HDD SUITE

The SSD Review uses benchmark software called PCMark Vantage x64 HDD Suite to create testing scenarios that might be used in the typical user experience. There are eight tests in all and the tests performed record the speed of data movement in MB/s to which they are then given a numerical score after all of the tests are complete. The simulations are as follows:

  • Windows Defender In Use
  • Streaming Data from storage in games such as Alan Wake which allows for massive worlds and riveting non-stop action
  • Importing digital photos into Windows Photo Gallery
  • Starting the Vista Operating System
  • Home Video editing with Movie Maker which can be very time-consuming
  • Media Center which can handle video recording, time shifting and streaming from Windows media center to an extender such as Xbox
  • Cataloging a music library
  • Starting applications

CORSAIR FORCE LX SSD VANTAGE TOTAL SCORE

The Force LX SSD ran through our PCMark Vantage benchmark test fairly well, and returned a total score of 72280, which is excellent considering that this is a budget-friendly option for upgrading your SSD. The Corsair SSD also returned six scores that surpassed the 300 MB/s mark.

 Corsair Force LX SSD vantage

4 comments

  1. blank

    This seems to be the best for those on a budget, thanks for the neat review!

  2. blank

    These will still be a tough sell as long as dealers are still selling the older 32nm toggle NAND SandForce SSDs like the Mushkin Enhanced for the same price. Much higher P/E cycles and write speeds that are twice as fast.

  3. blank

    I had Corsair 120GT which died, and i have change it for corsair 256gb LX, I can say that it is better than 120gb GT, better write speeds….

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