Our SSD Reviews

The continuing evolution of flash storage is producing a variety of new form factors, often trending towards ever-smaller devices.  One of the smallest we have encountered yet is the DOM (disk-on-module) form factor.  A SATA-DOM is a DOM with a standard SATA data connection incorporated, such as the DIY series of SATA-DOM SSDs from Mach Xtreme Technology, with a footprint …

OCZ was the first to introduce a PCIe SSD solution to the consumer with their original RevoDrive PCIe SSD way back in 2010, this updated by the RevoDrive X2 PCIe SSD the following June and the RevoDrive 3×2 a few months later. There was no question that OCZ had struck gold with the RevoDrive 3×2 PCIe SSD as it was …

Today, Micron has announced a new member of its enterprise SSD family, the M500DC.  Typically, Micron likes to focus on performance and reliability with their enterprise drives, with cost being a secondary factor. With the M500DC, they have made price a priority. INTRODUCTION About this time last year, we were reviewing the Crucial M500 960GB.  This was the first drive …

It has been a long time in the making but the new Plextor M6S family is finally rolling out.  Based on Marvell SSD controllers and Toshiba NAND flash memory, we got our first glimpse at the M6e M.2 PCIe X2 SSD some months ago in our IO-Switch Raijin Review, followed by our official analysis of the 512GB capacity M6e (and …

Size is everything in the world of SSDs and first hand proof of this can be seen in any number of ultrabooks, including the Apple MBA. True ultrabook size can only be accomplished through mSATA or M.2 SSDs. Much is the same with external storage where we have seen size reduced significantly, while performance has jumped exponentially with the introduction …

When SSDs were first introduced to the consumer way back in 07/08, many companies understood the value of what could be brought to the table and jumped aboard the new SSD train.  SanDisk was the first to appear, followed by Samsung and Intel, all being NAND flash memory manufacturers.  Several third-party companies were quick to join in through contracts with …

It’s been some time since Crucial introduced the M500 Series SSD and, as it was when first released, the M500 remains to be a top value premium SSD offering. At $439 for a 960GB M500, this translates to .43/GB which is still lower than some premium SSDs of half that capacity.  Not so much a difficulty with respect their  target …

Of all the e-mail we receive, perhaps the most surprising are the number that are dedicated specifically to PCIe SSD Cards.  Which has the most capacity?  Will this work for such and such?  Would you trust this for the long-term?  What is the best bang for the buck?  Questions with respect to PCIe SSDs continue to hit our inbox daily, …

Our report today will demonstrate single and RAID tests when we combine the newest ASRock Z87 Extreme11/ac motherboard with eight HGST SSD800MM SAS 12Gbps 400GB enterprise SSDs.  Our charts will display how the HGST SSD800MM scales as it is tested on its own, as well as in RAID 0 at X2, X4 and X8 combinations.  We can validate right off …

Some time ago, we conducted a review of a new PCIe Card called the IOSwitch Raijin and it was constructed of a M.2 to PCIe x4 adapter, along with the Plextor M6e native PCIe M.2 (NGFF) 256GB SSD.  At the time, the M6e was an unreleased SSD and it seemed that even Plextor was caught off guard at the publicity …