A solid state drive can provide your computer with the increased speed you’ve been looking for. This is especially important for users who tend to use applications and software which are stored on your hard drive. Intel Smart Response Technology was recently released which allows you to dedicate up to a 64GB SSD to “cache” giving your hard drive SSD-like performance. For this top ten list we’ll consider solid state drive speed, customer ratings, and overall value. If you simply want to look at the fastest SSD of the year, then we highly recommend this article on the best SSD of 2011 which includes a “fastest SSD” section. It also has a simple learning guide for SSD terms and need-to-know information. Without further adieu here’s our list of our top ten SSD for 2011:
| Price / Rating | Product | Specifications / Details |
|---|---|---|
| Crucial 128 GB m4 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SATA 6Gb/s CT128M4SSD2 | The latest in the line from Crucial is the most popular right now. The CT__M4SSD2 series is available for 64-512 GB solid state drives. For the 128GB Up to 415 MB/s, write up to 175 MB/s. 3 year parts and labor warranty. | |
| Intel 510 Series 120 GB SATA Version 3 2.5-Inch Solid-State Drive | Probably the most popular 128GB range SSD of 2011. The Intel 510 series uses Sata 6Gb/s technology to give the user lightning fast read and write times using Intel's leading 34nm Nand Flash memory. Specifications include Up to 450 MB/s (SATA 6Gb/s); 265 MB/s (SATA 3Gb/s) read and Up to 210 MB/s (SATA 6Gb/s); 200 MB/s (SATA 3Gb/s) write, MTBF 1,200,000 hours, Intel SSD Toolbox with Intel SSD Optimizer, ntel Data Migration Software clones the operating system and files from a hard drive, and a 3 year parts and labor warranty. | |
| Kingston SSDNow V100 64GB SATA II 3GB/s 2.5 Inch Solid State Drive SV100S2/64GZ | This inexpensive Kingston SSDNow solid state drive is a perfect fit with Intel's new Smart Response Technology which has catapulted it to many of the bestseller's list for computer components. Specifications include up to up to 250MB/s read times, up to 145MB/s write teams, mean time before failure (MTBF) of 1,000,000 hours, TRIM support, and a 3 year parts and labor warranty is included. | |
| OCZ Technology 30 GB Vertex Series SATA II Solid State Drive (Black) OCZSSD2-1VTX30G | Another extremely popular solid state drive the 30GB Vertex is large enough to store an OS and a few of your more important files or programs. Specifications include up to 210MB/s read, up to 75MB/s write, MTBF 1,500,000 hours, and a 3 year parts and labor warranty. | |
| Kingston Digital SSDNow V+100 96 GB Solid-State Drive SVP100S2/96G | This is another great SSDNow solid state drive from Kingston. Inexpensive but effective. Up to 230MB/s read times and up to 180MB/s write. MTBF 1,000,000 hours. A 3 year parts and labor warranty is included. | |
| Crucial Technology 256 GB Crucial RealSSD C300 Series Solid State Drive CTFDDAC256MAG-1G1 | Our last few picks will focus on larger 256-512GB SSD. The Crucial RealSSD 256GB is a solid inexpensive Sata 3 option with enough room for you to install your OS and a lot of your favorite games. Stats include read times up to 355MB/sec (SATA 6Gb/s) and 265MB/sec (SATA 3Gb/s), write times up to 215MB/sec (SATA 6Gb/s) 215MB/sec (SATA 3Gb/s), MTBF 1,200,000 hours, TRIM support and a 3 year parts and labor warranty. | |
| OCZ 240 GB Vertex 3 SATA III 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive MAX IOPS 6.0 Gb-s VTX3MI-25SAT3-240G | It doesn't get any faster than the Vertex 3 240GB version. With read times up to 550 MB/s (SATA 6Gbps) up to 280 MB/s (SATA 3Gbps) and write times up to 500 MB/s (SATA 6Gbps) up to 260 MB/s (SATA 3Gbps) it's more than a little tempting. Additional specifications include MTBF 2,000,000 hours, TRIM support, ECC recovery, 4k file writes up to 75, 000 IOPS, and a 3 year parts and labor warranty. | |
| Lexar Media Crucial 512 GB m4 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive SATA 6Gb/s CT512M4SSD2 | Here's a great SSD for those who want to store all of their files and programs on a massive SSD. This large 512GB solid state drive from Crucial has fast read times up to Up to 415 MB/s (SATA 6Gb/s) and write times of up to Up to 260 MB/s (SATA 6Gb/s). This is one of the faster SSD you'll come across in this size. Random 4k Read: 40,000 IOPS Random 4k Write: 50,000 IOPS, MTBF 1,200,000 hours, a 3 year parts and labor warranty is included. |
|
| Corsair Force 3 240 GB SATA 3 6.0 Gb-s 2.5-Inch Solid State Drive CSSD-F240GB3-BK | Another blazing fast SSD in the 256 GB solid state drive category the Force 3 gives you write times of Up to 550 MB/s and read times of up to Up to 520 MB/s. MTBF 1,000,000 hours. S.M.A.R.T. Support, TRIM Support, Random Write 4K: 85,000 IOPS (Aligned), RAID Support, and a 3 year parts and labor warranty is included. | |
| Intel 510 Series 250 GB SATA Version 3 2.5-Inch Solid-State Drive | The larger version of the 120GB SSD above the Intel 510 series uses Intel 34nm NAND Flash Memory to give it maximum read and write times. Specifications include read times Up to 500 MB/s (SATA 6Gb/s); 265 MB/s (SATA 3Gb/s) and write times Up to 315 MB/s (SATA 6Gb/s); 240 MB/s (SATA 3Gb/s). MTBF 1,200,000 hours, Intel Rapid Storage Technology, Intel Data Migration Software, Intel SSD Toolbox with Intel SSD Optimizer, and a 3 year parts and labor warranty is included. | |
| Samsung MZ-5PA256 256 GB Solid State Drive | This new SSD from Samsung had to be included. So far it's been getting great reviews from customers. The only downside to it is that it's Sata II performance gives you slightly lower read up to 250MB/s and write times up to 220MB/s. Additional details: Random Read Speed: 31K IOPS (4KB) Random Write Speed: 21K IOPS (4KB), 3 year parts and labor warranty. The 64 GB version of this is inexpensive and an alternative to the Kingston for Intel Smart Response Technology. See Model number MZ-5PA064. |
Thanks a bunch for sharing this. I’m glad to see you actually understand what you are talking about!