In laptops, solid state drives (or SSDs) have increased in popularity over the past decade. They are much faster than traditional hard drives and have no moving parts. SSDs also use flash memory to store data which makes them more reliable and faster than their disk-embedded counterparts.
SSDs don’t come cheap and prices will not drop unless consumers completely transition to an HDD free storage system. SSDs will be here to remain. Here’s a list of top-performing SSDs for 2016 that are well worth the price.
Samsung SSD 850 Pro
The Samsung SSD 850 Pro is a reliable and high-performing SSD. It can store up to 2 TB and is a significant upgrade from other mainstream SSDs which only support 512 GB. It also has a speed-booster called Rapid. There are four storage options available: 128 GB 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB and 2 TB.
The Samsung SSD 850 Pro’s only problem is its high price. It also has a proprietary Samsung Magician software that only works with Windows.
The Samsung SSD 850 Pro is $822.54 at Amazon.
Toshiba OCZ 500
Toshiba’s 2.5 inch standard SSD, the OCZ VX500, is supposed to be more efficient than its other budget drives. CNET stated that the SSD could maintain a copy speed 447 Mbps to read and 437Mbps to write, which is one of the fastest SSDs on the market.
The OCZ VX500 is not as affordable as the Samsung SSD 850 Pro. It has four capacities, 128 GB 256 GB 512 GB and 1 TB, at $63.99 and $92.79 respectively, $152.52 and $337.06.
WD Black 2 Dual Drive
Western Digital believes consumers can have an HDD as well as an SSD in one device. This is what the WD Black 2 Dual Drive offers. It’s not a true hybrid drive as the drives cannot be combined into one partition. Despite this, the WD Black 2 Dual Drive offers fast performance and almost 1.2 TB storage space.
The WD Black 2 Dual Drive is $199.95 on Amazon.
Crucial MX200
Although the Crucial MX200 SSD is among the most affordable, its speed and performance are not compromised by its low price. The new 3D Flash Memory technology is used to improve application performance and provide data encryption. There are five capacities available: 275 GB; 525 GB; 750 GB; 1 TB and 2 TB.
The Crucial MX200 is a great storage option for those who are looking for an affordable, quick and simple solution.
The Crucial MX200 is $101.17 on Amazon.
Transcend SSD370S
The Transcend SSD370S is the best choice for those looking for affordability and performance. It’s also the most affordable SSD currently on the market. The drive is affordable, but it has a high endurance rating. It also supports data encryption. It only has a 3-year warranty. This is in contrast to the 5- or 10-year warranties offered by higher-end SSDs.
The Transcend SSD370S, despite its short warranty, is an excellent purchase. It’s also a good entry point for anyone who wants to move from HDDs or SSDs.
On Amazon, the 1 TB Transcend S SSD370S is $320.88
