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ADATA Premier SP610 SSD Review

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Premier SP610 256GB SSD Conclusion

IMPORTANT: Although the rating and final score mentioned in this conclusion are made to be as objective as possible, please be advised that every author perceives these factors differently at various points in time. While we each do our best to ensure that all aspects of the product are considered, there are often times unforeseen market conditions and manufacturer changes which occur after publication that could render our rating obsolete. Please do not base any purchase solely on our conclusion, as it represents our product rating specifically for the product tested which may differ from future versions. Benchmark Reviews begins our conclusion with a short summary for each of the areas that we rate.

The ADATA Premier SP610 256GB SSD turned in some excellent read performance results– in a couple of cases, such as the PCMark Vantage combined score– the highest we’ve seen. However, most consumer SSDs these days are bumping up against the bandwidth limitations of SATA 6G, and while it’s always satisfying to grab that last few percentage points, its score is not dramatically better than most of its competition. To get significantly better read performance, you’d need to bypass SATA entirely and go with a (much more expensive) PCI-E SSD.

Write performance is another story: although at 290MB/s (ATTO) it surpassed ADATA’s specification, it was much slower than most of the other recent SSDs we’ve tested, although some online research reveals that it’s in the same ballpark as the write performance of much of its competition, defined as “256GB drives in the $100 range.” The same goes for IOPS: at just over 54,000 IOPS per second, the SP610 256GB is among the slower SSDs we’ve tested…but remember that even the very best hard drives will have less than 1/100th of this IOPS performance.

That said, consumers and even enthusiasts should bear in mind that for desktop systems, read performance is much more important than write and IOPS performance– at least when both of the latter two are fast enough. The SP160 has better write performance than any physical hard drive short of a 15,000RPM SAS enterprise product, and no hard drive can come within an order of magnitude of its IOPS performance. What it boils down to is this: no matter what hard drive you’re running now, this is much, much faster.

adata_premier_sp610_34

Appearance doesn’t count for much in storage products: even if you have a windowed case, your drives probably are not visible. ADATA didn’t spend any time or money on the appearance of this drive, going with a flat black metal case and a simple sticker. It’s no better or worse looking than any other consumer SSD.

By their nature– no moving parts– SSDs are all but immune to physical shock. While early SSDs had relatively high failure rates, modern SSDs are proving to be very reliable, often far surpassing their specified write lifetimes. That said, the construction quality of the PCB and metal shell are excellent. ADATA backs this drive with a 3-year warranty, which is pretty standard in the consumer SSD market.

The 256GB ADATA Premier SP610 SSD is available for $99.99 ( Amazon | Newegg ), which comes in near the bottom of 256GB SSD prices. You can get a 256GB drive for $10 less if you shop around, but many 256GB drives come in at $10-$30 more. Oddly enough, ADATA’s own 256GB Premier SP920 drive, which is rated significantly better sequential write performance, is widely available for exactly the same price as the SP610– something to consider.

SSDs are becoming commodity items, and competition has led to “price compression” at the lower end of the market: in many cases an entire class of drives can fall within a $15 window. Today’s “best buy” can become tomorrow’s “overpriced”, so it always behooves the careful buyer to do their research and select the best product for them based on current price and availability.

All that said, as of the time of this review, the ADATA Premier SP610 256GB drive represents a good value. It’s priced competitively and for most enthusiasts its read performance more than makes up for its deficiencies in write and IOPS. The inclusion of a key to download a free copy of Acronis True Image makes migrating your entire Windows installation to this new drive easy, and the included spacer means you’ll be able to install it virtually anywhere any other 2.5″ device can fit. However, this drive doesn’t really stand out from the competition, and you should check the pricing and availability for ADATA’s own Premier Pro SP920 drive in the same capacity, which should provide superior write and IOPS performance and at the time of this review was available for the same $97.99 (AmazonNewegg).

Pros:Benchmark Reviews Recommended Product Award Logo (Small)

+ Chart-topping sequential read speeds
+ Supports TRIM, NCQ, S.M.A.R.T., and robust ECC
+ 3-Year product warranty support
+ Offered in 128/256/512/1024GB storage capacities
+ Lightweight compact storage solution
+ Resistant to extreme shock impact
+ Free copy of Acronis True Image included

Cons:

– Sequential write and IOPS performance not as impressive
– Doesn’t stand out from competitive products
– Better performing ADATA drives available for the same price

Ratings:

  • Performance: 8.5
  • Appearance: 8.0
  • Construction: 9.50
  • Functionality: 9.00
  • Value: 8.5

Final Score: 8.70 out of 10.

Recommended: Benchmark Reviews Seal of Approval.

COMMENT QUESTION: Which brand of SSD do you trust most?

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