ADATA Premier SP550 SSD Review

By David Ramsey

Manufacturer: ADATA Technology Corporation
Product Name: Premier SP550 Solid State Drive
Part Number: ASP550SS3-240GM-C (240GB)
UPC: 4712366963603
Price As Tested: $79.99 (Amazon | Newegg)

Full Disclosure: ADATA Technology Co. provided the product sample used in this article.

Founded in 2001, the Taiwanese company ADATA Technology Corporation specializes in memory-based products. A few years ago they branched out into SSDs, and have been competing aggressively on price/performance as SSD prices continue to fall. Benchmark Reviews has previously looked at the ADATA Premier SP550 mainstream and ADATA XPG SX930 performance SSDs; today we have the ADATA Premier SP550. With Hynix TLC NAND backed by a Silicon Motion controller and LDPC error correction, is the SP550 the price/performance sweet spot in ADATA’s lineup? Let’s see…

As the slowest component in your computer, the mechanical hard disk limits the overall system performance. Sure, you can have a killer processor that encodes 4K video in real time, and a set of high-end graphics cards that provide insane frame rates, but a mechanical hard disk slows boot times, program load times, and– given that Windows’ virtual memory service is continually swapping data to and from your hard disk– overall system responsiveness.

The access time of the slowest SSD is several orders of magnitude faster than the very fastest hard disk, and transfer rates are 2-5 times better as well. The SSD advantage increases with modern pre-emptive multitasking operating systems, where dozens of threads are running simultaneously and competing for your disk’s limited response time and bandwith.

At the end of the day, disks are limited by the fact that they’re comprised of physical, moving parts. Moving parts take time to move, and while it might only take a 7-15 milliseconds (on average) to move a hard disk’s read/write heads to the correct track (and wait for the proper sector of the disk to spin under them), SSD access times are typically measured in hundredths of a millisecond.

As we’ve explained in our SSD Benchmark Tests: SATA IDE vs AHCI Mode guide, Solid State Drive performance revolves around two dynamics: bandwidth speed (MB/s) and operational performance I/O per second (IOPS). These two metrics work together, but one may bemore important than the other. Consider this analogy: bandwidth determines how much cargo a ship can transport in one voyage, and operational IOPS performance is how fast that ship moves. By understanding this and applying it to SSD storage, there is a clear importance set on each variable depending on the task at hand.

For casual users, especially those with laptop or desktop computers that have been upgraded to use an SSD, the naturally quick response time is enough to automatically improve the user experience. Bandwidth speed is important, but only to the extent that operational performance meets the minimum needs of the system. If an SSD has a very high bandwidth speed but a low operational performance, it will take longer to load applications and boot the computer into Windows than if the SSD offered a higher IOPS performance.

Solid state storage devices have gained popularity with performance-minded consumers because they work equally well in PC, Linux, or Mac computer systems. Likewise, these drives install quite easily into both desktop and notebook platforms without any modification necessary. In this article Benchmark Reviews tests the 240GB ADATA Premier SP550 solid state drive.

ADATA has a broad range of SSD solutions available in 2.5″, m.2, and mSATA form factors. The drive we’re reviewing today is the 240MB version of their Premier SP550 series, a value line of drives available in 120GB, 240GB, and 480GB capacities.

Premier SP550 drives are rated at 1.5 million hours MTBF and warranted for 3 years. The ADATA Premier SP550 is presently available online for $79.99 (Amazon | Newegg).

The SP550 240GB drive comes with a 2.5mm spacer for those installations requiring a 9.5mm thickness, and a quick start guide. On the back of the retail box is a QR code the buyer can scan to get a free copy of the Acronis True Image backup utility, which also allows users to easily migrate their systems to the new drive.

The ADATA Premier SP550 SSD is enclosed in a plain black metal chassis with a metallic sticker denoting the model and capacity.

The back of the drive sports a label containing the drive’s model, capacity, and warranty code.

Standard 2.5″ mounting holes are tapped into the sides of the chassis, and a metallized security label obscures one of the screws you’d need to remove to take the drive apart. This drive is only 7mm thick, and you may need to use the included 2.5mm plastic spacer for some applications.

Opening the drive reveals a 3/4-size PCB with 8 Hynix 16nm TLC NAND memory chips (four per side), a Silicon Motion SM2256K controller, and a Samsung 256MB DDR3L RAM chip for caching. Space for 8 more NAND chips means this is probably the same PCB used for the 480GB model.

The reverse side of the board contains four more Hynix flash memory chips.

You can download ADATA’s SSD Toolbox for free from their web site. It offers a simple set of tools for basic SSD management tasks.

ADATA specs this drive at 560MB/s read and 510MB/s write on the ATTO benchmark, and up to 75K iOPs. As you’d expect on any modern drive, TRIM and S.M.A.R.T. are fully supported, and BCH error-correcting code can handle up to 66 bit errors per kilobyte.

In the next few sections we’ll test the ADATA Premier SP550 SSD, and compare this solid state drive to other retail storage products intended for notebook and desktop installations.

Solid State Drives have traveled a long winding course to finally get where they are today. Up to this point in technology, there have been several key differences separating Solid State Drives from magnetic rotational Hard Disk Drives. While the DRAM-based buffer size on desktop HDDs has recently reached 64 MB and is ever-increasing, there is still a hefty delay in the initial response time. This is one key area in which flash-based Solid State Drives continually dominates because they lack moving parts to “get up to speed”.

When we test storage devices, the two main metrics to consider are access time and transfer rate. Simply put, access time is the time is takes the storage device to start delivering data once the request has been received, while transfer rate is how fast (megabytes per second) the data comes once the transfer operation begins. With a hard disk, data transfer cannot begin until the disk’s head servo physically moves the read/write head to the correct track. Although modern servos are very fast, in the best case you’re still looking at several milliseconds to do this, while an SSD’s access time is always under a millisecond. The disadvantage is even worse if the data isn’t all in a contiguous space on the disk, since the head will have to be repositioned on the fly, leading to more delays.

Early consumer SSDs actually had slower transfer rates than the best hard disks, although their instantaneous access times more than made up for it. The zenith of consumer hard disk performance was probably reached in 2012 with the release of the Western Digital Velociraptor 1 terabyte disk. Spinning at 10,000RPM, this disk could under ideal circumstances (i.e. a synthetic bandwidth test) reach a sequential transfer rate of over 230MB/s. Keep this figure in mind as you read this review.

Early on in our SSD coverage, Benchmark Reviews published an article which detailed Solid State Drive Benchmark Performance Testing. The research and discussion that went into producing that article changed the way we now test SSD products. Our previous perceptions of this technology were lost on one particular difference: the wear leveling algorithm that makes data a moving target. Without conclusive linear bandwidth testing or some other method of total-capacity testing, our previous performance results were rough estimates at best.

Our test results were obtained after each SSD had been prepared using DISKPART or Sanitary Erase tools. As a word of caution, applications such as these offer immediate but temporary restoration of original ‘pristine’ performance levels. In our tests, we discovered that the maximum performance results (charted) would decay as subsequent tests were performed. SSDs attached to TRIM enabled Operating Systems will benefit from continuously refreshed performance, whereas older O/S’s will require a garbage collection (GC) tool to avoid ‘dirty NAND’ performance degradation.

It’s critically important to understand that no software for the Microsoft Windows platform can accurately measure SSD performance in a comparable fashion. Synthetic benchmark tools such as ATTO Disk Benchmark and Iometer are helpful indicators, but should not be considered the ultimate determining factor. That factor should be measured in actual user experience of real-world applications. Benchmark Reviews includes both bandwidth benchmarks and application speed tests to present a conclusive measurement of product performance.

• Motherboard: ASUS P8P67 EVO (Intel P67 Sandy Bridge Platform, B3 Stepping)
• Processor: Intel Core i7-2600K 3.4 GHz Quad-Core CPU
• System Memory: 4GB Dual-Channel DDR3 1600MHz CL6-6-6-18
• SATA 6Gb/s Storage HBA: Integrated Intel P67 Controller
  • AHCI mode – Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver 11.7.0.1013
• SATA 3Gb/s Storage HBA: Integrated Intel P67 Controller
  • AHCI mode – Intel Rapid Storage Technology Driver 11.7.0.1013
• Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Edition 64-Bit with Service Pack 1

The following storage hardware has been used in our benchmark performance testing, and may be included in portions of this article:

• Crucial RealSSD-C300 CTFDDAC256MAG-1G1 240GB SATA 6Gb/s MLC SSD
• Crucial m4 CT256M4SSD2 240GB SATA 6Gb/s MLC SSD
• Crucial M550 Solid State Drive515GBCT512M550SSD1
• Crucial MX100 Solid State Drive 512GBCT512MX100SSD1
• Crucial BX100 Solid State Drive 500GB CT500BX100SSD1
• Intel SSD 311 Series Larson Creek SSDSA2VP020G2E
• Intel SSD 320 Series MLC Solid State Drive SSDSA2CW160G3
• Intel SSD 335 Series Solid State Drive SSDSC2CT240A4K5
• Intel SSD 520 Series MLC Solid State Drive SSDSC2CW240A3
• OCZ Agility 2 OCZSSD2-2AGTE120G 120GB MLC SSD
• OCZ Agility 3 AGT3-25SAT3-240G 240GB MLC SSD
• OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE120G 120GB MLC SSD
• OCZ Vertex 3 VTX3-25SAT3-240G 240GB MLC SSD
• OCZ Vertex 3.20 MLC SSD VTX3-25SAT3-240G.20 MLC SSD
• OCZ Vertex 4 VTX4-25SAT3-256G MLC SSD
• OCZ Vertex 450 VTX450-25SAT3-256G MLC SSD
• OCZ Vertex 460VTX460-25SAT3-240G MLC SSD
• OCZ Octane OCT1-25SAT3-512G MLC SSD
• OCZ Vector VTR1-25SAT3-256G MLC SSD
• OCZ Vector 150VTR150-25SAT3-240G MLC SSD
• Patriot Torqx 2 PT2128GS25SSDR 128GB MLC SSD
• WD SiliconEdge-Blue SSC-D0256SC-2100 240GB MLC SSD

• AS SSD Benchmark 1.6.4067.34354: Multi-purpose speed and operational performance test
• ATTO Disk Benchmark 2.46: Spot-tests static file size chunks for basic I/O bandwidth
• CrystalDiskMark 3.0.1a by Crystal Dew World: Sequential speed benchmark spot-tests various file size chunks
• Iometer 1.1.0 (built 08-Nov-2010) by Intel Corporation: Tests IOPS performance and I/O response time
• Finalwire AIDA64: Disk Benchmark component tests linear read and write bandwidth speeds
• Futuremark PCMark Vantage: HDD Benchmark Suite tests real-world drive performance

This article utilizes benchmark software tools to produce operational IOPS performance and bandwidth speed results. Each test was conducted in a specific fashion, and repeated for all products. These test results are not comparable to any other benchmark application, neither on this website or another, regardless of similar IOPS or MB/s terminology in the scores. The test results in this project are only intended to be compared to the other test results conducted in identical fashion for this article.

Alex Schepeljanski of Alex Intelligent Software develops the free AS SSD Benchmark utility for testing storage devices. The AS SSD Benchmark tests sequential read and write speeds, input/output operational performance, and response times.

AS-SSD Benchmark uses compressed data, so sequential file transfer speeds may be reported lower than with other tools using uncompressed data. For this reason, we will concentrate on the operational IOPS performance in this section.

Beginning with sequential transfer performance, the 240GB Premier SP550 solid state drive produced speeds up to 515.82MB/s for sequential reads and 470.93MB/s for sequential writes. Single-threaded 4K performance tests delivered 26.80MB/s reads and 73.79MB/s writes, while the 64-thread 4K read test recorded 332.21MB/s with write performance at 169.74 MB/s.

240GB Premier SP550 SSD AS-SSD Results

The chart below summarizes AS-SSD 64-thread 4KB IOPS performance results among a variety of enthusiast-level SSDs. The ADATA SP550 acquits itself pretty well in the read department– its score is only 13% below the top-performing Samsung 850 EVO– but its write performance in this part of the benchmark is the third worst. As you can see this is far below the single-threaded write performance and may show a weakness in the drive’s IOPS handling ability.

In the next section, Benchmark Reviews tests transfer rates using ATTO Disk Benchmark.

The ATTO Disk Benchmark program is free, and offers a comprehensive set of test variables to work with. In terms of disk performance, it measures interface transfer rates at various intervals for a user-specified length and then reports read and write speeds for these spot-tests. There are some minor improvements made to the 2.46 version of the program that allow for test lengths up to 2GB, but all of our benchmarks are conducted with 256MB total length. ATTO Disk Benchmark requires that an active partition be set on the drive being tested. Please consider the results displayed by this benchmark to be basic bandwidth speed performance indicators.

240GB Premier SP550 SSD ATTO Benchmark Results

The 240GB model provided to Benchmark Reviews for testing produced 563 MBps maximum read speeds that plateau when the file size reaches about 256KB, and 510 MBps peak write bandwidth that plateaus starting at 64KB. Both of these numbers match or slightly exceed ADATA’s specs for this drive on this benchmark, which are 560MB/s for reads and 510MB/s for writes. Both of these numbers are very, very good, bumping up against the limits of the available SATA bandwidth and within spitting distance of the fastest drives Benchmark Reviews has ever tested.

In the next section, Benchmark Reviews tests sequential performance using the CrystalDiskMark 3.0 software tool…

CrystalDiskMark 3.0 is a file transfer and operational bandwidth benchmark tool from Crystal Dew World that offers performance transfer speed results using sequential, 512KB random, and 4KB random samples. For our test results chart below, the 4KB 32-Queue Depth read and write performance was measured using a 1000MB space. CrystalDiskMark requires that an active partition be set on the drive being tested, and all drives are formatted with NTFS on the Intel P67 chipset configured to use AHCI-mode. Benchmark Reviews uses CrystalDiskMark to illustrate operational IOPS performance with multiple threads. In addition to our other tests, this benchmark allows us to determine operational bandwidth under heavy load.

CrystalDiskMark uses compressed data, so sequential file transfer speeds are reported lower than with other tools using uncompressed data. For this reason, we will concentrate on the operational IOPS performance in this section.

CrystalDiskMark 3.0 reports sequential speeds reaching 537.5MB/s reads and 481.6 MB/s writes. Performance is strong through most of the other parts of this benchmark, although they start to lag a bit, especially in writes, when the utility queues up a bunch of 4K writes.

240GB Premier SP550 SSD CrystalDiskMarkResults

The chart below summarizes 4K random transfer speeds with a command queue depth of 32. The ADATA Premier SP550 does a bit better than mid-pack on reads, but falls rather far behind on writes with its 249.1MB/s score.

In the next section, we continue our testing using Iometer to measure input/output performance…

Iometer is an I/O subsystem measurement and characterization tool for single and clustered systems. Iometer does for a computer’s I/O subsystem what a dynamometer does for an engine: it measures performance under a controlled load. Iometer was originally developed by the Intel Corporation and formerly known as “Galileo”. Intel has discontinued work on Iometer, and has gifted it to the Open Source Development Lab (OSDL). There is currently a new version of Iometer in beta form, which adds several new test dimensions for SSDs.

Iometer is both a workload generator (that is, it performs I/O operations in order to stress the system) and a measurement tool (that is, it examines and records the performance of its I/O operations and their impact on the system). It can be configured to emulate the disk or network I/O load of any program or benchmark, or can be used to generate entirely synthetic I/O loads. It can generate and measure loads on single or multiple (networked) systems.

To measure random I/O response time as well as total I/O’s per second, Iometer is set to use 4KB file size chunks over a 100% random sequential distribution at a queue depth of 32 outstanding I/O’s per target. The tests are given a 50% read and 50% write distribution. While this pattern may not match traditional ‘server’ or ‘workstation’ profiles, it illustrates a single point of reference relative to our product field.

All of our SSD tests used Iometer 1.1.0 (build 08-Nov-2010) by Intel Corporation to measure IOPS performance. Iometer isconfigured to use 32 outstanding I/O’s per target and random 50/50 read/write distributionconfiguration: 4KB 100 Random 50-50 Read and Write.icf. The chart below illustrates combined random read and write IOPS over a 120-second Iometer test phase, where highest I/O total is preferred:

The 240GB Samsung SSD 850 PRO produced ourall-time best recorded score with 94,985IOPS, leaving the OCZ Vector 150 (88,299 IOPS) and Vector 450 (87,323) SSDs that previously delivered the best combined IOPS performance tonearly 6000 IOPS behind the new leader. Trailing behind very closely is the 240GBSamsung SSD 850 EVO with 86,192 IOPS. OCZ’s Vertex 4 (83,494) and Vertex 3 Max IOPS Edition (83,117) followedwith notable scores, before the Intel 520 SSD (80,433) and Intel 335 (80,015).

After the top-performing storage products, IOPS performance results quickly taper off. The ADATA Premier SP550, at 10,444 IOPS, is the lowest score we’ve recorded for the past few years, and far off the 75K IOPS promised on ADATA’s specifications page. Admittedly that page doesn’t say what benchmark was used to achieve that figure, but I can’t imagine what could make up the difference between the numbers ADATA quotes and the numbers I got.

Nearly all modern SSDs deliver I/O far beyond the needs of multi-tasking power users and hardcore gamers; SSDs that return very high IOPS scores would be ideal for workstation systems running utilizing virtual machines.

In our next section, we test linear read and write bandwidth performance and compare the speed of the ADATA SSD against several other top storage products using the AIDA64 Disk Benchmark.

Many enthusiasts are familiar with the Finalwire AIDA64 benchmark suite, but very few are aware of the Disk Benchmark tool available inside the program. The AIDA64 Disk Benchmark performs linear read and write bandwidth tests on each drive, and can be configured to use file chunk sizes up to 1MB (which speeds up testing and minimizes jitter in the waveform). Because of the full sector-by-sector nature of linear testing, Benchmark Reviews endorses this method for testing SSD products, as detailed in our Solid State Drive Benchmark Performance Testing article. One of the advantages SSDs have over traditional spinning-platter hard disks is much more consistent bandwidth: hard disk bandwidth drops off as the capacity draws linear read/write speed down into the inner-portion of the disk platter. AIDA64 Disk Benchmark does not require a partition to be present for testing, so all of our benchmarks are completed prior to drive formatting.

Linear disk benchmarks are superior bandwidth speed tools in my opinion, because they scan from the first physical sector to the last. A side affect of many linear write-performance test tools is that the data is erased as it writes to every sector on the drive. Normally this isn’t an issue, but it has been shown that partition table alignment will occasionally play a role in overall SSD performance (HDDs don’t suffer this problem).

We run the AIDA64 linear read and write tests with a 1M block size. Charted above, read performance on the 240GB ADATA Premier SP550 SSD returned average speeds of 506.1MB/s.The SP550 has the smoothest, most consistent read performance on this benchmark that I’ve ever seen: note that the difference between the minimum and maximum recorded speeds is a mere 0.6MB/s. Most SSDs will have enough variance to make the line in the chart above visibly wavy.

AIDA64 linear write-to tests were next…

Um. Well, this is a shock: after an initial burst of almost 450MB/s, performance plummets to the lowest score I’ve ever seen from an SSD. This result was so startling that I performed a clean erase on the drive and ran it again, with identical results. Oh, that initial high-speed burst? That’s the data being written to the drive’s 256MB of cache RAM.

Linear tests are an important tool for comparing bandwidth speed between storage products, serve to highlight the consistent-bandwidth advantages of SSDs, which don’t suffer the performance drop-off that HDDs do as the test proceeds away from the fast outer edge of the disk.

In the next section we use PCMark Vantage to test real-world performance…

PCMark Vantage is an objective hardware performance benchmark tool for PCs running 32- and 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows 7. PCMark Vantage is well suited for benchmarking any type of Microsoft Windows 7 PC: from multimedia home entertainment systems and laptops, to dedicated workstations and high-end gaming rigs. Benchmark Reviews has decided to use the HDD Test Suite to demonstrate simulated real-world storage drive performance in this article.

PCMark Vantage runs eight different storage benchmarks, each with a specific purpose. Once testing is complete, results are given a PCMark score while and detailed results indicate actual transaction speeds. The 240GB Premier SP550 SSD produced a total PCMark Vantage (secondary) HDD Test Suite score of 82239, setting a new record for a score we’ve seen in this test. The individual test results are shown below:

240GB ADATA Premier SP550 SSD PCMark VantageResults

With its combined score of 82,239, the ADATA Premier SP550 SSD jumps to the very top of the chart, beating the previous record set by its SP610 sibling.

In the next section, I share my review conclusion and final product rating.

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 Premier SP550 is ADATA’s first TLC-NAND drive. TLC NAND stores three bits per cell, which increases bit density by 50% over standard MLC NAND designs. TLC NAND is less expensive than the more common MLC NAND, but has less durability and performance than MLC NAND. However, as Samsung has demonstrated with its 850 EVO drives, both of these concerns can be effectively managed with good design and firmware.

ADATA still has a ways to go here, I’m afraid. The drive’s performance benchmarks are bracketed by excellent read speeds and the highest score I’ve ever seen on PCMark Vantage at one end, but terrible IOPS and AIDA64 sequential write scores on the other end.

The poor showings the drive made in the IOPS and sustained writes tests are probably due to the firmware in the Silicon Motion SM2256K controller. Squeezing the best performance and durability out of TLC NAND is still an art, rather than a science, and requires a perfect combination of controller, firmware, and DRAM cache. Hopefully ADATA can do some work in this regard and improve performance with a firmware update.

But here’s a little secret for you: SSD performance has reached the point where it’s far more than fast enough for consumer use. If your computer was using the very fastest SSD you could buy (this would likely be one of Intel’s new PCI-E NVME SSD drives), and I snuck in one night and replaced it with this drive, you’d probably never notice it. Sure there are applications where this drive’s poor IOPS and sustained write performance would hurt it, but they’re likely not on your desktop or gaming system. Go back and look at the linear write results in AIDA64. See how the very first part of the test has a transfer rate of over 440MB/s before dropping off? That’s because the first part of the data is filling up the 256MB cache RAM, and once that’s full, performance drops dramatically. You don’t see this drop off in some of the other benchmarks since they don’t write more than 256MB at once. So the question is “How often does your system do so?” , and the answer is probably “Virtually never”.

But competition is intense in the 240/256GB SSD market these days, and there’s no reason not to get the best performance you can for your dollar. Let’s take a quick look at the prices and some performance metrics for the ADATA drives I’ve tested lately:

	AIDA Read	AIDA Write	IOMeter IOPS	Vantage Overall	NewEgg Price (9/1/15)
ADATA XGT SX930	511MB/s	306MB/s	43,396	73,734	$109.99
ADATA SP610	507MB/s	286MB/s	50,450	79,525	$84.99
ADATA SP550	506MB/s	89MB/s	10,444	82,239	$79.99

The vagaries of marketing, promotions, and thin margins on this class of drives, mean that as of this writing, the SP550– which is ADATA’s entry-level drive– actually costs more than the SP610, which is two levels higher in ADATA’s hierarchy of SSDs. The SP550 does turn in marginally better read and Vantage performance than does the SP610, but the latter has superior IOPS and way better write performance, and, although both drives are warranted for three years, the SP610’s MCL NAND will probably outlast the SP550’s TLC NAND.

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 240GB ADATA Premier SP550 SSD is available for $79.99 (Amazon | Newegg), which is about the midrange of current 240GB SSD prices. However, until ADATA addresses some of the performance issues of this drive, I’d recommend getting its ADATA Premier SP610 sibling instead for $84.99 (Newegg). Remember, though, that the prices of SSDs are very volatile, and you should do your research to check current pricing and availability before buying.

+ Chart-topping sequential read speeds
+ Supports TRIM, NCQ, S.M.A.R.T., and robust ECC
+ 3-Year product warranty support
+ Offered in 120/240/480GB storage capacities
+ Lightweight compact storage solution
+ Resistant to extreme shock impact
+ Free copy of Acronis True Image included

– Very poor scores on AIDA64 sequential writes and IOMeter IOPS measurements
– Better performing ADATA drives available for the same price

• Performance: 7.50
• Appearance: 8.00
• Construction: 9.50
• Functionality: 9.00
• Value: 8.00

Recommended: Benchmark Reviews Seal of Approval.

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