Can Transcend take the solid-state drive
mainstream with its SSD320?
For anyone relying on conventional drive
technology to boot their system and launch their applications, the future is
SSD. Until recently these devices were so expensive that only those prepared to
pay for the best could use them.
Last year's flooding in Bangkok, however,
accelerated the change that was always coming, narrowing the price gap between
traditional hard drives and SSDs, which have been steadily getting cheaper by
the day.
Transcend
SSD 320 128GB
The SSD320 by Transcend is the result of
all those lost drive sales and high part prices, a high-performance drive with
a decent capacity at an affordable price.
Built around the superb LSI SandForce 2281
controller, in ideal conditions this SSD can push and pull in excess of 500MB/s
– a speed that conventional drives will probably never attain.
That's great, and it's what these drives
are mostly bought for, but this unit also has a intelligent block management
and wear levelling logic in it, which should extend its operating life. The
form factor is a 'slim' 7mm 2.5" package, enabling it to be used in an
ultrabook or desktop PC just as easily.
Transcend provides a simple metal plate
that allows you to install the drive in a bay designed for a bigger desktop
drive, if you require that.
Another plus point is that when Transcend
promotes this as having a 128GB capacity, it's not selling you a 120GB model
and adding up using the special maths that most drive makers use. This drive
does have 128GB of space, which is enough to run a decent Windows system
without having to pare it down.
If I was looking hard to put you off buying
one, the only minor bone of contention I can unearth is that in my testing I
could only elicit 496MB/s reading and 488MB/s writing, although I'm entirely
happy to accept that's the impact of using an Intel-branded motherboard as my
test rig. You also won't get that performance if you don't have SA TA3, in case
you wondered.
Whatever your personal real-world numbers
are, the SDD320 is blindingly fast, and you won't need a mortgage to buy one.
For those interested in more capacity, the
256GB model is about $224, and for those on a tighter budget the 64GB model is
slightly above $80.
If you're in the market for an ultrabook,
then don't blow your cash on a high-end model. Buy a more modest one with one
of these, clone the drive, and watch the system fly and the battery life
increase!
The SSD320 is an excellent product, which
ticks all the boxes for those wanting zippy performance and, as such, I can't
recommend it enough.
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Details
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Price: $120 (Amazon)
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Manufacturer: Transcend
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Website uk.transcend-info.com
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Required spec: Free SA TA port, ideally SATA3,
operating system that's SSD aware
Verdict
·
Quality: 8
·
Value: 9
·
Overall: 9
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