Best Buy SSD Buying Guide February 2020 Offer

What is the best way to revitalize an old notebook but not yet so shabby as to be destined for recycling? Simple, replace its mechanical disk with an SSD. This new year could be the best opportunity to buy one SATA and PCIe SSDs and today we recommend the 5 best ones to buy hoping for important discounts and offers for SSDs.

Remember that changing the SSD is a fairly simple operation, which requires a pinch of experience with the world of information technology but which does not require a specialized technician or interventions of several tens of euros. A screwdriver, a software for disk cloning and you're done. But this is not the article in which I explain how to complete this operation, if you can ever find my advice on here which SSD to buy to replace your old HDD.

But let's go in order; what features should i consider before buying an SSD? I will try to answer this question in the simplest possible way, indicating basic parameters that everyone can easily retrieve and interpret, that is, the writing and reading speeds, the capacity, the type of memory and the type of interface.

• In relation to speed of reading and writing of an SSD it is necessary to take into consideration two values: that relating to the sequential speed and that of random reading and writing. In the first case we talk about the speeds achievable in data transfer sequentially (expressed in MB / s), for example when we move large files. A datum that is therefore useful for understanding the possibilities of the disk but that does not represent a scenario of use that impacts on the reactivity of the system. Much more important are the read and write random values, which indicate the number of operations per second that an SSD is able to complete, thus allowing to evaluate the real reactivity of the disk. In this case, we no longer speak of MB / S but of IOPS: Input / Output Operations Per Second. To give you an idea of ​​the difference between an old HDD and an SSD you just need to know that, in the best of cases and remaining in the consumer sector, there is talk of about 100 IOPS for a SATA HDD against 80 / 85,000 of the SSDs (but you get up to 100,000).
• As for the capacity we are obviously talking about a parameter that varies according to the needs of those who buy the SSD. If you already have a notebook and want to replace your mechanical disk with an SSD you can buy one of the same capacity as the HDD present in your solution. But keep in mind that very often these discs are largely empty even after years of use. It could therefore be useful to evaluate the amount of data present in them and possibly evaluate the purchase of an SSD with a capacity lower than that of the original HDD, thus saving a few tens of euros.
• For type of memory instead we mean the technology with which the memories were made inside our SSD. They are mainly divided into three types: SLC, MLC and TLC. The main difference between these three technologies lies in the number of bits present in each cell. A fairly complicated speech; just know that SLCs are the fastest and most reliable, but also the most expensive. MLCs are the most popular and those that currently offer the best compromise between quality and price. We close with the TLC that allow you to have higher capacity at a lower cost, with all the necessary compromises.
• Finally I talk to you about interface. By greatly diminishing the value of the subject, we could also define it simply as the type of connector, but don't get me wrong, I know it is not only this, but this guide wants to be as simple as possible. There are basically two types of interface: PCI-Express and SATA. The former is the fastest but is often not compatible with older notebooks and motherboards from a few years ago. The second is much more widespread, does not allow to reach the speeds of PCI-Express but fully supports most of the SSDs. CAUTION: it often happens to confuse interface and format. m.2 and PCI-E, for example, are not the same thing. There are SATA SSDs in m.2 format so pay close attention and check that the m.2 slot of your notebook or desktop is actually PCI-E compatible.

Now that I have explained to you what are the features to consider in the process of purchasing an SSD we can move on. Here are the best-selling SSDs on Amazon and which ones we recommend based on your needs.

RECOMMENDED TO: those who want maximum performance and reliability and need a SATA solution

The SSD Samsung 860 EVO in the 500 GB cut it is the best-selling model on Amazon and also in terms of features it is undoubtedly one of the most interesting products within its category. The model we are talking about is the one in the 2.5-inch form factor with interface SATA 6. The speeds are those achievable by most of the SATA SSDs in circulation and we speak specifically of 550 MB / s for reading and 520 MB / s for writing. Interesting, and among the best in the category, the performance in writing and random reading. In this specific parameter the 860 EVO scores respectively 98,000 IOPS and 90,000 IOPS.

For its SSD 860 EVO, Samsung then plans one 5 year or 300 TBW warranty (Terabytes Written for the 500 GB version). It is not a record, some manufacturers trust their technology so much as to provide guarantees of up to 10 years, but we say that we are average in the offer in the price segment.

Also worthy of note is the good software support. The company provides all those who purchase a Samsung SSD for free on Magician software, which allows you to check disk performance, update firmware, encrypt files and modify partitions. If your aim is to replace the HDD of a notebook or desktop PC you can instead take advantage of it Samsung SSD Data Migration that will guide you step by step during the operations.

RECOMMENDED TO: those who need a lot of space, perhaps to create a fast portable disk, and do not want to spend too much

In second place in the Amazon sales charts we find a proposal Kingston. To be precise, let's talk about the model A400 in the 240 GB cut but the company's proposal includes 3 other 120 GB, 480 GB and 960 GB models. It is a 2.5-inch SSD that uses TLC and type memories SATA interface 3. The performance reading are 500 MB / s for all models, while in writing starts from 320 MB / s of the 120 GB model to reach 450 of the 480 and 960 GB ones. Good read and write random values ​​with peaks of 95,000 IOPS and 85,000 IOPS respectively.

Compared to the Samsung model seen above we have a slightly lower random write speed and above all one warranty covering only the first 3 years. Lower features then, but also a much lower cost. The model taken into consideration, with 240 GB of capacity, costs in fact only 29 euros, compared to the over 50 euros of the 860 EVO.

At the software level Kingston offers the application Kingston SSD Manager, which allows users to control and manage certain aspects of their SSD. Obviously, operation is guaranteed only with the company's SSDs and thanks to this application it will be possible to monitor the health of the disk, find information such as model, serial number and firmware version, update the latter and format the unit.

RECOMMENDED TO: those looking for the best quality / price ratio among the most popular SATA solutions

A jump in Micron's house for a disc that is positioned in the middle compared to the two just mentioned. I speak specifically ofMX500 which uses TLC memories and can reach sequential read and write speeds equal to 560 MB / s and 510 MB / s. We are therefore more or less aligned with the other proposals analyzed so far, just as it does not change much even from the point of view of the random read and write speeds, respectively declared equal to 95,000 and 90,000 IOPS.

Just to not go too far from sowing this MX500 is also a 2.5-inch SATA SSD and integrates a chip that preserves the disk in case of unexpected interruption of the work session, as in the case of a voltage drop. As with the previous models, this MX500 is also available in 4 different cuts: 250 GB, 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB. Crucial offers for this MX500 5 years warranty and declares a duration of 180 TBW for the 500 GB model.

From the point of view software Micron provides the user with a program called Crucial Storage Executive which allows you to optimize the performance of your SSD and to obtain periodic firmware updates. There is also the possibility to monitor the temperature of the unit, reset the encryption password and enable the Momentum Cache function, to make many SSD operations up to 10 times faster. For the cloning instead of the old disk there is a version of the software Specially optimized Acronis True Image for Crucial solutions.

After the SATA models we offer you two PCI-E products which, as is well known, offer better performance but also a slightly higher cost. Before buying one of these two SSDs make sure that your notebook or the motherboard of your desktop PC are compatible and offer a slot that can accommodate one.

RECOMMENDED TO: those who want maximum performance and do not worry too much about the budget

The first PCIe NVMe SSD that we offer is currently the best-selling on Amazon.it. Let's talk about Samsung 970 EVO Plus in the 500 GB memory variant. It is a disc with form factor M.2 perfect for updating your notebook by increasing the amount of storage memory or improving its responsiveness if it is equipped with a model with lower performance. Based on memories with V-NAND technology produced by Samsung itself, this 970 EVO Plus is configured as one of the best alternatives in its category.

The performances are obviously much higher than those described for the SATA models; let's talk about 3500 MB / s read and 3300 MB / s in sequential writing, against the 500 MB / s of the products listed above. Moving on to the values ​​of reading and random writing we stand at approx 600,000 and 550,000 IOPS. Available in 250GB, 500GB, 1TB and 2TB memory cuts, Samsung 970 EVO Plus offers 5 year guarantee and a life span declared for the 500 GB model of 300 TBW.

Here too we find the same software support as the SATA models. The company provides all those who purchase a Samsung SSD for free on Magician software, which allows you to check disk performance, update firmware, encrypt files and modify partitions. If your aim is to replace the HDD of a notebook or desktop PC you can instead take advantage of it Samsung SSD Data Migration that will guide you step by step during the operations.

RECOMMENDED TO: those looking for the best compromise between price and performance between PCIe NVMe models

The second PCIe NVMe model that we offer is the Crucial P1 which, in the 1 TB cut, is available at practically the same price as the Samsung 970 EVO Plus in the 500 GB version. Obviously, in order to keep costs down, it is necessary to come down to some compromise which translates into performance which, while remaining excellent, is a little lower than that of the Korean company model. Crucial P1 is based on memories Flash NAND QLC 3D produced by Micron itself, with 40 years of experience in this sector.

Although lower than those of the top solutions, the sequential read and write speeds are still excellent and up to 4 times higher than those of the SATA models. Let's talk about 2000 MB / s read and 1700 MB / s write sequentially. The values ​​related to reading and random writing which are respectively at 200,000 IOPS and 170,000 IOPS, about twice the size of the best 2.5-inch products. Crucial declares, for the 1 TB model, one life of 200 TBW and guarantees its P1 for 5 years.

Finally, we also mention here the software support which, as for the Micron SATA models, includes a program called Crucial Storage Executive which allows you to optimize the performance of your SSD and to obtain periodic firmware updates. There is also the possibility of monitoring the temperature of the unit, resetting the encryption password and enabling the Momentum Cache function, to make many SSD operations up to 10 times faster. For the cloning instead of the old disk there is a version of the software Specially optimized Acronis True Image for Crucial solutions.