Credit:
Reviewed.com / TJ Donegan
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Credit:
Reviewed.com / TJ Donegan
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The Samsung name means it may cost a little more, but you'll definitely be pleased with the performance of this SSD. Read More
It's tough to beat the value of this SSD. It performs like a much higher priced model, and we appreciate the 5-year warranty. Read More
We feel this SSD is solidly middle of the pack, performance-wise. We are a little disappointed it offers a 3-year warranty when others offer five. Read More
Value can be found at the lower capacities of these SSDs. If you're looking for a terabyte or two, you should probably look elsewhere. Read More
This SSD is thoroughly average in performance, but slightly higher in price. Read More
Shopping for an SSD is hard, but shopping for one on a tight budget can be brutal. Whereas a few years ago $100 would see you looking at slower, bigger spinning hard drives, these These days you can get a fantastic solid state drive with over 500GB of capacity for less than the same amount.
Of the ones we've tested, our favorite is the 250GB Samsung EVO 860 (available at Amazon) . It's fast, durable, and available in a wide variety of formats and capacities. Though prices fluctuate daily, you can find the 250GB 2.5-inch version and the mSATA and M.2 models for a reasonable price.
As we discussed at length in our full guide to the best laptop SSDs, most new SSDs are going to run at similar speeds. The technology is held back by the SATA III standard, which is what most laptops use to connect to storage (this goes for both M.2 and 2.5-inch drives). As such, if you happen to find a great deal on another SSD we tested, you should feel comfortable going with that and saving some money.
The Samsung 860 EVO is the best laptop we tested under $100.
My name is TJ Donegan, I’m the Executive Editor of Reviewed. I’ve reviewed nearly every kind of tech you can buy, from cameras and camcorders to smartphones, laptops, and PC components. I’ve built numerous custom PCs for myself and others, and lost at least 20 screws inside of various computers over the years.
Handling the testing side of this roundup is Kyle Hamilton, our in-house Product Test Technician and reviewer. He is a former validation technician for Intel, where he was responsible for testing power, performance, and thermal throttling for solid state drives.
For testing, we are relying on the free and readily available Crystal Disk Mark, meaning you should be able to easily check our results. We picked our test batch by looking at market data, user reviews, current prices, and looking at other in-depth guides to the best SSDs at places such as Anandtech. We also reached out to each manufacturer to discuss their current product lines to see which drives may be replaced soon.
Though we're targeting laptop performance, for ease of use, each drive was tested using a Lenovo gaming desktop connected as a secondary drive via SATA III. For each test run, we used Crystal Disk Mark’s full suite of benchmarks (set to repeat 9 times). We repeated the test run with each drive at least twice and checked our results against other outlets to ensure they were within expected norms.
Left: the Samsung 860 EVO in an M.2 form factor. Right: the same thing in a 2.5-inch drive
You could write 10,000 words on the different types of SSDs and still not explain all the differences, so we're going to keep it simple. When shopping for an SSD you first need to figure out what will fit into your laptop or PC. Most laptops, game consoles, and PCs take so-called "2.5-inch" drives that are a little bigger than a playing card. If that's what you need, just buy one and you know it'll fit perfectly.
In some slim laptops, however, you will find what is called an "M.2" port with SSDs that look like long, thin circuit boards. Why the drastic change? Because the actual memory in SSDs is really tightly packed, so most of the space in 2.5-inch drives is wasted. M.2 sticks are more space-efficient, which is perfect for today's laptops.
Most M.2 SSDs are 22mm wide sticks, but they come in various lengths up to 80mm long. (Such a stick usually has "2280" in the model name to denote its size). You can usually replace a longer M.2 SSD with a shorter one, but check with your manufacturer to be sure.
Some laptops have space for both kinds of drives, and there's not much to be gained just from using an M.2 SSD over a 2.5-inch one. Most of the drives we tested in this guide come in both form factors and have the same "speed limit" because of the SATA III standard—even M.2 versions. Just buy what you need and you should get roughly the same performance.
There is a new, faster kind of SSD out called NVMe, however. NVMe memory fits into an M.2 slot and can smash through that speed limit, but only if your laptop supports it. Since this is mostly limited to high-end machines and gaming laptops (and it's more expensive), we're leaving these for a future guide.
High read-write speeds
Five-year warranty
Affordable
None that we could find
Solid performance
Affordable
Warranty allows more frequent disk writing
Only a 3-year warranty
Solid performance
Affordable at lower capacities
Higher capacities are expensive
Offers smaller-capacity SSDs
Solid performance
Slightly more expensive than other SSDs
Only a 3-year warranty
Offers smaller-capacity SSDs
Solid performance
Slightly more expensive than other SSDs
Only a 3-year warranty
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TJ is the former Director of Content Development at Reviewed. He is a Massachusetts native and has covered electronics, cameras, TVs, smartphones, parenting, and more for Reviewed. He is from the self-styled "Cranberry Capitol of the World," which is, in fact, a real thing.
Kyle Hamilton
Product Tester
Kyle Hamilton is a product tester at Reviewed, specializing in home appliances and technology.
Our team is here for one purpose: to help you buy the best stuff and love what you own. Our writers, editors, and lab technicians obsess over the products we cover to make sure you're confident and satisfied. Have a different opinion about something we recommend? Email us and we'll compare notes.
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