Best SSD for ~$70: Boot Drive
Adata XPG SX900 (
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Adata XPG SX900
64 GB
Sequential Read
550 MB/s |
Sequential Write510 MB/s
|
Power Consumption (Active)
3 W |
Power Consumption (Idle)0.6 W
|
Best SSD for ~$90: System Drive
Kingston HyperX 3K (
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Kingston HyperX 3K
90 GB
Sequential Read
555 MB/s
|
Sequential Write| 510 MB/s |
Power Consumption (Active)
2.11 W
|
Power Consumption (Idle)0.46 W
|
Best SSD for ~$110: System Drive
Samsung 840 (
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Samsung 840
120 GB
Sequential Read
530 MB/s
|
Sequential Write130 MB/s
|
Power Consumption (Active)
0.071 W
|
Power Consumption (Idle)0.046 W
|
Best SSDs for ~$130: A Dependable 128 GB Drive
Crucial m4 (
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Crucial m4
128 GB
Sequential Read
560 MB/s
|
Sequential Write| 175 MB/s |
Power Consumption (Active)
0.15 W |
Power Consumption (Idle)0.085 W
|
Best SSDs for ~$140: Performance 128 GB
Samsung 840 Pro (
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Samsung 840 Pro
128 GB
Sequential Read
530 MB/s
|
Sequential Write| 390 MB/s |
Power Consumption (Active)
0.069 W
|
Power Consumption (Idle)0.054 W
|
Best SSDs for ~$185: Performance Option
Mushkin Chronos Deluxe (
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Mushkin Chronos Deluxe
240 GB
Sequential Read
560 MB/s
|
Sequential Write| 520 MB/s |
Power Consumption (Active)
3 W
|
Power Consumption (Idle)1 W
|
Best SSDs for ~$190: Prioritizing Capacity
Samsung 840 (
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Samsung 840
250 GB
Sequential Read
540 MB/s
|
Sequential Write| 250 MB/s |
Power Consumption (Active)
0.071 W
|
Power Consumption (Idle)0.046 W
|
Best SSDs for ~$190: A Proven Alternative
Crucial m4 (
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Crucial m4
256 GB
Sequential Read
500 MB/s
|
Sequential Write| 260 MB/s |
Power Consumption (Active)
0.15 W
|
Power Consumption (Idle)0.10 W
|
Best SSDs for ~$200: Honorable Mention, High-Capacity mSATA
Crucial m4 (
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Crucial m4
256 GB
Sequential Read
500 MB/s
|
Sequential Write| 260 MB/s |
Power Consumption (Active)
2 W
|
Power Consumption (Idle)0.7 W
|
Best SSDs for ~$240: Performance 256 GB
Samsung 840 Pro (
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Samsung 840 Pro
256 GB
Sequential Read
540 MB/s
|
Sequential Write| 520 MB/s |
Power Consumption (Active)
0.069 W
|
Power Consumption (Idle)0.054 W
|
Best SSDs for ~$240: Reliability Wild Card 240 GB
PNY Prevail Elite (
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PNY Prevail Elite
240 GB
Sequential Read
550 MB/s
|
Sequential Write| 515 MB/s |
Power Consumption (Active)
5 W
|
Power Consumption (Idle)0.1 W
|
Best SSDs for ~$360 : High-Capacity Option
SanDisk Extreme (
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SanDisk Extreme
480 GB
Sequential Read
540 MB/s
|
Sequential Write| 460 MB/s |
Power Consumption (Active)
3 W
|
Power Consumption (Idle)1 W
|

SSD Performance Hierarchy Chart
Tier 1
| 240 GB second-gen SandForce SSDs with Toggle NAND Samsung 840 250 GB Samsung 830 SSD 256 GB Plextor M3 Pro 128 GB/256 GB OCZ Vertex 4 512/256 GB OCZ Vector 512/256 GB Samsung 840 Pro 128 GB/256 GB
|
Tier 2
| 240 GB second-gen SandForce SSDs with Sync ONFi NAND Corsair Neutron GTX 256 GB Plextor M3 128 GB/256 GB
|
Tier 3
| Crucial m4 256 GB Corsair Neutron 256 GB Samsung 840 SSD 120 GB Samsung 830 SSD 128 GB 120 GB second-gen SandForce SSDs with Toggle NAND 240 GB second-gen SandForce SSDs with Async ONFi NAND Corsair Performance Pro 128 GB OCZ Agility 4 256 GB
|
Tier 4
| -
|
Tier 5
| Crucial m4 128 GB Intel SSD 330 180 GB Samsung 830 SSD 64 GB 120 GB second-gen SandForce SSDs with Sync ONFi NAND
|
Tier 6
| Intel SSD 330 120 GB Samsung 840 120 GB Samsung 470 SSD 256 GB
|
Tier 7
| 240 GB first-gen SandForce SSDs Intel SSD 320 300 GB Samsung 470 SSD 128 GB 120 GB & 180 GB second-gen SandForce SSDs with Async ONFi NAND OCZ Agility 4 120 GB
|
Tier 8
| -
|
Tier 9
| Crucial m4 64 GB Intel SSD 320 160 GB Intel SSD 520 60 GB
|
Tier 10
| Intel SSD 320 80 GB Intel SSD 330 60 GB 60 GB second-gen SandForce SSDs (with Sync or Async ONFi NAND) 120 GB first-gen SandForce SSDs OCZ Agility 4 64 GB |
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ssd-recommendation-benchmark,3269.html