10 Best High Speed SSD for Gaming & Video - 2017 List

What you can find here is the top 10 Solid State Drives now available in the market with specifications and easy tabular comparison. Brief comparison with pros and cons. Buying options for SSDs up to 50% discount.

Traditional Hard Drive

• Use more electricity
• Has moving parts (spinning disk mechanism)
• Produce heat and noise
• Performance decreases after a period due to fragmentation
• Is heavier
• Prone to damage
• Low writing and reading speed
• Low reliability because it consist of moving parts
• Less price

Solid State Drive

• Use less electricity and thus energy efficient
• Does not have any moving parts
• Does not produce heat and noise
• Performance is stable
• Is lighter
• Damage resistant
• High writing and reading speed (10 times faster)
• High reliability
• Small and compact
• Costly

SSD has a lot of advantages over HDD but it is costlier. Now you may want to choose between SSD and HDD. If you are looking for portable hard drives, see the Master List of Top 15 Portable Hard Disks or List of 7 Best Rugged External Hard Drives for extra protection to your precious data.

Well if you insist on buying SSD, always choose the best. Here goes our list...

The Samsung 840 EVO Solid State Drive has a storage capacity of 500 GB and is the successor to the Samsung 840 series. The Samsung 840 EVO features Turbo Write technology, allowing data to be written quickly. Turbo Write and Samsung MEX controller ensure maximum writing speed of 520 Mb / s.

Pros

• Uses Turbo Write.
• 6.6 mm thick, fits to all laptops and PCs.
• Easy to install
• Clear instructions

Cons

• For large files, the Turbo write speed drops slightly.
• SATA cable and mounting plate are not included.

In the box:

• Samsung 840 EVO
• Installation Guide

The Samsung 840 Pro is an SSD with a storage capacity of 256 GB. The Samsung SSD 840 Pro uses the Samsung S4LN021X01 controller, a 300 MHz triple-core ARM chip, which together with a SATA 3 interface gives a maximum read speed of 540 MB/s and a maximum write speed of 450 MB/s.

Pros

• The SSD is fast, cool, quiet and energy efficient.
• 6.6 mm thick, and therefore fits into the thinnest laptops.
• Easy assembly
• Reasonable price

Cons

• Does not come with a mounting plate and SATA cable.

In the box

• Samsung 840
• Installation Guide

The Crucial M500 SSD's come with a storage capacity of 120 240 480 and 960 GB. The Crucial M500 SSD uses the Marvell 88SS9187 controller, a 200MB / s dual-core chip, together with a SATA 3 interface. It has a maximum read speed of 500 MB / s and a maximum write speed of 250 MB / s. The high speed makes the Crucial M500 SSD particularly suitable as a replacement for a traditional hard drive in a laptop or computer. With the Crucial M500 as a start up disk, Windows or Mac OS start in a fraction of the second and installing and loading software and games is also blazing fast.

Pros

• The SSD is fast to use, quiet and energy efficient.
• Does not get heated up after long use.
• The SSD is 7 mm thick, and therefore fits into the thinnest laptops.
• Comes with a 9.5mm adapter.

Cons

• The company does not provide any mounting plate.
• Does not have a SATA cable with the product.

In the box:

• Crucial M500 240GB
• Installation Guide
• 9.5 mm adapter

The Intel 530 Solid State Drive is a lot more energy efficient than its predecessor, the Intel 520. With the SATA 3 interface and SandForce SF-2281 controller, the Intel 530 has a maximum write speed of 490 Mb / s and maximum read speed of 540 MB / s.

Pros

• 5 year warranty.
• Energy efficient.
• You can download Intel data migration software for free.

Cons

• SATA cable and mounting plate not included

In the box

• Intel 530 SSD
• Installation Guide
• Data Migration software (download)

The SanDisk Extreme II is a SSD with a storage capacity of 240 GB. With a SanDisk Extreme II SSD you get more out of your laptop: there will be no delay in start up, programs load faster, games and other multimedia applications run smoother. Replace your hard drive with power-saving SanDisk Extreme II SSD and your laptop produce less heat and make less noise.

Pros

• Energy efficient, uses less power than a traditional hard drive.
• 7 mm thick, fits in most laptops.
• 5 year warranty

Cons

• SATA cable and mounting plate not included.

In the box

• SanDisk Extreme II SSD
• Installation Guide

The Kingston SSDNow V300 is a Solid State Drive (SSD) with a storage capacity of 120 GB. The Kingston SSDNow V300 SSD uses a SandForce SF-2281 controller and a SATA 3 interface. This makes it particularly suitable for the ‘ultra-fast SSD upgrade’ for your computer or laptop. The Kingston SSDNow V300 has read and write speeds that are significantly higher than those of traditional hard drives. Average speed of 450 MB/s

Pros

• SSD is only 7 mm thick and fits in any ultra thin laptops.

Cons

• No mount bracket
• No additional software

In the box

• Kingston SSDNow V300 SSD
• Quick Start Guide

The Kingston HyperX 3K is a top-of-the-line SSD from Kingston with a storage capacity of 120 GB. The Kingston HyperX 3K features a SandForce SF-2281 controller and uses SATA 3 interface. Through this interface, the SandForce controller and firmware used has a reading speed up to 555 MB / s and a write speed up to 510 MB / s.

Pros

• SATA 3 and SandForce controller provides an extremely high speed.
• Is energy efficient
• Easy to install
• No mechanical parts so no noise.
• Solid disk with built-in mounting bracket

Cons

• Has a thickness of 9.5 millimeters. First measure whether your laptop has enough space to mount this

In the box

• Kingston HyperX 3K
• Mounting bracket (2.5 to 3.5 inches)
• Instructions for Use

The SanDisk Ultra Plus 128 GB 2.5 Inch Solid State Drive is ideal for your laptop or computer with a storage capacity of 128 GB. Replace your hard drive with the SanDisk Ultra SSD plus 128GB and your laptop will start in no time and your programs load faster. With a read speed up to 530 MB / s SSD is ideal for multimedia applications.

Pros

• Energy efficient, uses less power than a traditional hard drive.
• 7 mm thick, fits in most laptops.

Cons

• SATA cable and mounting plate not included.

In the box

SanDisk SSD Ultra Plus 128 GB Notebook
Installation Guide

The OCZ Vector 150 240 GB is an energy-efficient Solid State Drive with a storage capacity of 240 GB. The OCZ Vector 150 is an updated version of the OCZ Vector. Unlike its predecessor, the Vector 150 SSD has 256-bit AES encryption, so your data is secured. This SSD is ideal as an upgrade for your computer or laptop and works with Windows, Mac OSX and Linux. Replace your hard drive by OCZ Vector 150 and your computer or laptop starts up quickly and programs load faster. With a maximum read speed of 550 MB / s and a maximum write speed of 530 MB / s, the OCZ Vector 150 and 240 GB pieces are much faster than a traditional hard drive.

Pros

• With Acronis software you can easily copy data from your hard drive to the SSD.
• Comes with a mounting kit for a computer.
• Features 256-bit AES encryption to fully secure your data.

Cons

• Comes without SATA cable.

In the box

• OCZ Vector SSD
• Quick Start Guide
• Acronis software
• Mounting Kit for computer

Upgrade your laptop or PC with the energy-saving Toshiba Q Series Pro and your computer boots faster and perform better. The included migration software converts you in no time your data from your old hard drive to the Toshiba SSD. Replace your current hard drive with this SSD and enjoy a read speed up to 554 MB / s and a write speed up to 512MB / s.

Pros

• The SSD is fast to use, but also cool, quiet and energy efficient.
• SSD is only 7 mm thick and fits in ultrathin laptops.
• Included software can easily copy your current HDD to SSD.

Cons

• SATA cable and mounting hardware are not included.

In the box

• Toshiba Q Series Pro
• Spacer for 9.5 mm slot
• Manual