The SSD Review The Worlds Dedicated SSD Education and Review Resource | 
If you are in the market for a mSATA SSD, we guarantee this article is going to be one of the best finds for some time.
MyDigitalSSD just released two mSATA versions of SSDs, the value oriented Bullet Proof 3 and the Smart Series for those loving that lightning fast ‘LSI SandForce Drive’ performance that we have come to know. As much as these are the best prices yet for this form factor, the ‘scoop’ truly lies in the manufacture of the ‘SandForce Driven’ 256GB Smart SSD family which is great news.
BULLET PROOF 3 mSATA FAMILY
The MyDigitalSSD Bullet Proof 3 mSATA SSD is available in capacities of 64, 128 and 256GB and relies on the newly released Phison S8 SATA 3 controller as well as premium Toshiba Toggle Mode NAND Flash memory. It’s performance graduates depending on capacity from 320MB/s read and 120MB/s write for the 64GB, up to 520MB/s read and 320MB/s write for the 256GB and all carry a three year warranty.
We have the BP3 seen here on the bench and hope to have a review up in a few days followed by the Smart of same capacity shortly thereafter. Pricing of the BulletProof is as follows; click on the link for further information:
MyDigitalSSD 64GB Bullet Proof 3 mSATA III (6G) SSD – $79.99
MyDigitalSSD 128GB Bullet Proof 3 mSATA III (6G) SSD – $159.99
MyDigitalSSD 256GB Bullet Proof 3 mSATA III (6G) SSD – $279.99
As much we now see capacity, performance and value achieved in mSATA SSD pricing, this is not the true story though.
SMART SERIES mSATA FAMILY – ADATA XPG SX300 IN DISGUISE?
It hasn’t been a week since we met with ADATA and spoke to them about their XPG SX300 Series mSATA SSD which we can’t wait to get our hands on. It would have been the highest capacity, top performing mSATA SSD on the market…would have been. An important fact that came from that meeting was that, to this date, ADATA has been the only manufacturer to utilize SandForce FSPs (Flash Storage Processors) while maintaining typical binary capacities of 64, 128 and 256GB rather than typical SF capacities of 60, 120 and 240GB.
This is possible only through ADATAs acquisition of the absolute best ‘hand-picked’ NAND flash memory through long standing relationships with memory manufacturers. Even Intel, arguably one of the top dogs in NAND flash memory, hasn’t utilized typical binary capacities in their ‘SandForce Driven’ 330 and 520 Series SSDs.
What many are not aware of is that ADATA is a very big company. To give an example, there was a time not so long ago that it is believed that SandForce reserved it’s premium performing firmware for large volume sales and their premium customers. To be brief, many smaller vendors, under anonymity, even suggested we investigate why they weren’t privy to the same firmware as some of the larger companies. At that time, it was believed that ADATA purchased it’s large volumes from SandForce simply to sell generic SSDs, with premium firmware, to those smaller companies not privy to it.
The question then becomes one of whether the new MyDigitalSSD mSATA SSD is actually the ADATA XPG SX300 in disguise. This would make sense as ADATA is the only company to market SSDs in typical binary capacities and Matt Dawson and MyDigitalSSD simply don’t have the engineering team in place to pull this off. It is a guess and a great gamble for those seeking the best in an mSATA SSD. We can state that there is absolutely no way to prove the theory right now as both companies would hold strict non-disclosure agreements of such. The most amusing point is that the SSDs can’t be compared yet as the ADATA XPG SX300 is not yet available whereas the MyDigitalSSD Smart Series SSD is.
Food for thought and coincidentally, we believe that both the ADATA SX300 and MyDigitalSSD Smart Series 256GB SSD are on their way to our offices for evaluation.
No specifications for the Smart Series have been release but we might suggest that they run in the area of 500MB/s read and write speeds with premium Toshiba Toggle Mode or Intel synchronous NAND flash memory in use. This would be the first instance that we are aware of (other than BP3) that an mSATA SSD has relied on premium NAND flash memory which is definitely a great move forward! Prices and links are as follows:
MyDigitalSSD 64GB Smart Series SATA III (6G) SandForce mSATA SSD – S99.99
MyDigitalSSD 128GB Smart Series SATA III (6G) SandForce mSATA SSD – $179.99
MyDigitalSSD 256GB Smart Series SATA III (6G) SandForce mSATA SSD – S319.99
At the end of the day would I believe that the MyDigitalSSD Smart Series family is the twin of the ADATA XPG SX300 family? (Big Smile) If I had been waiting for the highest capacity and fastest SSD on the market would I grab one of these quick? Yup! These prices won’t be dropping anytime soon.
It would be nice to test a Smart Series 256GB mSATA SSD in a new MSI GE70 or GE60 notebook that have a SATA 3 6gb/s mSATA Slot.
Feel Your pain snd considering a SATA 3 notebook purchase..
Can i install this
MyDigitalSSD 64GB BP3 Bullet Proof 3 mSATA III (6G) SSD Solid State Drive – MDMS-BP3-064 in my lenovo ideapad y480. i want to install it to the msata port available on board of my laptop and thn i want to install OS to it for faster booting. will this work?
Yes it should work…Google is your friend.
It is the ADATA XPG SX300. It just received mine today and installed. It shows in BIOS as the ADATA SX300. So far the testing has shown a great product. I also have the Samsung 830 series 256GB SSD drive installed in my Lenovo W520. I’m going to benchmark both drives side-by-side. I’ll post the results.
Yes…it was a dead giveaway…Installing now in my new 15″ Series 9 Ivy Bridge!
We all get excited about speed, but I think there are other important considerations like power consumption (especially for notebooks) and MTBF. While the SMART series writes at 2x the BP3’s speed, the BP3 seems more reliable at 2x the MTBF and over 3x more energy efficient with “0.9W” in Active mode vs “3W” for the SMART series (which draws more power than a 2.5″ 7200rpm drive). I think I’ll be sticking to the BP3.
https://mydigitalssd.com/msata-ssd.php
Thank you for the comment. MTBF determination for a solid state drive is a shot in the dark as any accurate mtbf calculations rely on statistical data that is simply not present for an SSD as it is with hard drives.
With respect to power consumption, I don’t worry about such for a reason and that reason is regardless of what SSD you get, the power usage translates into a longer battery power for any mobile system. I can guarantee you that we could put either of these SSD side by side in a battery test of a laptop and there will be no appreciable difference, whereas there would when comparing a SSD to a HDD.
Hi Les, thanks for the response. I see what you mean about MTBF, and you’re probably right. Re: power consumption, I’m going by what’s advertised, and the SMART series say 3W active. A Seagate Momentus only draws 2.3W in active mode. Seems odd to me that an SSD would draw so much power. Is there a way you can get MyDigitalSSD to comment on that?
Which drive is better in term of stability… bp3 or smart? Thanks
MyDigitalSSD 256GB is really an ADATA SX300 according to my BIOS
We discussed that in our SMART drive review, The MyDigitalSSD SMART MSata is actually the twin of the SX 300, not the BP3.
There have been flash memory drives for many years, many in the 2.5 inch form factor even. Solid state drives are not circa 2007, they go back way farther, you just didn’t hear about them because you couldn’t afford them, and were not the target market for them.
The speeds have since then vastly improved, and become affordable for the typical user, but this is tested and true technology improved upon over the years, not a breakthrough like the crystal drives now in development, which we likewise can’t afford, so never see on the market.