TEST BENCH AND PROTOCOL
Our analysis today will be conducted with our Z68 Extreme 7 Test Bench, full description of which can be found here.
In testing, our main objective is to obtain results as pure and as accurate as possible and we want to ensure that no anomalies slip through. Simply put, we want to provide you with the absolute best results the tested hardware can provide. Repetition in testing is standard and, if necessary, we may conduct specific tests in Windows 7 safe mode to ensure the OS has little to no influence on the end result.
In order to validate and confirm our findings, testing is supported by industry accepted benchmark programs. All results are displayed through capture of the actual benchmark for better understanding of the testing process by the reader.
We would like to thank ASRock (Z68 Extreme 7), Intel (Core i7-2600), Crucial (Ballistix), Corsair (H80), Be Quiet (PSU/Fans), and Fractal Design (Define XL) for supporting the build of our Z68 Extreme 7 Test Bench.
SSD COMPRESSION AND TESTING FLUCTUATIONS
All SSDs are not created equal and many new SSD enthusiasts realize that when they test their new drive to confirm specifications and ensure all is in order. LSI SandForce controlled SSDs, as in the Memoright MS-701 SATA 3 240GB mSATA SSD we are testing today, use compression techniques in storage whereas many others do not. This creates a bit of confusion when enthusiasts test the drive with random data through benchmarking programs such as AS SSD and Crystal Diskmark. The results seem to be lower than the listed specifications.
The results actually present a false portrayal of the drives ability when compared to other drives such as Micron C400 mSATA SSD that we recently reviewed. It is for this reason that our comparison testing is typically done through PCMark Vantage. PCMark Vantage HDD Suite simply provides evaluation results based on transfer speeds reached through typical user patterns. Vantage provides a better testing medium, in that, it sees through the typical synthetic benchmarks and provides us with true to life results of the drive.
BENCHMARK SOFTWARE
The software we will be using for todays analysis is typical of many of our reviews and consist of ATTO Disk Benchmark, Crystal DiskMark, AS SSD, Anvil Storage Utilities and PCMark Vantage. We rely on these as they each have a way of supporting one another yet, at the same time, adding a new performance benchmark to the total picture. Much of the software is free and can be downloaded simply by clicking on the linked title.
Our testing today will be conducted through use of the Renice mSATA to SATA adapter which enables compatibility with our main Test Bench.
Crystal Disk Info provides some excellent information about the SSD itself to include its health, product information, power on information as well as the characteristics of the SSD. We can see that the SSD is capable of TRIM as it is not greyed out as with AAM.
I absolutely love your reviews. The format is fantastic. Your web pages load fast. The reading is eazy to digest. Your direct in your praise and criticisms. You make it easy for someone to narrow down their choices when making a buying decision.
Thank you.
I agree with jsfitz54. I’m new to msata SSDs; I just learned about them a week ago, when I had to replace my 4-year-old ThinkPad R61 with a a 4-year-old ThinkPad W500. Most if what I’ve learned about SSDs has come from your site. Earlier I had resolved to buy no more spinning drives, and when I ordered my W500 on eBay, within hours I ordered a 180GB 2.5-inch SSD to hold my data. Now, based largely on your site, I’ve ordered a 128GB SSD to hold my Windows 64 OS and cache. SSDs become addictive; My W500 and its dock offer five more bays (two 2.5-inch disk-drive bays, one ExpressCard/54 slot, one SDHC slot, and 1 CompactFlash slot), and I find myself spending hours dreaming about ways to fill them with solid state storage.
Thank you Paul and jsfitz54. It is absolutely great to hear this type of thing. The compliments are appreciated and don’t be afraid to jump in or hop on the Forums if you ever need assistance at all.
Nice review! Any idea of how much this will retail for?
I’m checking this site almost daily in hopes of a retail availability update. It would be great if the advertisement on this page took you to a place that was stocking up. 🙂
We havent word on releasse yet but were told it would be Amazon first and foremost…
Not as of yet and I have word in with Memoright on an update with this information..
Am I missing something or are you not including the power consumptions of the ssds?
Power consumption can be found in specifications and, yes, we do not monitor power consumption for consumers SSDs. We feel the difference between consumer SSDs is negligible and the main point that should be made lies in the comparison between an SSD and hard drive. The SSD uses less power which provides better battery life.
I am thinking of buying an alienware and was hoping to go for a 512 GB SSD , however it seems out of budget. i am thinking of going for a 64GB mSATA MiniCard and 500GB 7200RPM Hard Drive.
I want to use the SSD for quickboot up time and other ivy bridge features like instant on. would M- sata be compatible with those features of intel ivy bridge?
thanks for your help by the way :).. really love your post !