MyDigitalSSD Bullet Proof 5 Eco M.2 SSD Review (480GB) – Untouchable Value

We’ve been able to test our fair share of SSDs over the years and, to this date, there remains a constant.  Prices drop.  Where we once saw a 32GB SSD peak at $5000 in 2007, today’s world is vastly different and 1TB SSDs are now available at just over the $300 mark.   Value is key in technology and has always been. On the test bench today, we have the MyDigitalSSD Bullet Proof 5 Eco M.2 480GB SATA 3 SSD and this SSD just may be the best value available for the dollar right now at $129.99.  To think that this little SSD is just shy of that .25/GB mark is incredible…but can it perform?

The MyDigitalSSD Bullet Proof 5 Eco (BP5e) is a M.2 2280 (80mm) form factor SATA 3 SSD that earns the ranking of Eco as it uses Toshiba TLC memory.  It is available in capacities of 120, 240 and 480GB and it should be noted that the RAW memory count of each size is 128, 256 and 512GB, consecutively.  Where many manufacturers might advertise at the RAW memory count, let’s give credit to MyDigitalSSD for staying closer to the storage available once formatted.

Exterior packaging consists of the blister style sealed plastic casing that we have never been fans of, and this SSD also comes with an install screw and screwdriver to assist in the installation.  Performance is listed at the top of the SATA 3 scale with 565MB/s read and 545MB/s write transfer speeds.

The MyDigitalSSD BP5e comes with a 3-year warranty and, as with pretty much all SSDs these days, is TRIM, RAID and SMART compliant with advanced firmware management features that would prevent loss of data should a power outage occur.

CRYSTAL DISK INFO VER. 6.1.14

Crystal Disk Info is a great tool for displaying the characteristics and health of storage devices. It displays everything from temperatures, to the number of hours the device has been powered, and even to the extent of informing you of the firmware of the device.

This Crystal Disk Info result gives us a bit of an idea as to what the MyDigitalSSD BP5e M.2 SSD is all about.  A quick look at Amazon provides that this M.2 just may be the best value on the market and priced at 42.99 (120GB), $69.99 (240GB) and $129,99 (480GB) with a 1TB version available soon enough.

Looking at the face of the PCB, we see that the BP5e uses an eight channel Phison PS3110-S10C (S10) controller that can accommodate SSDs up to 2TB as well as TLC and just about any mlc/slc/Toggle NAND available today.  Although the memory does not identify its manufacturer, it is  Toshiba 15nm TLC Toggle 2.0 NAND, and there are two chips on each side of the PCB.

Each chip is 128GB in RAW capacity for a total of 512GB.  Once formatted, the available storage space available to the user is 447GB and just short of the advertised 480GB capacity.  There is also a Kingston chip that is reported to be a 8GB slc cache buffer on the face of the PCB beside the S10 controller and we are currently seeking further information about this module.