SSD TIER LIST

[NewMaxx]

Just typical Chinese stuff. Seen it in a million drives, including many retail drives like the L5 Lite 3D. SM2258XT + surplus NAND for the CL100, S11 + BiCS on the CX400. I don't bother to list many of these since they're all the same crap. Usually the quality of the flash suffers.

[xiaomoon]

XPG SX8200 Pro after changed controller to SM2262G still consider tier B?

[duckyand]

What's the difference between CS900 and A400 that they're in different tiers?

[VEXICUS]

12 hours ago, duckyand said:

What's the difference between CS900 and A400 that they're in different tiers?

Though they both hve same controllers, they have different nand types. A400 comes with a 2D TLC NAND type which is inferior to one present in cs900.

[VEXICUS]

12 hours ago, xiaomoon said:

XPG SX8200 Pro after changed controller to SM2262G still consider tier B?

Updated

[FRD]

This topic is great! After just knowing the PSU tier list for about a year now, I just found out about this topic just now.

For my new build I used a new SATA SSD that was still laying around, but this really helps to pick my new m.2 drive sooner or later.

I also have a suggestion @VEXICUS. Just like the PSU tier list, maybe it's possible to make the best in tier models in Gold. For example, the Crucial MX500 and Samsung 860 EVO are the best in SATA Tier B.

[GimmeGaming]

On 1/6/2021 at 2:12 AM, xiaomoon said:

XPG SX8200 Pro after changed controller to SM2262G still consider tier B?

Do you have any info on the difference and how to spot the old one? I was just about to buy 3 more 1tb ones to compliment my existing one in my server.

[VEXICUS]

7 hours ago, GimmeGaming said:

Do you have any info on the difference and how to spot the old one? I was just about to buy 3 more 1tb ones to compliment my existing one in my server.

Lately, all the 8200 pros come with the updated smi sm2262g. You can look for other tier B drives.

[nonem91]

what about team ex2?

 

[WhitetailAni]

I'm sad the Crucial M4 isn't here.

Yes, you can still get them.

[VEXICUS]

2 minutes ago, ragnarok0273 said:

I'm sad the Crucial M4 isn't here.

Yes, you can still get them.

It used to be a good budget drive back in the past. But as of now, compared to other SATA drives it feels pretty slow. It has pretty low sustained write speed (around 200 MB/s). It will anyway end up in last tier.

[FRD]

I'm missing some of the lesser known brands for ssd's in this list like Philips, Verbatim, G.Skill, Fujitsu, Leven, etc.

Also, is Adata referred to the same as XPG ssd's? They could also be considered seperate line-ups, normal ssd's and "gaming".

[Justaphysicsnerd]

What is the Difference between WD SN750 and SN730 ? Just out of curiosity, as my new PC came with a 730

[VEXICUS]

On 3/4/2021 at 3:15 PM, Justaphysicsnerd said:

What is the Difference between WD SN750 and SN730 ? Just out of curiosity, as my new PC came with a 730

IIRC, SN730 is a OEM version of SN750 and it is sold to system manufacturers (mainly laptop makers it seems).

 

[nikdek]

hi, any info on the Samsung 980 Basic MZ-V8V1T0BW or the Gigabyte GP-GSM2NE3100TNTD?

 

thanks

[Zash]

Hi! How can I check if PNY CS1031 has a DRAM or not?

https://www.pny.com.tw/en/products-detail/CS1031-M2-SSD-NVMe-Gen-3/

[gardotd426]

I have 3x 1TB TeamGroup MP34 NVMEs, plus a 1TB 860 QVO and 1TB 870 QVO, I also have an HP EX900 and a Crucial BX500 in a secondary machine and laptop respectively, and I stand by this list for sure. 

[VEXICUS]

On 3/15/2021 at 6:37 PM, nikdek said:

hi, any info on the Samsung 980 Basic MZ-V8V1T0BW or the Gigabyte GP-GSM2NE3100TNTD?

 

thanks

Both the SSDs have TLC NAND Type. The Samsung one uses a Proprietary Samsung Pablo Controller.

Both of them are DRAM-less and both support HMB (Host Memory Buffer).

[NewMaxx]

On 3/18/2021 at 12:47 AM, Zash said:

Hi! How can I check if PNY CS1031 has a DRAM or not?

https://www.pny.com.tw/en/products-detail/CS1031-M2-SSD-NVMe-Gen-3/

I was asked about this drive and this was my summation:

 

I haven't heard of it, but based on this product page it hits 1700/1100 at 256GB which isn't possible with QLC (you need 4+ dies), so it's likely TLC. The TBW is relatively high so that suggests a Phison controller. Given the maximum speed is 1700/1500 at 512GB, it's certainly a 4-channel controller and DRAM-less. So, an E13T. That makes it incredibly similar to the CS1030 but with a smaller capacity range. It's possible it's just a variation of the CS1030 for a specific region (e.g. Oceania).

[ScrappeyDP]

Thanks @VEXICUS!!

[BluE68]

On 8/9/2019 at 1:17 AM, VEXICUS said:

Welcome to the SSD tier list.

 

SSD or Solid State Drive is a storage device containing non-volatile flash memory, used in place of hard drive because of its much greater speed. Unlike a hard drive, a solid state drive doesnt have any moving parts. It has two main components - A flash controller and  NAND flash memory chips.

More information on solid state drives can be had from here..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solid-state_drive

 

This guide differentiates SSDs in different tiers based on their DWPD, sustained writes, controllers, NAND types and value for money.

 

Make Ctrl + F your Best Friend...

 

  Reveal hidden contents

NAND TYPES

 

SLC

MLC

TLC

QLC

 

2D / 3D NAND

2D NAND is denoted by an underline.

 

SSD's without DRAM cache are marked with an asterisk *

SSD's that support HMB are marked with [1] (Work In Process)

 

NVMe

 

Tier A (Ultra High-end)

• ADATA - S50 (Phison E16), S70 
• Addlink - S90 (Phison E16), S92 (Phison E16)
• Apacer - AS2280Q4 (Phison E16)
• Corsair - MP600 PCIe 4.0 (Phison E16)
• Essencore - ECT455 (Phison E16)
• Galax - HOF 4.0 (Phison E16), HOF 4.0 Extreme (Phison E18)
• Gigabyte - AORUS PCIe 4.0 (Phison E16)
• Goodram - IRDM Ultimate X (Phison E16)
• Inland - Performance (Phison E16)
• KingMax - PX4480 (Phison E16)
• MSI - Lightning (Phison E16)
• Patriot - Viper VP4100 (Phison E16)
• PNY - CS4040 (Phison E16)
• Sabrent - Rocket 4.0 (Phison E16), Rocket 4 Plus (Phison E18), Rocket Q4 (Phison E16)
• Samsung - 970 Pro (Samsung Phoenix), 980 Pro (Samsung Elpis)
• Seagate - FireCuda 520 (Phison E16)
• Silicon Power - US70 (Phison E16)
• Team Group - Cardea Zero Z440 (Phison E16), Cadea Ceramic C440 (Phison E16), Cardea Zero (Phison E16)
• Western Digital - Black SN850 (WD Proprietary), AN 1500 (WD Proprietary)

 

Tier B (High-end)

• ADATA - SX8200 Pro v1 (SMI SM2262EN), Gammix S11 Pro (SMI SM2262EN), S50 Lite (SMI SM2267), SX8800 Pro (Realtek RTS5762), Spectrix S40G / RGB (Realtek RTS5762), SX8100 (Realtek RTS5762), Gammix S7 (Realtek RTS5762)
• Addlink - S70 (Phison E12), X70 (Phison E12)
• Asgard - AN3 (SMI SM2262EN), AN3+ (Starblaze STAR1000P)
• Asura - Genesis Xtreme (Phison E12)
• Corsair - MP510 (Phison E12)
• Digifast - Ace (Phison E12)
• Galax - HOF (Phison E12)
• Gigabyte - AUROS RGB AIC (Phison E12)
• Hikvision - C2000 (Phison E12)
• HP - EX950 (SMI SM2262EN)
• Inland - Premium (Phison E12)
• KingMax - PX3480 (Phison E12)
• Kingston - KC2000 (SMI SM2262EN), KC2500 (SMI SM2262EN)
• LiteOn - MU X1 (Phison E12)
• Mushkin - Pilot-E (SMI SM2262EN)
• MyDigitalSSD - BPX Pro (Phison E12)
• Patriot - Viper VPN100 (Phison E12), Viper VPR100 (Phison E12)
• Pioneer - APS-SE20G (Phison E12)
• Plextor - M9Pe (Marvell 88SS1093)
• PNY - CS3030 (Phison E12), CS2130 (Phison E12S)
• Toshiba / Kioxia - RD500 (Phison E12S), Exercia Plus (Phison E12S)
• Sabrent - Rocket (Phison E12)
• Samsung - 970 EVO Plus (Samsung Phoenix), 970 EVO (Samsung Phoenix), 960 EVO (Samsung Polaris), 960 Pro (Samsung Polaris)
• SanDisk - Extreme Pro NVMe (WD Proprietary)
• Seagate - BarraCuda 510 (Phison E12), FireCuda 510 (Phison E12)
• Silicon Power - P34A80 (Phison E12)
• SK Hynix - Gold P31 (SK Hynix Cepheus), Platinum P31 (SK Hynix Cepheus)
• Team Group - Cardea II (Phison E12), Cardea Liquid (Phison E12), MP34 (Phison E12), Z340 (SMI SM2262EN)
• Transcend - SSD 220S (SMI SM2262EN)
• Western Digital - Black / SN750 (WD Proprietary)
• Zadak - Spark (Phison E12)

 

Tier C (Mid-end)

• ADATA - SX8200 Pro v2 (SMI SM2262G), SX8200 (SMI SM2262), Gammix S11 (SMI SM2262), Falcon* (Realtek RTS5762DL) [1]
• Corsair - MP400 (Phison E12S) 
• Crucial - P5 (Micron DMO1B2)
• Drevo - D1 Xtreme (SMI SM2262)
• HP- EX920 (SMI SM2262)
• Inland - Platinum (Phison E12S)
• Intel - 760p (SMI SM2262)
• Lexar - NM700 (Marvell 88SS1092)
• Mushkin - Pilot (SMI SM2262)
• Pioneer - APS-SE20Q (Phison E12)
• Plextor - M9P+ (Marvell 88SS1092), M9PeY/G/GN (Marvell 88SS1093)
• Sabrent - Rocket Q (Phison E12S)
• Western Digital - Black 2018 (WD Proprietary)

 

Tier D (Budget)

• ADATA - SX6000 Pro* (Realtek RTS5763DL), Gammix S5* (Realtek RTS5763DL), SX6000 Lite* (Realtek RTS5763DL), Swordfish* (Realtek RTS5763DL) [1]
• Addlink - S68* (Phison E13T) [1]
• Asgard - AN1/AN2* (SMI SM2263XT) [1]
• Biostar - M700* (SMI SM2263XT) [1]
• Colorful - CN600* (SMI SM2263XT) [1]
• Corsair - MP500 (Phison E7)
• Crucial - P1 (SMI SM2263), P2* (Phison E13T) [1]
• Gigabyte - NVMe v2* (Phison E13T) [1]
• Greenliant - ArmourDrive* (Phison E13T) [1]
• Goodram - PX500* (SMI SM2263XT) [1]
• HP - EX900* (SMI SM2263XT)
• Inland - Pro QLC* (Phison E13T) [1]
• Intel - 660p (SMI SM2263), 665p (SMI SM2263)
• Kingston - A2000 (SMI SM2263)
• KLEVV - KRAS C700 / RGB (SMI SM2263), KRAS C710* (SMI SM2263XT) [1]
• Lexar - NM600* (SMI SM2263XT), NM610* (SMI SM2263XT)
• Mushkin - Enhanced Helix-L* (SMI 2263XT)
• MyDigitalSSD - BPX (Phison E7), SBXe 2nd Gen* (Phison E13T)
• Orico - V500* (SMI SM2263XT) [1]
• Patriot - P300* (SMI SM2263XT or Phison E13T) [1]
• SanDisk - Ultra* (WD Proprietary) [1]
• Silicon Power - P34A60* (SMI SM2263XT)
• TC SUNBOW - NVMe* (SMI SM2263XT)
• Team Group - MP33* (SMI SM2263XT or Phison E13T), Z330* (Phison E13T) [1]
• Toshiba / Kioxia - RC500 (Phison E12S), Exercia (Phison E12C)
• Transcend - SSD 110S* (SMI SM2263XT)
• Verbatim - Vi3000* (Phison E13T)
• Western Digital - SN500* (WD Proprietary), SN550* (WD Proprietary)

 

Tier E (OKAYish)

• ADATA - SX6000 (Realtek RTS5760), Gammix S10* (SMI SM2260)
• Apacer - AS2290P2 Pro* (Phison E8T) [1]
• Corsair - MP300 (Phison E8)
• Gigabyte - NVMe* (Phison E8T) [1]
• Inland - Basic* (Phison 8T) [1], Professional (Phison E8)
• Kingston - A1000 (Phison E8)
• Lexar - NM500* (Marvell 88NV1160), Lexar NM520 (Phison E8)
• MyDigitalSSD - SBX (Phison E8), SBXe* (Phison 8T)
• Patriot - Scorch (Phison E8)
• Silicon Power - P32A80* (Phison 8T)
• Team Group - MP32 (Phison E8)

 

 

SATA

 

Tier A (High-end)

• Samsung - 850 PRO (Samsung MEX), 860 PRO (Samsung MJX)
• Seagate - Ironwolf 110 (Seagate 500021768)

 

Tier B (Mid-end)

• ADATA - SX950U (SMI SM2258), SU800 (SMI SM2258), SX850 (SMI SM2258), SU750* (Realtek RTS5733DMQ), SU760* (Realtek RTS5733DMQ)
• Addlink - S20 (Phison S10)
• Corsair - Neutron XTi (Phison S10)
• Crucial - MX500 (SMI SM2258), BX300 (SMI SM2258), MX300 (Marvell 88SS1074), MX200 (Marvell 88SS9189)
• Gigabyte - UD Pro (Phison S10)
• HP - S700 Pro (SMI SM2258)
• Intel - 545s (SMI SM2259), 540s (SMI SM2258)
• Kingston - KC600 (SMI SM2259)
• KLEVV - NX500 (SMI SM2258)
• Lexar - NS200 (SMI SM2258), NM210 (SMI SM2258)
• Micron - 1100 (Marvell 88SS1074), 1300 (Marvell 88SS1074)
• Mushkin - Triactor 3DX (SMI SM2258) 
• MyDigitalSSD - BP5e Slim 7 (Phison S10)
• Neo Forza - NFS06 (SMI SM2258)
• PNY - CS1311 (Phison S10)
• SK Hynix - SL308 (SK hynix SH87820BB)
• Samsung - 850 EVO (Samsung MGX), 860 EVO (Samsung MJX), 860 QVO (Samsung MJX), 870 QVO (Samsung MKX)
• Sandisk - Extreme Pro (Marvell 88SS9187), Ultra 3D (Marvell 88SS1074)
• Seagate - Barracuda (Phison S10)
• SK Hynix - Gold S31 ( Quartz SH87830CC)
• Team Group - L5 Lite 3D (SMI SM2258), Delta RGB (SMI SM2258), Vulcan (SMI SM2258) 
• Toshiba - Vector 180 (OCZ Barefoot 3 M00)
• Transcend - SSD370* (Transcend TS6500), SSD370S* (Transcend TS6500), SSD430S ( SMI SM2258), SSD830S (SMI SM2258), SSD230S (SMI SM2258)
• Western Digital - Blue 3D (Marvell 88SS1074), Blue (Marvell 88SS1074)

 

 

Tier C (Budget)

• ADATA - SU650* (SMI SM2258XT), SU655* (SMI SM2258XT), SP900 (SandForce SF-2281)
• Colorful - SL500* (SMI SM2258XT)
• Crucial - BX500* (SMI SM2258XT), MX100 (Marvell 88SS9189)
• Drevo - X1 Pro* (SMI SM2258XT)
• Gigabyte - SSD* (Phison S11)
• HP - S700* (SMI SM2258XT), M700* (SMI SM2258XT), P600* (SMI SM2258XT)
• KingDian - S280 (SMI SM2258)
• KingSpec - P4* (Maxio MAS0902A)
• Kingston - UV400 (Marvell 88SS1074), KC300 (SandForce SF2281) , UV500 (Marvell 88SS1074)
• Lexar - NS100* (Marvell 88NV1120)
• Mushkin - Source* (SMI SM2258XT), Reactor (SMI SM2258EN), Reactor LT (SMI SM2258EN), Triactor 3DL* (SMI SM2258XT)
• Neo Forza - NFS01* (SMI SM2258XT)
• Patriot - Burst* (Phison S11), P200* (SMI SM2258XT)
• Pioneer - APS-SL3* (Phison S11)
• PNY - CS900* (Phison S11), CS2211* (Phison S11)
• Sandisk - Ultra II (Marvell 88SS9190), Ultra Plus (Marvell SS889175)
• Silicon Power - S55* (SMI SM2258XT), A55* (SMI SM2258XT), A58* (Phison S11)
• TC SUNBOW - X3 (SMI SM2258) [Although some units in USA and Canada ship with a DRAM-less SMI SM2258XT]
• Team Group - Elite GX1* (SMI SM2258XT), Elite GX2* (SMI SM2258XT), MS30* (SMI SM2258XT), EX2* (SMI SM2258XT)
• Toshiba - TR200* (Phison S11)
• Transcend - SSD420S* (SMI SM2258XT), SSD820S* (SMI SM2258XT)

 

Tier D (OKAYish)

• ADATA - SU630* (Maxio MAS0902A), SU635* (Maxio MAS0902A)
• Addlink - S22* (Phison S11T)
• HP - S600* (Marvell 88NV1120)
• Hyundai - Sapphire* (Marvell 88NV1120)
• Inland - Professional* (Phison S11)
• KingDian - S400* (SMI SM2258XT)
• Kingston - A400* (Phison S11), SSDNow V300* (Sandisk SF-2281), HyperX RGB (Marvell 88SS1074), Q500* (Phison S11T/S13T)
• Sandisk - SSD Plus* (SMI SM2256S)
• Team Group - L5 Lite* (SMI SM2256S), Dark L3 (Phison S8), L3 EVO* (Phison S11)
• Western Digital - Green* (SMI SM2258XT)

 

 

EXTERNAL

 

Tier A (Ultra High-end)

• LaCie - Rugged SSD (Phison E12)
• Patriot - EVLVR 2 (Phison E12)

 

Tier B (High-end)

• HP - P800* (SMI SM2263) [1]
• LaCie - Rugged SSD (Phison E12)
• Sabrent - Rocket Pro (Phison E12)
• Western Digital - P50 (WD Proprietary)

 

Tier C (Mid-end)

• ADATA - SE760* (Realtek RTS5763DL) [1], SE800* (Innogrit IG5208) [1]
• HP - P700* (SMI SM2263) [1]
• Lexar - SL100 Pro* (Marvell 88NV1160) [1]
• Mushkin - CarbonX* (SMI SM2263XT)
• Orico - GV100* (SMI SM2263XT) [1]
• Patriot - PXD* (Phison E13T) [1]
• PNY - Pro Elite (Phison E8)
• Sabrent - Rocket Nano* (Phison E13T) [1]
• Samsung - T5 (Samsung MGX), T7* (Samsung Pablo)
• Sandisk - Extreme Portable (Marvell 88SS1074)
• Seagate - Fast SSD (Phison S10)
• Team Group - PD1000* (SMI SM2263XT)
• Transcend - ESD350C* (SMI SM2263XT)
• Western Digital - My Passport SSD (New) (Marvell 88SS1074)

 

Tier D (Budget / Storage)

• ADATA - SC680* (SMI SM2259XT), SD600Q* (Maxio MAS0902A), SD700 (SMI SM2258)
• Buffalo - SSD-PSMU3 (Phison S10)
• HP - P600* (SMI SM2258XT)
• LaCie - Portable SSD (Phison S10)
• Lexar - SL200* (Marvell 88NV1120)
• Mushkin - Source Q* (SMI SM2259XT)
• PNY - Elite* (Phison S11)
• Seagate - One Touch SSD (Phison S10)
• Silicon Power - Bolt B75 Pro* (Phison S11), PC60* (SM2259XT)
• Team Group - PD400 (SMI SM2258)

 

PM me for any changes.

Updated - 25/01/2021

My Corsair mp600 is an absolute powerhouse, IMO it’s worth the money.

[theswweet]

There’s an Inland Performance Plus, same specs to the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus.

 

https://www.microcenter.com/product/631080/inland-performance-plus-2tb-ssd-3d-tlc-nand-pcie-nvme-gen-4-x-4-m2-2280-internal-solid-state-drive

[mikezilla2]

the Silicon Power 1TB sata SSD using a garbo controller ?  / no dram ?

 

and who the hell is TIMETEC?

[VEXICUS]

31 minutes ago, mikezilla2 said:

the Silicon Power 1TB sata SSD using a garbo controller ?  / no dram ?

 

and who the hell is TIMETEC?

Yes

[VEXICUS]

2 hours ago, theswweet said:

There’s an Inland Performance Plus, same specs to the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus.

 

https://www.microcenter.com/product/631080/inland-performance-plus-2tb-ssd-3d-tlc-nand-pcie-nvme-gen-4-x-4-m2-2280-internal-solid-state-drive

Will be added soon in the further revisions.