Solidata SSD Review

by Kevin O'Brien

Solid state drives (SSDs) are becoming very popular these days for upgrades in notebooks, especially now that flash-based drives are coming very close to the capacity of standard hard drives. DV Nation sells 256GB Solidata SSDs, in both SATA and PATA formats for upgrading your notebook, claiming speeds up to 240MB/s read and 210MB/s write. In this review we checkout how well the SATA drive performs with or without the operating system installed on the drive and what impact it has on the notebook.

Solidata X2-256 Specifications:

X2-256 SATA Version:

• Capacity 256GB MLC Flash
• Form Factor 2.5"
• Dimensions Standard 2.5", 100.3(L) x 69.85(W) x 9.5(H)mm
• Interface SATA-2 3.0Gbps
• Weight 74.5g
• Rated Performance 240MB/S read, 190MB/S write, 300MB/S host interface
• Operating Temp range: 0 -70C
• Current Price: $999

X2-256 PATA Version:

• Capacity 256GB MLC Flash
• Form Factor 2.5"
• Dimensions Standard 2.5", 100.3(L) x 69.85(W) x 9.5(H)mm
• Interface PATA
• Rated Performance 110MB/S read, 80MB/S write
• Operating Temp range: 0 -70C
• Current Price: $924

Upgrading a notebook with a SSD is a great way to increase the performance and durability of your notebook if you can afford it. Read and write speeds are faster, access times drop to almost nothing, and best of all flash-based drives are not susceptible to impacts or vibrations like a spinning medium might be. The main disadvantage is price if you are shopping for an SSD in the same capacity range of the hard drive that came in your notebook. These 256GB drives costs roughly 10 times more than a 7200rpm 250GB notebook hard drive.