Mushkin Chronos 120GB Review - Low Price High Performance

Having a fast SSD doesn't mean expensive, this is proven by Mushkin Chronos 120GB. This SSD is an enthusiast level drive that uses the famous SandForece SF-2281, exactly the same as everyone on the fast track such as Vertex 3 and Intel 530 Series to name some, the main thing that separates them from the rest is the price.

The Chronos 120GB has a written specs of 550MB/s in read and 515MB/s in write, from here on it's got the potential to compete with the best out there. Aside from SandForce SF-2281 controller, it uses a high grade MLC NAND in which Mushkin is known for long in their excellent memory products.
This SSD is driven by SATA 6GB/s interface, no need to worry if you're still using SATA 3GB/s due it is fully backward compatibility. However, we have to take note that its performance is degraded in some instance. It shows good performance with TRIM support; it cleans up well the memory cell that ensures a full speed in its write operations.

Unfortunately, the Mushkin Chronos is available in only one size at 120GB, this limit us from choosing a higher capacity drive but, the price its offer is fantastic, currently available for only $98.99. The company is offering a 3-year worry free warranty when you purchase it. This also includes a 3.5-inch drive adapter if you happen to use it on a desktop PC, this saves you further from not buying it.

That being said, the Chronos 120GB is the lowest price available with SandForce SF-2281 based controller, does it mean it is the slowest? It's a big no, most people who bought it were being surprised with its performance and it has very low failure rate that separates them from other high priced SandForce based SSD's.

Bench Mark Results
Some customers who bought this drive perform a bench mark against some of the best SSD's out there such as Crucial and OCZ, the results were stunning. The Crucial suffers a lot with 25MB/s slower in read and a huge 250MB/s in write, this is due to its older Marvel controller, the drive is unquestionably reliable same as the Mushkin but, if you're a tech savvy you go for a faster drive.

The OCZ performs as fast as the Mushkin in read but, slower in write it lags with 30MB/s. OCZ suffers from error correct that leads them to most drive failure, if you treasure your files this is not a wise choice considering a higher price tag it offer.

SandForce based SSD's performs well in dealing with compressible data but, on the negative side, it suffers with incompressible. If you're transferring large files such as HD movies you'll experience slowness at some point although, that's not always be the case in our daily task, and you may want an additional backup drive for extremely large file.

Conclusion
The Mushkin Chronos 120GB is unquestionably a solid drive; it stands out among some of the best SandForce based drive. The performance it offers is superb and the reliability is high compare to its equivalent specs. The price it offers brings it to the winning edge, at $98.99 nobody beats it.
Despite of its asynchronous MLC NAND memory, it delivers a blistering speed that beats most synchronous type found in high priced brand. Although, Mushkin offers another expensive type 3Xnm Toggle mode memory in their Deluxe version that shows an exceptional performance in dealing with incompressible data. If that's what you're looking for, it is definitely a good option.

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