Buffalo MicroStation SSD

Back-to-back CrystalDiskMark 3.0 tests show the relevant numbers.

Data Transfer Speeds in Megabytes per Second (MB/s)
Longer bars are better

The Buffalo drive is well ahead of the laptop's original hard drive. I also put the Buffalo up against the 128GB version of Crucial's RealSSD C300. As you can see, it's rather quicker than the MicroStation, especially when it comes to the important random writes.

The Crucial drive is £34 more expensive than the Buffalo, but has the advantage of 6Gb/s Sata compatibility. That's no use here, of course - the laptop doesn't support it - but it gives a measure of futureproofing.

In everyday use, the Crucial doesn't feel any faster. It's Windows boot time was, within error bars, the same as the Buffalo. But what's another 30-odd quid when you're spending 280 to get that little bit extra to boost file copies and the like.

Verdict

Buffalo's MicroStation SSD isn't a bad little drive and, as long as you don't need an enclosure for your old hard drive, the integrated USB port is a very neat trick. While it might not perform so well in comparison with a beefy 7200rpm desktop drive, the SSD is a big improvement on your average 5400rpm laptop drive, and if capacity isn't your key consideration this is an upgrade I'd whole-heartedly endorse. Shame t's not quite cheap enough to put clear water between it and faster drives of comparable capacity. ®