Corsair Neutron & Neutron GTX: All Capacities Tested

Final Words

The 480GB Neutron GTX didn't reveal any surprises as its performance is for the most part the same as what the 240GB model provides. It can't challenge Samsung's SSD 840 or OCZ's Vector but when compared with for instance Plextor M5 Pro and high-end SandForce SSDs, it's a competitive drive. Both Neutron drives are also among the more consistent performers in torture testing.

If we look at the pricing, both the Neutron and Neutron GTX are actually pretty compelling because the 256GB 840 Pro or Vector will cost you $35~$45 more and the difference can be over $100 as we move to higher capacities. The Neutron GTX is priced very similarly to Plextor's M5 Pro and they also share performance characteristics as well as 5-year warranty.

The 120GB Neutron GTX is a more interesting case. While it has half the NAND of the 240GB model, it can really hold up in the tests against the bigger capacities and currently it's the fastest 120/128GB SSD we have tested. I should note that we don't have 128GB samples of Samsung SSD 840 Pro or OCZ Vector yet, so that title may be only temporary but nevertheless its performance is impressive for such a small drive.

The same can't be said about the 120GB Neutron as its performance is more along the lines of other 120/128GB SSDs such as Crucial m4 and Corsair Force GT, but that was expected since it's aimed at the mainstream market and is also priced as such.

What the Neutron shows is that IO consistency does not have to be an enterprise-only feature—it's something that anyone can have if the manufacturer focuses on it. Only SandForce based SSDs manage to offer IO consistency anywhere near the Neutron and even then the Neutron takes the lead when ~30 minutes of 4KB random writes has been surpassed (though it's very unlikely for consumers to stress the SSD that much). Sure partially the reason for Neutron's IO consistency is its extra OP space compared to most of the other consumer SSD, but I don't believe anyone will leave out the Neutron because it offers slightly less space. We have always recommended keeping 20% or so of the SSD empty anyway and all that the extra OP really does is to make sure you can't fill the SSD enough to get into serious performance troubles. I think IO consistency is an area where manufacturers should focus more, even if it means assigning a bit more NAND for OP. Corsair and LAMD have shown that it's do-able and now others should take the hint and follow up.