G.Skill Falcon 128GB

Zitat

Considering the Falcon is practically identical to the OCZ Vertex, we’re not surprised to find it’s an extremely capable SSD. The two drives sport the same drive controller, cache, MLC NAND Flash memory, PCB designs and even firmware, with the only difference being the way each manufacturer goes about flashing the drive’s firmware. As such, the Falcon has proven to be a stormer when it comes to performance, impressing us just as much as its illegitimate sibling, the OCZ Vertex, first did.

[...]The Falcon then is simply an awesome bit of kit. Not only is it just as fast as the OCZ Vertex (or in fact, any other well supported 120-128GB Indilinx drive) but it also manages to cost a full £40 less, a saving of over ten percent. At £275 you’re paying £2.29/GB which while still expensive, is bordering on the affordable, especially as it’ll likely have the biggest effect on your system’s overall performance since that first dual core processor or 3D acceleration.

Sadly though, there are a couple of downsides in the form of G.Skill’s more restrictive firmware updating policy (unless you hack it to think it’s an OCZ Vertex), its general support compared to OCZ and its limited availability in UK stores. Nevertheless, this is still an excellent product and makes getting into the SSD fast lane is not only pleasingly more affordable, but that little bit more enticing.