Transcend SSD 230S 256GB Review

We’ve recently taken a look at the 512GB offering of Transcend’s SSD230S SSD, which delivered quite a great price to performance ratio, and Transcend does uphold its longstanding reputation when it comes to warranty. Now, we’re here to take a look at its smaller counterpart simply because Transcend sent it to us. Why not, right?

We’ve recently taken a look at the 512GB offering of Transcend’s SSD230S SSD, which delivered quite a great price to performance ratio, and Transcend does uphold its longstanding reputation when it comes to warranty. Now, we’re here to take a look at its smaller counterpart simply because Transcend sent it to us. Why not, right?

PACKAGING

Transcend packs in the SSD230S with pretty much the standard affair here. It comes in the familiar white, red and black packaging, which we've grown familiar with since the yesteryears. There’s the SSD itself, a set of screws in case you don’t have those handy, and a pile of paperwork for your warranty and other info on Transcend’s stuff. This is already a given, and we’re not expecting any miracle additions here. All is as it should be. What were you expecting anyway?

DESIGN

Design-wise, the 256GB version is not surprisingly similar to that of its bigger counterpart. It comes in the standard 2.5-inch SSD form factor that’s complete with a metallic housing. It feels quite solid, which actually adds up to its durability for what it’s worth. There are also mounting holes on each side and corners at the back of the SSD230S, too.

PERFORMANCE

TEST SYSTEM SETUP
Motherboard	GIGABYTE AB350M-DH3
CPU	AMD RYZEN 5 1600 3.2GHz
GPU	ZOTAC GTX 1060 6GB AMP
RAM	16GB DDR4 2400MHz
Cooler	Corsair H60 (2018)
Storage	Plextor M9e 512GB M.2 SSD+ Seagate BarraCuda 4TB + 2TB Western Digital Green HDD + Transcend SSD230S 256GB
PSU	Corsair VS450
Case	Silverstone RL06
OS	Windows 10 Pro N
Display	BenQ GW2270H

ATTO Disk Benchmark

ATTO Disk Benchmark is an industry leading benchmark that help measure performance of system storage such as hard drives, solid state drives, RAID arrays, and so forth.

Crystal Disk Mark

We begin with one of the storage benchmark standards with Crystal Disk Mark to measure both of its read and write rates through a series of tests.

AS SSD Benchmark

AS SSD Benchmark can determine an SSD's performance by conducting several specific tests on sequential or random read/write performance without using the cache.

Real World Performance

For the real world performance, we'll be using a set of 20GB file consisting of 119 video files, as well as an archived 16GB to test it out. The time is measured in seconds, and of course, lower is better.

CONCLUSION

We’re starting to see prices for 3D NAND TLC SSDs going down, which even makes it a great deal if you’re moving up from a traditional hard drive. That said, the Transcend SSD230S 256GB is currently priced at around $60. Performance-wise, it’s definitely where it’s at, and you’re backed by the company’s three-year limited warranty to sweeten up the deal.