Mushkin ECO2 240GB 7mm SSD Review

Mushkin ECO2 240GB 7mm SSD

Selecting the right hard drive for your laptop or PC just became a bit easier thanks to Mushkin. The introduction of the ECO2 series of SSD’s brings the price per gigabyte down to well below .50 cents, and it does so with reliability and a trusted brand name. With read speeds up to 550MB/sec and write speeds up to 530MB/sec you are getting a very competitive SSD at an excellent price that is suitable for all of your storage needs. The ECO2 is being introduced in 120, 240, and 480GB capacities and while you would think that at 480GB the price tag would be similarly inflated the 480GB version retails for a mere $159.99 making it the best SSD deal we have seen.

TechwareLabs strapped the 240GB version of the Mushkin ECO2 into an ASUS gaming laptop for some benchmarks and testing but before we get into the results lets see what Mushkin has to say about the new ECO2:

ECO2  —  240GB Solid State Drive — MKNSSDEC240GB ECO2

3 Year Warranty Quality guaranteed – we offer a 3 year limited warranty on this product

Optimal Data Flow Optimized for dependable and reliable data flow

TRIM Support TRIM Support when used with compatible operating system

Shock-Resistant Designed for continued reliable function

Specifications:

SSD Controller:

The ECO2 is based on the Seagate Sandforce 2200 controller (SF-2241) this is a four channel controller with the following key specs:

■ Second-generation flash controller
■ SATA 6Gb/s with NCQ support
■ Automatic AES-256 and AES-128 hardware double encryption
■ DuraClass™ technology delivers – Award-winning performance – Best performance per watt
■ TCG Opal 2.0 and eDrive security (optional add-on)
■ Supports the latest 16 nm, 19 nm, 20 nm-class, and 30 nm-class SLC and MLC flash memory
■ Highly intelligent block management and wear leveling optimizes SSD longevity
■ Single-chip solution eliminates external memory — saving cost, power, and space
■ Power balancing settings to optimize performance and energy consumption
■ Ultra-low power mode and DevSleep support
■ Complete solution — ASIC, FW, turnkey reference designs, tools, documentation, and support

Mushkin backs up the ECO2 with a 3 Year Limited Warranty and claims some pretty impressive numbers for access and read/write rates. Does the new ECO2 live up to these claims? Let’s find out.

Mushkin ECO2 240GB 7mm SSD

Testing:

As we mentioned earlier we installed the new Mushkin ECO2 240GB SSD into an Asus gaming laptop for testing. Our test system was configured as follows:

• Asus G75VW
• Intel i7 3630QM
• 16GB DDR3
• Windows 8.1
• Geforce GTX 670M
• Lite-On SSD (LAT-256M3S)
• Mushkin ECO2 (MKNSSDEC240GB)

We ran a couple of standard SSD and HD benchmark utilities and these were our results:

NOTE: In all benchmarks the first screenshot is our reference 256GB Lite-On SSD.

CrystalDiskMark

AS SSD Benchmark

AS SSD Copy Benchmark

AS SSD Compression Benchmark

HD TUNE PRO

Conclusion:

What we see here is a very capable good performance drive. The Mushkin ECO2 drive has good access times, low latecy, and decent read/write speeds. While the ECO2 does technically hit its advertised speed rating of 550/530 those speeds would only be seen under ideal circumstances and in compressed data. Realistically the ECO2 is better suited as a day to day drive that is perfect for those on budgets or who don’t want to spend the price premium that other slightly faster drives demand. The ECO2 is not an all star in the performance department but it is an all star in the price department. There it will flourish as the ECO2 delivery surprising performance for your dollar.

At the end of the day the Mushkin ECO2 is a drive that I would much more readily pay for if I was building a new rig over a drive that might cost twice as much and only offer a small overall increase in performance. The Mushkin drive is backed by the three year warranty and is a big name brand that I respect and trust. Those things mean something to me as a consumer and they should be taken into account by you as well.

For respectable performance that is leagues ahead of standard hard drives and available up to 480GB capacity the Mushkin ECO2 line is a clear winner. It brings SSD’s into an amazing price category that was before reserved for regular hard drive consumers. There is no longer any reason for you to hold back from using an SSD is every system you own.  The Mushkin ECO2 deserves our Performance Value Award for its superior performance vs price ratio that is backed by a name brand and excellent warranty. The ECO2 is the first Newegg Exclusive product line and can be purchased here.

Mushkin ECO2 60GB
Mushkin ECO2 120GB
Mushkin ECO2 240GB
Mushkin ECO2 480GB

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