ADATA Ultimate SU800 Preview

As far as solid-state drives (SSD) are concerned, getting the most bang for your buck is wise. And while the ADATA Ultimate SU800 ($139.99 for 512GB) isn’t the cheapest internal SSD you can find, it’s definitely aimed at value shoppers. It’s ADATA’s first drive to use 3D triple-layer-cell (TLC) NAND chips, which are less expensive to make than multi-layer cell (MLC) have better endurance than non-3D TLC NAND.

The Ultimate SU800 ($75.71 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) is 7mm thick and includes a 2mm spacer so you can use it in laptops with 9.5mm drive bays. In addition to the 512GB capacity, the drive is also available in 128GB ($59.99), 256GB ($79.99), and 1TB ($269.99). All of these drives are competitively priced, and are covered by a three-year warranty.

The drive also includes ADATA’s above-average SSD Toolbox software, with which you can easily monitor the health of the Ultimate SU800, erase the drive, manually run the TRIM command, view interface speed, and do a lot more. You can also track how many bytes have been written to the drive. Additionally, the Ultimate SU800 gives you access to a license key for the Acronis True Image HD software for migrating drives. This is a handy tool, but you’ll have to jump through an extra hoop of registering the SSD with ADATA to actually get the key.

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In terms of sequential reads, the Ultimate SU800 scored a speedy 526.7MBps—short of its advertised 560MBps, but still impressive. As for sequential writes, the drive clocked in at 482MBps; that’s a solid score that puts the Ultimate SU800 at neither the front nor the rear of the pack.

Price-wise, the Ultimate SU800 is competitive with other drives. But this makes it harder for the drive to distinguish itself. The 512GB version is cheaper than the Samsung SSD 850 EVO at the same capacity, but also more expensive than the 525GB Crucial MX300 Limited Edition ($219.95 at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) . Strict bargain hunters are probably better off with the Crucial MX300, while if you can spare more cash, the Samsung SSD 850 EVO offers a longer warranty and better performance.

For more details, check out the ADATA Ultimate SU800 (512GB)(Opens in a new window) review on our sister site, Computer Shopper.