discussion Corsair Force LS 240GB SSD Review

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SATA 2 Performance

SATA 2 Performance

In a perfect world everyone investing in a new solid state drive would have access to a SATA 6GB/s controller which could pass on the TRIM command. In reality not everyone has this and for many the decision comes down either giving up TRIM – never a good idea with most controllers – and running it off a secondary controller; or taking a performance hit and running in SATA 2.0 mode.

These tests will consist of some of our real world and synthetic benchmarks run on our standard 1155 test-bed; but the drive will be attached to an SATA 2 port.

For synthetic we have opted for the newcomer to our charts: Anvil Storage Utilities Pro. For real world we have opted for our Adobe test. These two tests should give you a very good idea of the level of performance impact you can expect from running a modern SATA 6 drive in compatibility mode.

As with the full drive testing results we are actually impressed this time around. The reduction in performance is not as severe as it is with some other drives.

 

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Conclusion

Conclusion

Corsair’s SSD lineup is one of the strongest around with the Neutron and Force series competing well against alternatives from other manufacturers. At this point in time, that same lineup encompasses a whopping six different product categories so some overlapping is bound to occur. In some situations internal competition can drive down prices and allow for some excellent SSDs in a market that’s past the point of stagnation. Unfortunately, with the Force LS, Corsair’s own triumphs in other segments tend to outshine their newest addition.

When taken at face value, the Force LS 240GB has some admirable goals. It is supposed to provide a value-oriented alternative to higher end drives and in that respect it does have some redeeming qualities. It boasts an extremely low power consumption envelope, does a good job in retaining performance as capacity approaches saturation and works extremely well in SATA II environments. These elements could make it a good fit for laptops and other devices where efficiency is required.

Where the Force LS 240GB stumbles is in the value category. With downwards pressure from the likes of Kingston, ADATA, Crucial, Intel and to a lesser extent OCZ, Corsair’s higher end drives like the Neutron GTX and Force GS 240GB are available at highly affordable price points. In some instances they hit the $215 mark, making them less expensive than the LS while offering substantially higher performance. Even in the best case scenario, the Force LS 240GB is just $30 less than its Neutron GTX sibling and that’s a premium we’d be more than willing to pay.

In such a highly competitive market, a new SSD has to carve out a niche or it may be relegated to the back benches, never to be heard from again. This seems to be happening with the LS series since these drives are continually overlooked in favor of similarly priced, higher performing alternatives. With a few judicious price cuts we have no doubt the LS series and its Phison controller could shine but until that point, we’d recommend looking elsewhere for your price / performance fix.