Conclusion
The Toshiba OCZ TR200 is focused with laser like intensity on satisfying the needs of first time Solid State Drive buyers. The unstated rule of impressing these buyers is all about offering relatively fast performance at a price that is not much more than what they would have spent on a Hard drive. This large group of potential buyers simply have no frame of reference for <i>how much faster</i> a SSD really is compared to their current spindle-based setup. All they see is the asking price, and if a drive can't make justifying its price tag easy, they will simply skip it. This is why value-firendly drives live and die by their overall asking price rather than any other combination of metrics.
On its own the new Toshiba OCZ TR200 series succeeds very well at achieving what it sets out to do. in most situations it is simply faster than any hard drive and yet doesn’t cost too much more. For example, instead of buying a hundred dollar HDD buyers need only spend $50 more and get a half terabyte TR200 480GB that will still provide more than enough capacity and yet seems to be as fast as greased lightning. For those who really need about 1TB of space the TR200 960GB will "only" set them back an extra $140 and be even faster. But that shouldn't misdirect us from what a budget-minded SSD typically does: it compliments a larger HDD rather than replacing it altogether.
Unfortunately, the TR200 does not exist in a bubble where it is the only option available. Instead the TR200 faces stiff competition from everyone from AData all the way to Samsung. Crucial alone offers <i>two</i> series that cost about the same per Gigabyte – the MX and BX series, yet either of those series will offer much better overall performance than the TR200 can ever offer. This is the first obstacle Toshiba will have to overcome.
The second is word of mouth. First time buyers look to more experienced friends for recommendations. It may seem counter-intuitive but a lower cost drive also has to impress experienced SSD users. While yes Toshiba's 3D TLC BiCS NAND is indeed noticeably superior to most TLC 3D NAND we have seen in the past, 'value' is no longer synonymous with TLC. IMFT finally has their 3D MLC NAND out in the wild in large enough quantities that it really does not cost much more than 3D TLC <i>used</i> to cost. For example, the Crucial BX300 480GB costs about the same and yet offers performance that will impress even the most jaded of buyers. The same is true when you compare the TR200 to the MX300 series and once again Crucial's drives offer features that successfully mitigate issues we found in Toshiba's drive.
The TR200 series really is a victim of bad timing and Toshiba's ultra-conservative approach to releasing new consumer models. If this model had been released back in May alongside the Toshiba XG5 series the final equation would have dramatically different. Back then TLC was the only real option for value consumers. Compared against standard 3D TLC NAND Toshiba's BiCS technology would have been bloody impressive. Impressive enough that the TR200 would be worthy of consideration at this price point.
It is not the second quarter of 2017. It is almost year end and the market has been marching to the beat of its own drummer, leaving Toshiba in its wake. Offering a TLC NAND based drive with a rather small pseudo-SLC buffer, no onboard RAM to keep overall performance ‘peppy’, no on-board capacitors for data-loss protection, <i>and</i> at a cost that parallels better-positioned competitors like the BX300 or MX300 seems like a miscalculation. Toshiba can fall back on OCZ's customers service since their RMA setup is arguably the best in the consumer sphere but that's cold comfort in this case.
All is not lost though. Toshiba may have given this drive an MSRP that is simply not competitive in the existing marketplace, but with a small adjustment or two it can indeed turn the tables and become one hell of a value option. All Toshiba needs to do is lower the asking price to 25 cents per Gigabyte and then it will indeed be awfully enticing to first time buyers. After all, a decent half terabyte SSD that only costs $120 would indeed be worthy of consideration and would prove to be a major point of differentiation as well.
With this in mind we cannot wholeheartedly recommend this drive as its existing price point, but we do recommend keeping a close eye on it. There will almost inevitably be sales on it as the holiday season heats up. When this does happen, we expect system builders to buy them by the crate load. After all, it may not offer mainstream performance levels like a mainstream Crucial BX/MX 300, but the TR200 really doesn't have to. Instead it would be one of the better entry level value drives available if priced accordingly.
Conclusion
The Toshiba OCZ TR200 is focused with laser like intensity on satisfying the needs of first time Solid State Drive buyers. The unstated rule of impressing these buyers is all about offering relatively fast performance at a price that is not much more than what they would have spent on a Hard drive. This large group of potential buyers simply have no frame of reference for <i>how much faster</i> a SSD really is compared to their current spindle-based setup. All they see is the asking price, and if a drive can't make justifying its price tag easy, they will simply skip it. This is why value-firendly drives live and die by their overall asking price rather than any other combination of metrics.
On its own the new Toshiba OCZ TR200 series succeeds very well at achieving what it sets out to do. in most situations it is simply faster than any hard drive and yet doesn’t cost too much more. For example, instead of buying a hundred dollar HDD buyers need only spend $50 more and get a half terabyte TR200 480GB that will still provide more than enough capacity and yet seems to be as fast as greased lightning. For those who really need about 1TB of space the TR200 960GB will "only" set them back an extra $140 and be even faster. But that shouldn't misdirect us from what a budget-minded SSD typically does: it compliments a larger HDD rather than replacing it altogether.
Unfortunately, the TR200 does not exist in a bubble where it is the only option available. Instead the TR200 faces stiff competition from everyone from AData all the way to Samsung. Crucial alone offers <i>two</i> series that cost about the same per Gigabyte – the MX and BX series, yet either of those series will offer much better overall performance than the TR200 can ever offer. This is the first obstacle Toshiba will have to overcome.
The second is word of mouth. First time buyers look to more experienced friends for recommendations. It may seem counter-intuitive but a lower cost drive also has to impress experienced SSD users. While yes Toshiba's 3D TLC BiCS NAND is indeed noticeably superior to most TLC 3D NAND we have seen in the past, 'value' is no longer synonymous with TLC. IMFT finally has their 3D MLC NAND out in the wild in large enough quantities that it really does not cost much more than 3D TLC <i>used</i> to cost. For example, the Crucial BX300 480GB costs about the same and yet offers performance that will impress even the most jaded of buyers. The same is true when you compare the TR200 to the MX300 series and once again Crucial's drives offer features that successfully mitigate issues we found in Toshiba's drive.
The TR200 series really is a victim of bad timing and Toshiba's ultra-conservative approach to releasing new consumer models. If this model had been released back in May alongside the Toshiba XG5 series the final equation would have dramatically different. Back then TLC was the only real option for value consumers. Compared against standard 3D TLC NAND Toshiba's BiCS technology would have been bloody impressive. Impressive enough that the TR200 would be worthy of consideration at this price point.
It is not the second quarter of 2017. It is almost year end and the market has been marching to the beat of its own drummer, leaving Toshiba in its wake. Offering a TLC NAND based drive with a rather small pseudo-SLC buffer, no onboard RAM to keep overall performance ‘peppy’, no on-board capacitors for data-loss protection, <i>and</i> at a cost that parallels better-positioned competitors like the BX300 or MX300 seems like a miscalculation. Toshiba can fall back on OCZ's customers service since their RMA setup is arguably the best in the consumer sphere but that's cold comfort in this case.
All is not lost though. Toshiba may have given this drive an MSRP that is simply not competitive in the existing marketplace, but with a small adjustment or two it can indeed turn the tables and become one hell of a value option. All Toshiba needs to do is lower the asking price to 25 cents per Gigabyte and then it will indeed be awfully enticing to first time buyers. After all, a decent half terabyte SSD that only costs $120 would indeed be worthy of consideration and would prove to be a major point of differentiation as well.
With this in mind we cannot wholeheartedly recommend this drive as its existing price point, but we do recommend keeping a close eye on it. There will almost inevitably be sales on it as the holiday season heats up. When this does happen, we expect system builders to buy them by the crate load. After all, it may not offer mainstream performance levels like a mainstream Crucial BX/MX 300, but the TR200 really doesn't have to. Instead it would be one of the better entry level value drives available if priced accordingly.
