The SanDisk X400 1TB SSD Review
by Billy Tallis on May 6, 2016 9:00 AM ESTFinal Words
The SanDisk X400 is intended to be a high-end TLC SSD, and there aren't many of those to compare against. The Samsung 850 EVO is without question the fastest SATA SSD using TLC NAND, and for the most part it ranks as a high-end drive even when compared with SATA SSDs in general, not just drives with TLC NAND. Aside from that, most TLC SSDs are value-oriented SSDs that sacrifice much to reach the lowest possible prices. The SanDisk X400 is not one of those products.
On almost every test the SanDisk X400 is considerably faster than the next fastest drive with planar TLC NAND. The few occasions where the OCZ Trion 150 beats the SanDisk X400, in write performance, they are balanced by several tests where the X400 ties or beats MLC drives like the Crucial MX200 or OCZ Vector 180. The only notable performance weakness is sequential write speed, but this is not a severe handicap.
In addition to raising the bar for planar TLC performance, the SanDisk X400 sets a new standard for power efficiency of drives using TLC NAND. It routinely ties or beats at least a few MLC SSDs for power efficiency, especially when its performance is not lagging far behind.
With solid performance and power efficiency and a 5-year warranty on a generous write endurance rating, the SanDisk X400 has every right to ask a higher price than any other planar TLC SSD. The warranty and endurance rating also exceed that of some low-end MLC drives that don't have much performance advantage over the X400.
At the moment the SanDisk X400 is priced at or below the OCZ Trion 150 for most capacities, especially the 512GB that is one of the cheapest SSDs in its capacity class. At 1TB perhaps the most interesting comparison is against the Mushkin Reactor, still by far the cheapest 1TB MLC SSD. The Reactor is about $25 cheaper but only has a 3-year warranty and less than half the write endurance rating. Supply of the Crucial MX200 is drying up in advance of the MX300 launch, so there are not a lot of MLC drives priced close to the X400. Overall the X400 is a reasonable step up from the cheapest budget SSDs and priced far enough below drives like the Samsung 850 EVO to not be overshadowed.
| SSD Price Comparison | ||||
| Drive | 960GB 1TB |
480GB 512GB |
240GB 256GB |
120GB 128GB |
| OCZ Trion 150 | $243.49 | $129.98 | $59.99 | $43.74 |
| SanDisk Ultra II | $225.25 | $120.99 | $73.48 | $54.60 |
| SanDisk X400 | $244.95 | $113.99 | $78.93 | $46.99 |
| SanDisk Extreme Pro | $348.99 | $184.20 | $108.00 | |
| Crucial MX200 | Sold Out | $139.00 | $81.72 | |
| PNY CS2211 | $289.99 | $139.99 | $69.99 | |
| Mushkin Reactor | $219.99 | $149.99 | $79.99 | |
| Samsung 850 EVO | $324.99 | $149.99 | $90.19 | $66.75 |
It is refreshing to see a TLC drive that provides progress on something other than price. The X400 is a credible mid-range SSD that achieves SanDisk's goals and proves that even planar TLC NAND can compete for the mainstream segment.
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Chaitanya - Friday, May 6, 2016 - link
1TB capacity in M.2 Form factor is tempting.nathanddrews - Friday, May 6, 2016 - link
I like the $/GB, but there aren't enough GBs.Namisecond - Sunday, May 8, 2016 - link
Maybe you need to stop treating SSDs as bulk storage?dsumanik - Sunday, May 8, 2016 - link
Maybe you should go back to floppies.It's 2016 and there is no reason for magnetic drives to be alive. Yes yes, I know about cost per gig and all the stats you feel like googling and quoting to me to prove how smart you are, but the real truth is this: it's way more profitable to sell us 50 year old technology cuz dums dums will keep on buying.
Bring on xpoint, it'll help push traditional flash down into the bargain bin... And for u sir, Ii will gladly mail you my original dos 6.22 install disks if you simply shut the f**k up.
santeana - Monday, May 9, 2016 - link
LMAO! I wish there was a like button!+1
blakeatwork - Monday, May 9, 2016 - link
It's a process of how quickly do you need to access certain types of data. OS, programs and games all benefit from being on an SSD (assuming supporting architecture does not have any obvious bottlenecks). I'm not sure browsing photos from a recent vacation really provides the necessary strain on your I/O that requires an SSD :DMagnetic drives will stick around for quite a while, especially for Home/SMB NAS devices where the amount of storage is greater then the perceived need for super fast access, which is throttled by GbE network (or WiFi) anyways
bug77 - Tuesday, May 10, 2016 - link
Modern operating system do lots of stuff in the background, an AV may scan your drives from time to time. This is stuff that kills IO on a HDD and that barely registers on a SSD. So there are reason for moving away from HDDs... But yes, the HDD will stick around for a while, simply because of pricing.jordanclock - Saturday, July 2, 2016 - link
Good thing we just dump all old technology as soon as we find a replacement!edward1987 - Thursday, September 22, 2016 - link
1TB is quite out of my pocket £218 (http://www.span.com/product/SanDisk-X400-SSD-SD8SN... but 512GB I would not mind. If you have Qnap tvs-1282 server or similar - they have m.2 for caching or tiered storage. I can use for it in there.HollyDOL - Friday, May 6, 2016 - link
There is a mismatch in Specification table:1TiB (1024GB) should be 1TB(1000GB)
According to specs at https://www.sandisk.com/content/dam/sandisk-main/e...
putting 10^3n and 2^10n prefixes together is just incorrect anyway without correct recalculation...