SSDs are pretty much the standard in computers these days. In the last couple of years they have made up tons of ground that disk drives have in terms of storage and price. Although they don’t offer the same storage range that traditional drives do, the fact that quality units perform up to five times faster makes up for some of the missing space. The question becomes if they are worth it when NVMe drives can simply run so much faster.
The absolute speed limit of the SATA III interface is right around 600MB/s. The SK Hynix Gold S31 SSD, when connected to a board that can support it, pulls down around 560MB/s, meaning that the drive itself is nipping on the heels of the hard speed limit set by the interface itself. Considering that there are only a handful of other drives out there that hit this speed, that is a pretty loft bragging point.
Something else that should be addressed is the fact that the drive comes with a 5 year warranty. The only other brands that come close to this are Western Digital, and that is only on their highest end drives. Even though SSDs have long ago stopped having failure issues like they did years ago, SK Hynix is willing to stand behind its product. Not only that, but 5 years in computer time is forever, and the drive will probably be due for an upgrade around the time that the warranty expires.
The only real issue with the drive, isn’t even with the product itself. The issue comes down to the interface; considering that there is an option to attach drives faster, the hardest of the hardcore will. An SSD is 5 faster than traditional, as stated before, but a middling NVMe can be five times faster than that. So, for those that really hate loading time, there is a way to defeat it even more.
The price point of the Gold S31 is right around the market average for this size of drive. The suggested retail price is around $120, but given how parts can change by the time of day, readers mileage may vary. For the size of the drive, that is the correct asking price. For the speed of the drive, that is a solid deal. Considering that other brands don’t often offer the same grade of warranty, it becomes an even better price point backed by the five-year warranty.
While the time of SATA drives might be limited, not everyone has access to an ultra fast connection – or room on their board for another PCIe connection. When it comes down to it, SATA is the standard that many people have come to know and count on. Thankfully there is a great option at the right price. This is the drive for anyone out there with a free SATA slot who is wondering what to do with it.
Product Specifications: Gold S31
| Interface | SATA III |
| Product Type | Internal SSD |
| Form Factor | Standard 2.5” |
| SSD capacity | 1TB/500GB/250GB |
| NAND Flash | 3D NAND Flash |
| Controller | SK hynix Controller |
| Sequential Read | up to 560MB/s |
| Sequential Write | up to 525MB/s |
| Warranty | 5 years |