Final Thoughts
When it comes down to it this is not the fastest solid state drive out there, but it is not designed to be. As I mentioned in the introduction of this review this drive is more of a value-oriented drive and its price reflects that, but let’s not take away from this drive as it is very solid. I think the word that really describes it is consistent, it performed right up to its specifications in all of our tests which not many drives out there have. The Barefoot 3 platform has been out for a while, but it works just fine for a value-oriented drive like this.
Talking about price this drive has great value. The 120GB is selling for $69.99, the 240GB for $107 and the 480GB for $243. So that means for the 240GB that we reviewed today your price per GB is $0.44! If you have been waiting to get a solid state drive this is a great option, especially for an OS drive.
OCZ backs this drive up with their brand new 3-year ShieldPlus warranty. While 3 years is lower than others may be offering, usually if a drive is going to die from anything other than flash endurance it is most likely to happen early in its life. This drive is rated for 20GB / day worth of endurance, which most users won’t even come close to and if you are you are not going to be looking at this drive. The ShieldPlus warranty is great too as it eliminates a lot of headaches. If your drive happens to be defective OCZ will send you a brand new drive right away and that drive will come with a prepaid shipping label to send the defective drive back. This saves time and makes sure you get a new drive right away.
OCZ again has impressed me with bringing out a value-oriented drive that is solid and has a great price to bring people into the realm of solid state drives. Overall ThinkComputers gives the OCZ ARC 100 240GB Solid State Drive a 9 out of 10 score and our Recommended Award.
Pros:
– Good and consistent performance
– Price
– 3 year ShieldPlus warranty
– Sticker on the drive makes it stand out
Cons:
– No accessory bundle
