Why You Can Trust CNET Corsair Neutron GTX SSD review: Corsair Neutron GTX SSD
The Corsair Neutron Series GTX solid-state drive is one of the fastest consumer-grade SSDs on the market, but doesn't cost too much.
The Corsair Neutron GTX is an exciting new solid-state drive. This is partly because it's one of the first SSDs from Corsair that I've worked with and mostly because it would be an excellent drive for any computer.
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Corsair Neutron GTX SSD
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
The new drive is the performance version of the more budget
The drive's excellent performance is enough make up for its cost of around $1 per gigabyte, which, though not really super expensive or the most expensive, is still comparatively high.
That said, if you're looking for a top performer for your system or want to upgrade to a new drive, even from an existing SSD, the Corsair Neutron GTX would be an excellent choice. If you want a drive that offers similar performance but slightly more affordable, I'd also recommend the
Design and features
| Drive type | 7mm-thick, 2.5-inch standard Internal drive |
| Connector options | SATA 3 (6Gbps), SATA 2, SATA |
| Available capacities | 120GB, 240GB |
| Product dimensions | 7mm-thick, 2.5-inch standard |
| Capacity of test unit | 240GB |
| Controller | LAMD LM87800 |
| Integrated DRAM Cache memory | 256MB of DDR2-800 |
| Flash memory type | Toshiba Toggle Mode NAND |
| OSes supported | Windows, Mac, Linux |
The Corsair Neutron GTX is another SSD I've reviewed that comes in the new and increasingly popular 7mm thickness. And that means, like the rest, it can fit in the vast majority of systems, ranging from many ultrathin laptops to regular laptops to desktop computers. The drive still uses the 2.5-inch standard, which has been the long-term standard for laptop hard drives, but is only 7mm thick, instead of the 9.5mm of standard drives.
For desktops, the Neutron GTX also includes a 3.5-inch drive converter that, once mounted on the drive with the included screws, gives the little SSD the same physical mounting size as a regular 3.5-inch hard drive. In short, the new Corsair Neutron Series GTX has essentially all of the bases covered in terms of placement. You do need get your own cloning software in case you want to use it to upgrade your system's existing hard drive, however.
While the Corsair Neutron GT is very similar to its peers in look and function, on the inside, like the
Other than that, the Neutron GTX feels sturdy and looks like a typical SSD with a metal casing, though it's not shiny like other SSDs. This is not a big deal since we're talking about a device that, when in use, is hidden inside a computer's chassis.
Cost per gigabyte
The new Corsair Neutron GTX is not expensive but it could be more affordable. The drive's 240GB capacity currently costs about $250, slightly more than a $1 per gigabyte. The drive's 120G capacity is a bit more expensive, in terms of cost per gigabyte, at $150. Compare this with the 85 cents-per-gigabyte pricing of the Samsung 830 Series, or the 98 cents per gigabyte of the
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
Performance
The Corsair Neutron GTX performed very well in my testing, being the fastest among all 7mm SSDs I've reviewed. The test machine, when using the new drive as its main storage, took just 10 seconds to boot and less than 6 seconds to shut down.
All software applications also were noticeably quicker to launch, even when compared with results using some other SSDs. This is significant since generally it's hard to notice the difference in application performance between different SSDs. In data copy tests, which are the ones that clearly show the difference between drives, the Corsair Neutron GTX did very well too.
When the drive was used as a secondary drive in a computer and performed only the writing, it scored 274MBps, making it the fastest among all SSDs I've reviewed. In fact it was more than 10MBps faster than the runner-up, the Samsung 830 Series, which scored 263MBps in the same test.
When used as the main drive of the test machine (the most popular use of SSDs) and performing writing and reading at the same time, the new Corsair also did very well at 161MBps, though slower than the Samsung's 172MBps.
All in all, the Corsair Neutron GTX offered some of the best performance I've seen, showing the power of the LAMD LM87800 controller when coupled with Toshiba Toggle Mode NAND memory chips.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
 | As secondary drive | | As OS drive |
(Shorter bars indicate better performance)
| Shutdown | | Boot time |
Conclusion
With great performance and relatively friendly pricing, the Corsair Neutron GTX would be an excellent SSD for anybody.