GSKill Phoenix Pro: Little Drive, Lotta Performance

Performance Summary: The Phoenix Pro's cost-per-GB is higher than the other drives we tested, but it does a fairly good job of justifying the price premium by offering somewhat higher overall performance. We were particularly pleased with the drive's performance in PCMark Vantage's application suites—the F100 kept close pace, but the Phoenix Pro still led the results. Its performance in synthetic tests was somewhat dicier, particularly in CrystalDiskMark, where it was flatly pummeled by the Corsair F100 in several tests. Application tests, however, still count for more than synthetics in our book.

The value of the 60GB Phoenix Pro shifts somewhat depending on your primary concerns. If you're looking for an SSD in the $150 price range, don't need much space, and want an SSD that doesn't compromise on performance as some of the $100 models do, then the Phoenix Pro is a great buy. It's a purchase we'd recommend without hesitation.

If you're more concerned with price-per-GB and/or storage capacity, however, the Phoenix Pro is less attractive. It's the most expensive drive we evaluated in terms of $$$/GB, and 60GB is somewhat small for a boot drive these days. Both the Crucial C300 and the Corsair F120 offer compelling capacity/performance/price arguments; determining the "best" drive out of these options is a matter of personal taste and individual workload. Alternatively, there's the 120GB Phoenix Pro—we have not reviewed it, but it's currently in-stock at NewEgg for $289, or $2.41/GB. At that price, only the C300, at $2.29/GB, is cheaper.

It's not a drive that'll fit everyone's needs, but it's $150 price tag make it darned attractive if you can work within the 60GB confines.