We really like PCMark 7's Secondary Storage benchmark module for its pseudo real-world application measurement approach to testing. PCMark 7 offers a trace-based measurement of system response times under various scripted workloads of traditional client / desktop system operation. From simple application start-up performance, to data streaming from a drive in a game engine, and video editing with Windows Movie Maker, we feel more comfortable that these tests reasonably illustrate the performance profile of SSDs in an end-user / consumer PC usage model, more so than a purely synthetic transfer test.
The three SanDisk Extreme II drives we tested were among the best performers according to PCMark 7. The AData SX900 put up the best overall score, mostly because it put up the highest scores (by very small amounts) in 5 of the 7 individual PCMark 7 storage benchmark tests. The Extreme II 480GB drive was very close behind though, with the 240GB right alongside.
