Today we’ll be taking a quick look at the BIOSTAR S120 – 256GB SATA SSD, which uses a new type of SSD controller from Maxio. Looking at the specifications, BIOSTAR claims that the S120 offers a maximum read performance of 550MB/s with a write speed of 520MB/s. In terms of performance, it should fall somewhere in between their G330 and G300 SSDs.
SSDs are now an essential part of today’s PCs. As prices go down, there’s no reason not to get yourself a SSD as an OS drive (boot drive), or if your budget allows, get a larger capacity SSD and use it as a main C: drive.
I did a little digging and after some further research, I’ve came to the conclusion that BIOSTAR S120 is really just an ordinary OEM SSD, but packaged and branded for BIOSTAR. The Maxio MAS0902 SSD controller used in the S120 according to their website, can offer sequential read speeds of up to 560 MB/s, with random read of up to 100,000 IOPS. For sequential write speeds, it can reach up to 540 MB/s, with random write of up to 80,000 IOPS. So this sound about right for the BIOSTAR S120.
Here’s a little blurb about BIOSTAR taken from their website …
In 1980,the IT industry was growing at a phenomenal rate. With wide experience in buying and selling electronic parts as well as researching on future demands for mainboards and add-on cards , the founder of BIOSTAR GROUP,established BIOSTAR MICROTECH INTERNATIONAL CORP in 1986.
In the early years, BIOSTAR concentrated on the manufacture of mainboards built for XT form factor. To maintain steady business growth, BIOSTAR managed to keep a large portion of its capital and manpower invested on the design and development of new products, which at the same time has enabled it to stay competitive in the rapid evolution of the computer industry.
BIOSTAR has enriched its competence in the design and manufacture of products such as add-on cards, multi-media and system products to develop the market and meet the demands of customers for more integrated solutions. In order to expand its capacity to meet customer demand globally, BIOSTAR was the first to establish a manufacturing facility in China in 1990. In 1998, its sales revenues exceeded US$130 million and it ranked 227th among the top 1000 enterprises in Taiwan. Furthermore,BIOSTAR obtained an ISO 9001 certification in 1999 and became a publicly listed company in the same year. BIOSTAR’s future has limitless possibilities.
The BIOSTAR S120 is aimed at the budget/mainstream user who wants an affordable SSD solution for their PC. It offers a very slim design at only 7.0mm thick. It’s also light-weight and shock-proof with low power operation.
It will be interesting to see how the BIOSTAR S120 SSD will perform, especially when it features a new-generation Maxio MAS0902 SSD controller. I’m expecting the performance to be similar to their original G300 SSD. Let’s continue and check out the specifications on the next page.
You can buy the following SDDs on Amazon …
- Amazon US – https://amzn.to/2XRKq0l (Patriot 512GB), http://amzn.to/2zcvUn8 (SanDisk 1TB)
- Amazon UK – https://amzn.to/2IKi7Ht (Crucial 500GB), https://amzn.to/2MDdlgd (SanDisk 1TB)
- Amazon DE/EU – https://amzn.to/32b9n4K (Samsung EVO860), https://amzn.to/317Bd0B (SanDisk 1TB)
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- BIOSTAR Racing X570GT8 Motherboard Review
- BIOSTAR B360GT5S Motherboard Review
- BIOSTAR Racing Z370GT6 Motherboard Review
- BIOSTAR G330 256GB SSD Review
- BIOSTAR Racing Z270GT6 Motherboard Review
- BIOSTAR G300 240GB SSD Review
