Verdict and Conclusion
Firstly, let me start with the positives. The BIOSTAR S120 is certainly slim, lightweight, shockproof and extremely affordable. This thanks to its plastic casing and the low cost Maxio SSD controller. If you’re a system builder/integrator, and you want a SSD boot drive that doesn’t eat in to your profit margin … then I think you’ve found what you’re looking for.
As far as performance is concerned, it’s not what I expected. It falls slightly below the advertised speeds as per BIOSTAR’s own specifications. Even BIOSTAR’s previous models, the G300 and G300 performs better, so I’m a little disappointed with the S120. Read speeds reached an average of 522-534Mb/s, while write speeds reached between 466-486MB/s.
One of the reasons could be, although unproven is that the S120 uses the new-generation Maxio MAS0902 SSD controller, which to be honest is largely unknown to the tech community.
There is one great advantage going for the BIOSTAR S120 and that is … the price. It’s cheap, real cheap. It costs somewhere between USD $59-69 (if you can find it), which isn’t too bad for a 256GB SSD and perfect for a boot drive.
Pros:
- Extremely affordable
- New Maxio SSD controller
- 2.5″ Ultra-slim 7.0mm
- SATA3 6Gb/s interface
- 256GB capacity
- Lightweight, Shockproof Design
Cons:
- No cache memory
- Plastic casing
Final words:
If you just want 256GB SSD as a boot drive, then the BIOSTAR S120 could be your answer. It’s slim, lightweight, shockproof and extremely affordable, offering decent performance for the price.
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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