1TB SSD: Your 4 Best Options And Why You Need A New Hard Drive

1tb ssd

Looking for information on SSD hard drives? You have come to the right place!

If you have an old laptop or desktop computer, or even a newer one, you can easily upgrade your disk space by installing a new hard drive.  

In this round up review, we will be looking specifically at 1TB 2.5 inch SATA internal SSD drives.

Not sure about switching to SSD? Read the following section, otherwise, skip down below for the individual product reviews:

Why Would You Want a 1TB SSD Hard Drive?

Replacing an old spinning disk drive with an SSD (solid state drive) is a good idea. You will get a lot more disk space while improving speed. Here are some other reasons you might want to upgrade to SSD:

1. SSD Drives Can Hold a Lot More Stuff Than Your Old HDD

Your old traditional hard drive might have had 150 GB (gigabytes) on it. Now, for a small investment, you can replace that 150 GB with one whole terabyte (TB). Because of the construction of the SSD drive, a lot more disk space can be added for a reasonable price.

2. SSD Prices Have Dropped in Recent Years

While SSD drives are still more expensive than traditional HDDs, overall, the price is coming way down. While it used to be that you could pay three times as much for a comparable SSD drive vs. the older technology HDD with the spinning disk, that’s not necessarily true today. You can find many good SSD drives online for perhaps around twice as much, or even less, which is not too bad when the cost is around $100.  

3. SSD Drives Are Faster

Solid state drives are also a lot faster than spinning disk drives. This is because they don’t work through a mechanical disk that spins, which obviously, would be somewhat limited in speed by the physical disk.

SSD hard drives use semiconductor memory, which means you are dealing with something more akin to a computer chip than a spinning disk. This will obviously be a lot faster.

Note: SSD storage devices are technically not “disk drives” because they do not store the information on a spinning disk. That said, you may hear them referred to disk drives just because some people are used to calling hard drives that, out of old habit.

4. SSD Drives Are Now More Reliable

Originally, the downside of the newer “solid state” hard drives was that they could cease to function when they were written and overwritten many times. Now, modern SSD drives have built-in features to reduce wear and tear avoid failures. This includes extra backup memory that is set up to be used when overly active parts of the drive are used up.

Sure, old school hard drives with spinning disks could also fail, and spectacularly, with the mechanism crashing. Still, traditional spinning disk drives are actually remarkably robust and resilient, and can last decades if treated properly. But there are other reasons why SSD is better. Read on…

5. SSD Drives Are Lighter

SSD drives are lighter – they weigh less – than old time spinning disk drives. While this may not matter if you are installing the drive in a desktop computer, it certainly does impact things if you are using a laptop.

6. SSD Drives Are Much Quieter

Let’s face it: Traditional hard drives can be freakin’ loud and annoying. Whirr, whirr, whirr, they go, the entire time your computer is turned on.

When you first install an SSD hard drive, you may wonder if it is actually turned on and is working. SSD drives are whisper quiet.

7. SSD Drives Do Not Need a Fan

Related to the “quieter” issue, SSD drives do not heat up like spinning disk drives. This means they do not need a fan to keep them cool. This not only keeps the computer quieter, it keeps it from running too hot.

How We Chose Our Ratings

We look at a lot of variables in our computer hard drive reviews. In this particular review of the best 2.5 inch internal SSD hard drives, we look at the following:

  • Price: Is the price reasonable?
  • Brand: While a top brand name isn’t a promise of good quality, we are more naturally wary of off-market brands or rip-off brands that don’t necessarily have the accountability of a known brand name. While brand respectability isn’t always an issue with some types of electronic equipment or computer peripherals, we feel that with hard drives, an established brand name is typically better.
  • Reliability: Does the hard drive work consistently over a period of time? Or is it known to “flake out” conveniently after the warranty expires?
  • Customer Ratings and Reviews: What are the average customer ratings and reviews that the product gets? Are they genuine reviews or fake reviews done by the seller to prop up a new product?
  • Support and Documentation: Does the hard drive come with the appropriate documentation? What is the company’s customer support like?

As always, buyer beware. We are not infallible with our product reviews, and sometimes companies that were previously reliable have a decline in quality as profits overcome care for the consumer. These reviews are as accurate as possible as of this writing. As things may have changed prior to your purchase, make sure you check out the latest online reviews by other customers for the latest updates.

Product Comparison

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Ratings

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Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB 2.5 Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-76E1T0B/AM)

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SanDisk Ultra 3D NAND 1TB Internal SSD - SATA III 6 Gb/s, 2.5'/7mm, Up...

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Crucial MX500 2TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 Inch Internal  SSD -...

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Silicon Power 1TB SSD 3D NAND A55 SLC Cache Performance Boost SATA III...

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Top 4 Best 1TB 2.5 Inch SATA Internal SSD drives

Finally! It’s time for our list. We like the following hard drives in SSD format. These are listed in no particular order of preference. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) is the “official” list price we will quote, but know that most of these drives will in reality sell for a lot less than that.  

Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB 2.5 Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-76E1T0B/AM)

Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB 2.5 Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-76E1T0B/AM)
  • INNOVATIVE V-NAND TECHNOLOGY: Powered by Samsung V-NAND Technology, the 860 EVO SSD offers optimized performance for...
  • ENHANCED READ WRITE SPEEDS: Sequential read and write performance levels of up to 550MB/s and 520MB/s, respectively
  • SECURE ENCRYPTION: Protect data by selecting security options, including AES 256-bit hardware-based encryption compliant...

MSRP List Price: The list price is $299.99 but we have seen this sold online for about half that.

Mounting Bracket Available: Yes, for an extra cost.

Cloning Software Available: Yes.

We like Samsung as a hard drive brand. Their solid state storage and traditional disk drives are generally quite reliable, long-lasting, and reasonably priced. This hard drive comes with or without a mount. This drive is designed for enhanced performance, with the ability to multi-task to improve the speed of file transfer. It also has a “TurboWrite” buffer, which has been increased from 12 GB to 78 GB.

Samsung offers free hard drive cloning software available here from their website.

Reviews say the drive works not just great, but “fantastically.”

SanDisk Ultra 3D NAND 1TB Internal SSD - SATA III 6 Gb/s, 2.5"/7mm, Up...

SanDisk Ultra 3D NAND 1TB Internal SSD - SATA III 6 Gb/s, 2.5"/7mm, Up...
  • Accelerate your PC for faster boot-up and blazing-fast gaming and graphics
  • Ultra-fast: sequential read speeds of up to 560MB/s; sequential write speeds of up to 530MB/s (Based on internal...
  • 3D NAND provides greater endurance so your drive lasts longer and uses less power

MSRP List Price: The list price is $199.99 but we have seen this sold online for about $166.  

Mounting Bracket Available? No.

Cloning Software Available: no.

SanDisk is known for its quality MicroSD cards. The question is, are their full on hard drives just as good? The answer is thankfully yes. This hard drive gets very positive reviews, giving it an average of 4.5 out of 5 stars on Amazon.

We are taking a star off because no bracket option is available, and they don’t offer cloning software for this drive. Users report that some cloning software does not work with the SanDisk SSD, but EaseUS Todo Backup Free apparently works.

Crucial MX500 2TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 Inch Internal SSD -...

Crucial MX500 2TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 Inch Internal SSD -...
  • Sequential reads/writes up to 560/510 MB/s and random reads/writes up to 95K/90K on all file types
  • Accelerated by Micron 3D NAND technology
  • Integrated Power Loss Immunity preserves all your saved work if the power unexpectedly gets cut

MSRP List Price: The list price is $169.99 and you can find it for about $10 cheaper or perhaps less if you look hard enough.

Mounting Bracket Available? No.

Cloning Software Available: Yes.

Crucial, like SanDisk, did not get its claim to fame as a manufacturer of hard disks. Rather, this is a company known for computer memory (RAM). For two decades, their website has been the place to go to check your computer’s available RAM and upgrade options.

The Crucial website will check your computer for you, and let you know what RAM you need and what your computer can take. You could buy Crucial-brand RAM from their site or get your own RAM from another provider.

More recently, Crucial started selling SSD drives in addition to their high quality RAM. This entry into the SSD drive market is a high quality device with Micron 3D NAND acceleration. Users love this drive because they say it is lightning fast.

Silicon Power 1TB SSD 3D NAND A55 SLC Cache Performance Boost SATA III...

Silicon Power 1TB SSD 3D NAND A55 SLC Cache Performance Boost SATA III...
  • 3D NAND flash are applied to deliver high transfer speeds
  • Remarkable transfer speeds that enable faster bootup and improved overall system performance. The advanced SLC Cache...
  • 7mm slim design suitable for Ultrabooks and Ultra-slim notebooks.

MSRP List Price: Unclear. This sells for $161.99 on Amazon and $149.99 on Newegg.

Mounting Bracket Available? No.

Cloning Software Available: No.

This is Amazon’s Choice and gets good reviews from users. While it does not offer included cloning software, it does offer a free download of “SSD health monitor tool – SP Toolbox Software” to monitor the health of your hard drive.

The warranty for this drive is only three years when most are five years, and some have reported this drive has failed. However, the customer service is apparently quite good, and they will apparently replace a defective hard drive that fails during the warranty period.

Buyer’s Guide

In this round up, we explored 1TB 2.5 inch SATA internal SSD drives. There are other types and sizes of SSD drives on the market. Make sure you are using the right SSD drive for your particular computer or laptop. Do not buy an SSD hard drive card that requires a certain type of slot in a desktop computer, especially if you have a laptop that doesn’t offer those types of slots.

Remember: If you are purchasing a new hard drive for your computer desktop, you may need a mounting bracket (or “mount” for short) so the drive has someplace to sit securely while it is in the computer. Check first before purchase, and make sure you add on the “mount” option if available when buying your drive. You can also buy a 2.5 inch hard drive mounting bracket separately if the manufacturer does not sell one with your preferred hard drive.

If you are unsure of what type of slots or cables your computer has, you may need to take your computer and new hard drive to a local computer technician shop to get a professional installation. Amazon also offers professional installation for hard drive purchases through their network of computer technicians, though they may not have one available in your area. Check first.

Alternatively, you can typically find very detailed how-to videos for almost every type of computer on online video sites through a simple search. These will show you how to open up your computer or laptop, remove your old hard drive, and replace it with your brand new spacious solid state drive. Good luck!

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