G.Skill Titan 256GB SSD

Results Analysis, Value and Final Thoughts

Frankly we’ve been amazed by the G.Skill Titan’s performance through-out our testing. We’d fully expected another SSD in the mould of the single drive controller based drives we looked at last year, showing signs of promise with solid read performance but crippled with poor write speeds.

Instead we’ve been treated to a drive that’s stunningly in almost every circumstance thanks to an innovative solution that solves many of the problems caused by the slower JMicron drive controller.

Write and Copy performance have improved dramatically thanks to the Titan’s use of dual drive controller chips, banishing the problem of drive stuttering we saw on single chip SSDs in write and copy test and delivering performance that’s on par with Intel’s premium X25 drives in almost every circumstance. However, unlike the X25-M, and even worse the X25-E, the Titan isn’t as limited by the small amount of drive space those drives offer, packing in a healthy 256GB, more than enough for a typical operating system boot drive.


The Titan 256GB has been priced very aggressively in comparison to both these drives, especially against the X25-M, with both SSDs retailing for $499. Choosing between them might seem like a tough choice, with the X25-M generally faster at read, but the Titan delivering faster write and copy speeds. However, when you bring the amount of available storage into play there’s absolutely no contest – the Titan wins hands down every time with a cost per gigabyte of just $1.94 in comparison to the X25-M’s $6.23 and the X25-E’s whopping $18.71!

While that's still a long way off the bargain basement $0.09 per gigabyte you'll pay for a Samsung F1 1TB mechanical drive, the performance benefits really are there to see, especially in real world scenarios like boot and game load times. What's more, the fact that the Titan actually provides a decent amount of storage makes it much more appealing than previous generations of SSD.

Frankly we’re amazed by how quickly the SSD market is moving forwards and a drive that just a few months ago was a unappealing has now, though some clever engineering, been turned into an absolute star performer that’s able to match and for the most part better a drive that, just a month ago, was one of the best available. Will 2009 be the year of the SSD? If the Titan is anything to go by, it certainly looks like it!

However, it’s also something of a warning for the future – just how much faster and larger will SSDs get in the next three months, let alone a year? The investment of $500 into an SSD is a big one, and while we’re unashamedly excited by the technology and the benefits it might offer (especially as Windows 7 is being optimised to better take advantage of SSDs), we can’t help but advise caution. Looking at past emergences of new technologies early adopters rarely get the best deal (or even a fair one, eh, HD DVD owners?) and while the Titan is both an excellent performer and fairly spacious, it won’t be very long before another SSD arrives to stake its claim.

For now though, this is a wonderful bit of kit, finally combining speed in every area with a capacity that doesn’t neuter the usefulness of the drive. The Titan would be just as at home in a high-end gaming machine (with the appropriate drive adapter) as it would an ultra-portable notebook, high performance laptop or HTPC, and for those willing to pay the premium, it earns a recommendation.

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• 9/10

• Value
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• 7/10

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• 8/10

Score Guide