Putting together a blistering fast gaming computer is not that difficult nowadays. Start with the Intel Core i7 platform, at least 6GB of high-speed DDR3 memory, a GeForce GTX 295 graphics card, and you are halfway there.

But there's still something missing in there. Something that can make the quickest computers even quicker, and that is SSD (solid state drive) technology. Last year we began to see a real push for SSDs, and despite of the serious price premium involved, the technology started to prove all by itself. There should be no question that SSD technology is the way of the future, it's just a matter of when this future will become a reality for most consumers.


Today we will be looking at four popular mainstream SSD offerings: the G.Skill Titan 128GB, Intel X25-M 80GB, OCZ Vertex 120GB and the Super Talent UltraDrive ME 64GB. Although all these products are MLC flash-based and target the consumer enthusiast market, they do vary in price, on-board controllers, memory chips, and size caches, which should make for some very interesting results.

Let's move ahead as we discover what makes a great SSD drive and what's your best bet in today's market.