PNY CS900 SATA Internal SSD 250GB

Overview

The PNY CS900 is a 250GB 2.5 inch SATA III solid state drive built as a straightforward swap for an aging laptop or desktop hard drive. It targets the upgrade market rather than high-end builds, aiming at faster boots and app loads without a big price tag.

This is an entry-level SSD rather than a performance flagship: PNY rates it at up to 535MB/s read and 500MB/s write, which is well within normal SATA III territory but far below what an NVMe drive delivers. Its main selling point is simplicity, drop it into a SATA II or III bay and the difference from a spinning hard drive is immediate.

• Up to 535MB/s read, 500MB/s write
• 2.5 inch SATA III form factor
• No moving parts
• Backward compatible with SATA II

Who it's for

Fits anyone replacing a mechanical hard drive in an older laptop or desktop who wants faster boots without switching to NVMe or rebuilding the system. Not the choice for someone who already has an NVMe slot free, since a SATA drive will bottleneck a newer motherboard.

Pros and cons

Performance notes

As a SATA III drive, the CS900 is capped by the interface itself at roughly 535MB/s read and 500MB/s write, figures PNY states directly. It has no moving parts, which PNY ties to lower failure rates than a mechanical hard drive, and the drive stays backward compatible with SATA II systems at reduced speed, so it also works as an upgrade path for older hardware.

Specifications

Closest rivals on specs

Patriot P320 M.2 NVMe SSD 512GB

• Digital Storage Capacity 0.2 vs 0.5 TB (-60%)
• HardDrive Size 0.2 vs 0.5 TB (-60%)

WD_Black SN7100 NVMe SSD 1TB

• Digital Storage Capacity 0.2 vs 1 TB (-80%)
• HardDrive Size 0.2 vs 1 TB (-80%)
• Item Weight 0.1 vs 0.01 pounds (+900%)

SIX NVMe Gen4 SSD with Heatsink 1TB

• Digital Storage Capacity 0.2 vs 1 TB (-80%)
• HardDrive Size 0.2 vs 1 TB (-80%)
• Item Weight 0.1 vs 0.04 pounds (+150%)