Most computers come with hard drives and this seems quite normal in the scheme of things. But, you should know that there’s a very good way to speed up your system performance and it comes in the form of a solid state drive (SSD). The main difference (in case you’re wondering) between a solid state drive and a hard drive is that a SSD doesn’t have any moving parts. Why does this matter? Fewer moving parts means less energy consumed, which, in turn, means better performance and (in the case of laptops) a longer battery life.

So, making the switch from a hard drive to a SSD will make your system faster and will take a lot less battery power if you are speaking in laptop terms. Now, the question is: which SSD should I choose? If you head to your local electronics store, you’ll be overwhelmed with brands and choices, so I’m going to make it easier on you by listing the top three SSD offerings on the current market.

Plextor M3 Drive

If you are familiar at all with the Plextor M2 drive, you might assume that the M3 is an upgrade. Well, it is an upgrade, of sorts, but it’s actually a bit slower than the M2. So, why would you want a drive that’s slower than its predecessor? To make up for speed, the M3 comes with a much lower price tag (around $293) and it is SATA 3 compatible. I should also point out that while the M3 is slower than the M2, this timing difference is almost insignificant and the M3 is still super fast (don’t get the wrong impression here!). Upgrading a regular drive to the Plextor M3 will make your system a lot faster, guaranteed.

Samsung 830

Samsung puts out some quality products and the 830 SSD drive isn’t any exception to this rule. Aside from the fact that Samsung has actually put some thought into the design of this drive (I know, the design of a drive seems rather insignificant, but those details really do count!), the 830 SSD is one of the fastest offerings on the market. Samsung has also equipped the 830 SSD with a really nice “on” or “off” feature, which allows users to turn provisioning (you guessed it!) on or off – something that most drives don’t offer. Price-wise, you can purchase a 512GB version of the Samsung 830 for around $670, which is actually a great deal for a card of this caliber.

SanDisk Extreme SSD

SanDisk is another well-known name within the drive world and for good reason. This company consistently puts out great products and the Extreme SSD is another example of what SanDisk can really do. When tested, the Extreme SSD was able to provide one of the fastest boot times on the market, and that’s what you want to look for when buying a SSD (something to keep in mind). You’ll also love the price tag that comes with the SanDisk SSD – retailing for $320 (240GB). Place this puppy in your current system and you’ll see a vast improvement right away. If you’re frustrating with your system’s lack of oomph and you don’t want to purchase a new computer right away, rest assured that replacing your current drive with a SSD drive will improve the overall performance of your system without costing you a mint.