Final Thoughts
Pricing and Availability
The Apacer Panther AS330 with 240GB capacity can be a bit tricky to find. At the time of writing, Amazon UK has a listing for the 120GB model for £58.72 and the 480GB model for £183.13. We can expect the 240GB model to be right in between those two. Amazon US has the 240GB listed for $143.00. But that looks more like a placeholder.
Overview
Apacer built a classic budget drive without any large surprises. The 2.5-inch form factor and 4 capacity options make it valid options for a lot of people who wish to ditch their ageing mechanical drive with a faster and silent SSD.
What does set the drive apart from the competition is the physical design of the drive chassis. The Panther logo and pattern give it a special look which might be appealing to those with the drive mounted in a visible area. It will also match Apacer’s Panther RAM modules for a themed setup.
The performance was as rated and there isn’t much to say to the sequential speeds. The random speeds are something else and the drive exceeded the ratings by quite a bit. That’s a surprising result, but a very welcome one. The drive did also do well at continues sequential operations, which usually is a problem for TLC-based drives.
With the Apacer Pather AS330, you can experience faster load times, faster boot times, and a smoother overall experience. That is if you’re currently using a mechanical drive. With up to 1TB capacity, there should be plenty of space for games, applications, and data files.
Pros
- Solid performance
- Up to 1TB capacity
- 3-years warranty
Cons
- TLC isn’t as effective as MLC
Neutral
- Physical design with Panther pattern
“Apacer’s Panther AS330 is a safe choice when upgrading from a mechanical drive to a modern solid state drive.”
We would like to thank Apacer for providing us with this sample.
