SanDisk Extreme II review: High speed at low cost

The SanDisk Extreme II solid-state drive (SSD) has a lot more going for it than just being 2.5mm thinner than the previous SanDisk Extreme.

8.1

SanDisk Extreme II

The Good

The <b>SanDisk Extreme II</b> offers faster performance, is now available in a 7mm design, and has a friendly price tag.

The Bad

There's no desktop drive bay converter or other accessories included.

The Bottom Line

The SanDisk Extreme II is a speedy replacement for any hard drive, and it won't dig a big hole in your wallet.

In my testing, the new and trim SSD offered fast performance, comparable to that of even the fastest consumer-grade SSDs, while costing well less than $1 per gigabyte. The drive can work with both laptops and desktops, but unfortunately, doesn't come included with a drive bay converter to fit easily in a desktop, which is its only shortcoming, and a minor one.

The Extreme II definitely is an easy recommendation to those looking to upgrade their computer's existing hard drive to a much faster alternative. It currently costs just $230 for 240GB (or $450 for 480GB) with street pricing expected to fall even lower once the drive has been on the market for awhile. For more choices of excellent SSDs, check out the drives on this list.