Adata Swordfish M.2

Aggressive cost per gigabyte ; Solid software options ; Five-year warranty ; Sleek, "scaly" silver shroud

Fast versus a SATA-bus drive, but poky for a four-lane PCI Express one ; Not a top value pick, considering its performance

The bait is tasty enough—PCI Express speeds, a nifty heat spreader, a low cost per gigabyte—but ADATA's Swordfish won't quite set the hook with anglers seeking a top-value M.2 SSD.

Low cost ; Large SLC write cache ; Sleek aesthetic ; AES 256-bit encryption ; 5-year warranty ; SSD Toolbox and cloning software

Slow write performance after the SLC cache fills ; Endurance is lower than average ; Could use further power optimization

Adata’s swordfish isn’t the most responsive SSD out there, but it looks great and comes with AES 256-bit encryption support at a very low price.