We previously reviewed the 512 GB version of the Toshiba THNSNH Series and were extremely impressed with its performance. That's why I asked Toshiba for a 256 GB sample--that's also the current sweet spot in size for most users. SSDs of a larger capacity typically perform better than their smaller counterparts, which is why vendors prefer to sample large-capacity drives.
After running the 256 GB THNSNH256GCST through our test suite, I can happily report that this is not the case with Toshiba's latest SSDs. The 256 GB version delivers the same average performance than the 512 GB version, with tiny differences in individual benchmarks. Its Marvell-based controller delivers leading performance even without a DRAM cache chip. In our real-life testing, we see the drive cruise past the competition to end up with a 4% performance lead over the next-fastest drives, such as the Samsung 840 Pro and OCZ Vector. Only with our MySQL Enterprise database testing does its performance slouch; other drives, especially SandForce-based ones, do much better here. For typical consumer workloads, however, there is no faster drive available at this time.
In terms of pricing, Toshiba is asking $260, which is certainly not cheap, but SSD prices are rising as of late. The SSD also offers quite good price / performance when looking at high-end drives only, but other drives do better here if you accept a tiny drop in performance. Nevertheless, the Toshiba THNSNH Series should definitely be on your shortlist if you are in the market for a new SSD and are willing to spend an extra buck for maximum performance.