I'm Not Achieving the Benchmark Speeds I Expected

Performance can vary depending on hardware, software, and other system configurations.  The steps below will provide some common optimizations to maximize SSD performance:

1. Check what SATA or PCIe® speeds the system or motherboard supports (SATA-I, SATA-II, SATA-III, PCIe 3.0/4.0/5.0), and which ports will provide the highest performance, moving the drive as necessary into faster ports. While an SSD will operate in a port or socket using an older standard, read and write performance will be limited compared to running an SSD in the fastest port or socket available, and maximum performance of an SSD is acheived using the standard it was designed for (or newer).
2. Related to the above, verify that a port does not slow down based on other installed hardware, such as graphics cards or additional SSDs. System documentation can identify ports which slow down based on where other hardware has been installed, and this can cause slowdown in installed SSDs, or in some cases fully disable ports and prevent an SSD from being detected.
3. For SATA SSDs, ensure the system is set to run in AHCI mode and the latest AHCI drivers are installed.
   
4. For SATA SSDs, try a different SATA cable.
5. Ensure the latest firmware is installed on the SSD.  The firmware updates can be found here
6. Update system BIOS, chipset drivers, and SATA controller drivers