Triple afterburner: TOP-5 high-speed NVMe SSDs

Despite the fact that M.2 NVMe drives are a priori an elite product, even in this segment there are champions, outsiders and strong middlings that give the maximum for every dollar spent. The hero of today's Apacer AS2280P2 review falls into the latter category.

Support for a dual-channel PCI-E 2 interface helps this drive to take a position in the middle between expensive NVMe and conventional SSDs, which limits the speed of the drive compared to PCI-E 4. If the top NVMe SSD with PCI-E 4x support has 1500/3000 MB / s read and write speeds, then the Apacer AS2280P2 has sequential read and write speeds of 950 and 1580 MB / s. However, it is not entirely correct to take this as a minus, because it is still 2 to 3 times faster than a regular SSD without NVMe. And the price is the same - $ 50 for a volume of 240 GB.

And the controller, made according to the 48-nm Phison PS5008-E8-10 process technology, is not so simple, and in addition to the standard support for DEVSLP and TRIM, it is friends with useful technologies like Smart ECC and Smart Refresh, which help optimize disk performance and extend its life cycle . Considering that Apacer asks for the same money for a 240 GB drive as for a regular M.2 SSD, this model looks like an perfect candidate for pumping a laptop or building an optimal PC.

The Kingston A1000 is an interesting solid state drive that sits right between regular SSDs and high-end NVMe drives that take full advantage of the speed of the PCI-E bus. From the first he got an affordable price, from the second - the ability to drive at maximum speed.

The new line at the start includes three models of the most popular volumes: 240 GB, 480 GB and 960 GB. The optimal ratio of price and quality in the line has a 240 GB drive. Its sequential read and write rates are 1500 and 800 MB/s, respectively.

The Kingston A1000 is being built based on the Phison E8 quad-channel controller and 3D TLC NAND memory. The drive does not have its own RAM cache, so it borrows several hundred megabytes from the system-wide RAM. Traditionally for TLC memory, a smart SLC caching mechanism is implemented: until the disk is two-thirds full, the write speed will be high, after which it will decrease several times.

By the standards of high-speed expensive M.2 PCI-E, the performance of the A1000 is not a record, but compared to the best SATA SSDs, the performance of the new Kingston models looks very decent. Separately, it is worth noting that the drive from Kingston has no problems with overheating of the controller even under heavy load, and therefore does an excellent job without additional cooling. A five year warranty is included.

As a small bonus, it is worth noting a gift license for the Acronis True Image HD utility, which allows you to clone a system partition, avoiding a lengthy reinstallation of the OS and related software.

After the widespread transition to TLC 3D NAND memory, WD has radically updated its not the most successful line of drives WD Black SSD M.2 WDS256G1X0C 256 GB . As part of this redesign, the hero of today's WD Black SSD M.2 review came out - a truly fast and advanced SSD with a very tempting price tag.

The main thing that has been updated is the controller. Instead of the inexpensive Marvell Eldora, the WD Black SSD M.2 has a proprietary controller. Because of this, everything has changed: the SLC caching logic has changed, the speed of random operations has tripled, the sequential write speed has quadrupled, and the linear read speed has reached the bandwidth limit of the PCI Express bus! In numbers, the WD Black SSD M.2 sequential write speed is 1600 MB / s, read speed is 3100 MB / s, and write IOPS reaches 180 thousand. According to the general results of synthetic tests, the new product from WD is in the same company as the recognized leaders — A-Data XPG SX8200 Pro M.2 ASX8200PNP-256GT-C 256 GB , Intel 760p M.2 SSDPEKKW128G8XT 128 GB and Samsung 970 EVO M.2 MZ-V7E250BW 250 GB .

WD understood that gamers and enthusiasts would be the main buyers of the WD Black SSD M.2, so the drive was supplied with a set of unusual SSD Dashboard software that allows you to optimize the speed of the drive. For example, turn off the power saving mode or adjust the SMART settings for the duration of the game. In addition, SSD Dashboard can monitor disk health, automate data cloning, and do many other useful things.

Throw in a five-year high-to-failure warranty(200 TBW), split by the $75 price tag, and you have one of the most interesting NVMe SSDs out there. There seems to be some real competition in this segment.

A-Data XPG SX8200 M.2 is one of the fastest SSDs on the market and is aimed at hardcore gamers, overclocking enthusiasts and professionals who want maximum performance without regard to price.

New XPG SX8200 NVMe drive from A-Data XPG SX8200 M.2 ASX8200NP-240GT-C 240 GB with the new Silicon Motion SMI SM2262 controller and 64-layer TLC 3D NAND memory features a super-fast PCI-E 4x interface and provides stable operation at a maximum read and write speed of 3050 and 1200 MB/s.

With the implementation of a 32-bit DRAM data bus, intelligent caching type SLS and DRAM cache buffer, this SSD boasts high random read/write 4K performance, which is especially important for reducing system response time and when working with small files such as multimedia archives and games. distributions.

As additional advantages of A-Data XPG SX8200, it is worth noting the support of LDPC ECC technology for automatic correction of errors during data transmission, an efficient heatsink that eliminates any overheating, a 5-year warranty and high MTBF (2 million hours). If earlier it was believed that you need to go to Samsung for a top-end SSD, then in the face of the A-Data XPG SX8200, the Korean giant has a worthy competitor. Which, moreover, is also cheaper.

The Intel 760p M.2 is a "reactive" M.2 NVMe SSD that not only outperforms conventional SSDs, but also outperforms many NVMe drives.

Built on 3D TLC memory and Silicon Motion SM2262 controller. Linear read and write speeds are within 3210 and 1315 MB / s, which is three to seven times faster than top-end SATA SSDs. When the array overflows, the read speed does not change, and the write speed drops by a factor of three, which approximately corresponds to the level of a planar MLC memory. Another thing is that PC users rarely operate 10-gig files, so the speed drop due to overflow of the SLC array will practically not happen.

Even more impressive is the processing speed of the smallest 4K blocks: 265K and 205K IOPS for reading and writing, respectively. Well, the picture is completed by a pack of useful technologies traditional for Intel like Rapid Start and Smart Response, which allow you to speed up and optimize the operation of the drive.

We can recommend the Intel 760p M.2 for purchase primarily to avid gamers and computer enthusiasts who already lack the bandwidth of SATA drives. Most importantly, do not forget to check before buying whether the M.2 slot of your PC or laptop supports the NMVe interface. In addition, the drive's life cycle is protected by a five-year warranty.

The only limiting factor can only be a high price even by the standards of NVMe drives. But this is the case when you have to overpay for the best.