3 Ways to Test SSD Speed & Performance
If your computer is running slowly or is lagging behind your daily needs, there’s a good chance you need some minor upgrades. Most commonly, poorly performing computers are due to slow disk speeds, high memory usage, or a lack of cooling. But how can we address the issue without replacing the whole thing?
In this guide, we’ll be showing you X ways to test your hard disk or solid-state drive speeds, which will allow you to determine if slow disk speeds are what’s slowing your computer down.
1. Testing SSD Speeds With Built-In Applications
Testing your hardware is relatively easy on most operating systems. Luckily on some operating systems, you can test your hardware without the need of downloading an additional program. Third-party applications will display read and write speeds at once, but you must manually figure them out in this method.
Windows
On Windows, testing your SSD speeds (among many other things!) can be done through the Command Prompt. It is important to run this as an administrator to prevent any potential issues.
- Type CMD in the Start Menu search bar, then right-click the Best Match and select Run as Administrator.
- Now, type in the following command: «winsat disk -ran -write -drive (name):».
The parentheses will not be part of the command, and «(name)» will be replaced with your drive, commonly «C». Typically, users will only have a primary HDD or SSD, although many use additional drives for storage purposes. The disk name(s) can be found by navigating through This PC and can be located through the search bar, similar to the previous step.
Linux
Linux users can also test hardware through integrated software.
- First, you need to navigate to the terminal and open it.
- Once its opened, type in the following code in between the quotations: $ «sync; dd if=/dev/zero of=tempfile bs=1M count=1024; sync«.
The number shown will be the «write» speed of your tested storage device. - Because we created a temporary file, the data is cached, resulting in a skewed result when you try to test your «read» speeds. If we were to run the same command, we would get a skewed result. So, you need to clear the cache from the temporary file using the following command: $ «sudo /sbin/sysctl -w vm.drop_caches=3«.
- After this, you can type in this command to see your «read» speeds, as shown in the yellow box in the first image above: $ dd if=tempfile of=/dev/null bs=1M count=1024″.
macOS
Lastly, if you have a Mac, and many of us do, we do not have a built-in feature to look at our hardware specifications. Apple has always been discreet about what’s underneath the shiny aluminum body and is no different from the software side of things. Luckily, there are still ways to display your device’s performance with some additional programs.
2. Testing SSD Speeds With Third-Party Applications
Whether we have the option to test our hardware with or without extra software, there is no need to fret as there are many freeware applications that do the same thing. Furthermore, some are even cross-platform, making it more convenient for all types of users.
For Windows users, there is an excellent program you can use—CrystalDiskMark. With this, you can measure the disk speeds of your computer. This can be accomplished by pressing ‘all’ upon installing the program.
Download: CrystalDiskMark for Windows (Free)
For macOS, Novabench is a good program that can identify your read and write speeds. Since this is a third-party program, this is not on the App Store but can be found on Novabench’s website. Unfortunately, this is only for Intel-based processors, so those with Apple’s newest M1 chip are out of luck.
Lastly, since Linux is all about open-source programs, it would be counterintuitive for the platform to rely on third-party software.
Still, if you feel the need to use third-party software, Novabench is available for Linux users to test their speeds.
- Download: Novabench for Windows | macOS | Linux (Free)
3. Testing SSD Speeds With Cross-Platform Software
For those who use more than one operating system, ATTO Disk Benchmark is cross-platform. This is technically freeware, though there is a paid version that gives you access to more features. Still, the program gives you the ability to benchmark a variety of your hardware components on your computer aside from just reading your storage device’s speeds.
Whether you’re using Windows OS or macOS, testing your SSD speeds couldn’t be any simpler. For the test to start, click Start in the middle of the program. In the dropdown menus are some parameters that can be changed to your liking and hardware. Then, as shown above, the desired information will be displayed accordingly.
- Download: AttoDiskBenchmark for Windows | macOS (Free)
What to Do if You Have a Slow Drive?
As technology progresses every day, the technology in your computer becomes dated quickly.
Luckily, many of the parts that do become dated can be replaced with newer components, resulting in better performance. While upgrading your memory can improve responsiveness, upgrading your SSD can drastically change the performance of your computer.
Common speeds for an SSD are anywhere from 300-600MB/s for both read and write speeds. In some cases, you’ll reap more benefits from upgrading your memory than upgrading an SSD. The benefits are minimal upgrading from SSD to SSD, especially because they are fast already. But from an older HDD to an SSD, you’ll certainly feel the difference, as will you upgrading from an older PCIe standard to a newer generation.
Upgrading your storage device to an SSD is a pretty easy task. Determine whether you want an NVMe or SSD, but be sure it can be supported on your device. Not all computers or laptops allow the use of an NVMe drive due to the lack of an available port.
After selecting the device you want, you will need to transfer data from your original SSD to a new one.
Admittedly, transferring your data can be an infuriating process, though, with the help of this HDD to SSD guide, it shouldn’t be as tedious.
Switch Out Your Drive for Faster Speeds
With the price of computer parts in recent times, upgrading your main components cannot be done as cheaply anymore. One of the cheaper components in the grand scheme of things is your storage device. SSDs can be found for a hundred dollars or two, depending on the storage size you want. As shown above, testing your disk speeds is a rather easy process and can be done with or without internet access for most operating systems. With the choice of onboard software or third-party, the information is at your fingertips.
How We Test SSDs | PCMag
Upgrading your desktop or laptop to a solid-storage solution—whether that’s a traditional 2.5-inch drive or a cutting-edge M.2 one—is a quick, often inexpensive way of adding some much-needed performance to an aging system. By installing a solid-state drive (SSD) in your desktop or laptop, you can drastically reduce the amount of time files, applications, and even operating systems take to load, install, or copy versus older platter-based hard drives.
As long as you have the slots, ports, or bays necessary, the amount of movies, photos, and games you can shuttle onto or off of one machine is almost limitless.
To make sure you always get the best bang for your storage buck, we here at PC Labs have developed an exhaustive testing suite. A mix of industry-standard tests, «trace-based» measures (more on what that means in a moment), and home-cooked trials, it runs each drive we review through a series of real-world and synthetic scenarios to help us determine which drives are the fastest, which are the slowest, and who falls in between.
Mind you, with SSDs, speed isn’t everything. We also evaluate drives on the basis of value for money and additional features, such as warranty, durability ratings, and supplementary software. But SSDs have become so good these days that sometimes it’s subtle things that separate an average drive from a winner.
The Testbeds: The Systems We Rely On
Depending on the bus architecture (PCI Express vs.
SATA) and connection protocol (M.2 or 2.5-inch for internal SSDs; USB or Thunderbolt for external SSDs), we test any drive that comes through the labs on a certain single testbed, or pair of testbeds, among three testbed systems.
PCIe 3.0-Based M.2 Internal SSDs; Serial ATA 2.5-Inch or M.2 Drives
These drives are tested on our main Windows 10-based storage testbed. This is a resolutely high-end PC. It is equipped with an Asus Prime X299 Deluxe motherboard with an Intel Core i9-10980XE processor clocked for a max boost frequency of 4.6GHz. We use 16GB of DDR4 Corsair Dominator RAM clocked to 3,600MHz, and the system is using an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition as its discrete graphics card to power video. This PC represents a state-of-the-art high-end desktop configuration, with an SSD boot drive as the primary drive and the drive being tested configured as supplemental storage.
M.2 drives on this system are installed in a secondary M.2 slot below the video card and configured as secondary storage.
(The X299 motherboard we use supports both PCI Express M.2 and SATA M.2 drives.) Traditional 2.5-inch SSDs are installed on the first SATA port powered by the motherboard’s main SATA controller, and installed in a 2.5-inch bay.
PCIe 4.0-Based Internal SSDs
PCI Express 4.0 M.2 SSDs are an emerging class of M.2 SSDs that offer higher potential sequential-throughput speeds than PCI Express 3.0 ones. At this writing, PCI Express 4.0 support was available only on AMD-based systems using the X570 and B550 chipsets for Ryzen CPUs, and the TRX40 chipset for Ryzen Threadripper chips. All are M.2 drives. You can use a PCI Express 4.0 SSD in a 3.0-only motherboard, but it will bounce down to 3.0 speeds.
As a result, to test the speed potential of these drives, we needed a different testbed from our main one. This specialized testbed uses an MSI Godlike X570 motherboard with an AMD Ryzen 9 3950X CPU installed. We use the same 16GB of DDR4 Corsair Dominator RAM clocked to 3,600MHz, and the system employs the same Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition as its discrete graphics card.
External SSDs
We use two testbeds here. The first is the same system as our PCI Express 3.0 testbed (Asus Prime X299 Deluxe motherboard, Intel Core i9-10980XE processor, 16GB of DDR4 Corsair RAM, Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Founders Edition discrete graphics card). Drives are tested attached to this motherboard’s sole USB 3.2 Gen 2 USB Type-C port (a 10Gbps port) on the rear panel, unless otherwise noted.
After we’ve run the tests defined below for external drives, we then format the drive to exFAT and run a couple of supplemental tests on a 2016 Apple MacBook Pro, testing over Thunderbolt 3 (if applicable) or USB Type-C. If the drive is a Thunderbolt 3-only drive, we run just the MacBook-based tests. In addition, we are in the process of adding a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 card to our main storage testbed to accommodate the emerging class of external SSDs supporting that high-speed 20Gbps version of USB.
The Benchmarks: Internal SSDs
Here is a breakdown of the benchmark set we run on internal drives, whether M.
2 «gumstick» drives or conventional 2.5-inch SATA internals. The drives are secure-erased between each run of the different tests.
PCMark 10 Storage
The main PCMark 10(Opens in a new window) Storage test from UL is an invaluable cutting-edge measure, providing a high-level view of how the drive will function under various everyday workloads, such as word processing and videoconferencing.
For internal SSDs, we first run the drives through the PCMark 10 Full System Drive benchmark, which simulates 23 different «traces» (simulated tasks) in the course of the run. The traces flex the drive in ways that approximate launching Adobe-based creative programs, booting up Windows 10, copying files, launching popular games, and more.
The overall score that PCMark 10 reports back represents how well a drive does throughout the entire PCMark 10 run. This score is the sanctioned score presented by UL’s software at the end of each run. This score reflects a weighted average of the various activities that the PCMark 10 storage test simulates, a general indicator of how consistently a drive can perform through the 23 different usage scenarios.
It’s a proprietary number, though, and is meaningful only when compared with scores of other, competing drives. That is where our reviews come in.
Getting Granular: Booting Windows 10 (PCMark 10 Trace)
We also dig into the more granular trace data that PCMark 10 presents. The first part of it we report is culled from the Windows 10 boot trace, which simulates a full operating-system startup procedure. The throughput number we report reflects how quickly the drive is able to feed the data required for that task set.
This and the following three PCMark 10-derived, trace-based tests represent a simulation of how quickly a drive is capable of feeding data when launching a particular program, copying files, or, in this case, booting Windows 10. PCMark 10 records how many megabytes per second the drive is reading what are known as «shallow-queue 4K random» blocks of data (i.e., of the kind in which most applications, games, or operating systems are stored). While UL recommends using the overall «read/write MBps bandwidth» metric in these tests, we dug a bit deeper to include only random 4K bandwidth in order to paint what we believe is a more specific picture of how well a drive can perform in these tasks.
Game Launching Tests (PCMark 10 Trace)
Next we report data from PCMark 10’s traces around game launching. This again reflects how quickly a drive can read shallow-depth small random 4K packages. Note that the «4K» we’re talking about here is file-block size(Opens in a new window), not file size; 4K is one of the more commonly used file-block sizes for game installations, though that composition does depend on the title you’re playing.
While the three games tested in PCMark 10 are stored primarily in small random 4K, tests from around the web have shown that MMORPGs can more often use the 16K block size, and some games in other genres may tend to employ larger block sizes, from 32K up to 128K. However, for the sake of these tests, 4K small random read is the most accurate block-size metric relevant to these three popular FPS titles: Battlefield 5, Overwatch, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. We again report the read throughput for this kind of file.
Adobe Launching Tests (PCMark 10 Trace)
Next is the set of results based on traces simulating Adobe-application launches.
As anyone who works regularly in programs like Adobe Premiere or Photoshop can tell you, a constant pinch point is the time it takes for these programs to launch.
Mind you, our results don’t tell the whole story of how a drive will perform for all creative applications. Depending on the complexity of your work and the number of elements in a scene, your software may have to load 3D models, sound files, physics elements, and more; in other words, more than just the program. Still, this is nonetheless interesting fodder for folks who live and breathe these Adobe apps.
Copy Tests (PCMark 10 Trace)
Finally in PCMark 10, we report on PCMark 10’s traces that simulate file-copy actions. While at first these numbers might look low compared to the straight sequential-throughput numbers achieved in benchmarks like Crystal DiskMark and AS-SSD (below), that’s due to the way this score is calculated and the nature of and differences between the source data. If you’re regularly moving files around on your drive from one folder to another, this test is a handy relative throughput measure.
Crystal DiskMark 6
Beyond PCMark 10, we also use the venerable Crystal DiskMark(Opens in a new window) utility for a second opinion on throughput. Crystal DiskMark’s sequential-read tests measure read/write activity with data written in a large contiguous block on the drive, which is similar to how manufacturers themselves test drives to advertise their performance. These tests represent a «best case,» straight-line scenario for file transfers.
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We also use Crystal DiskMark’s 4K tests to measure random reads/writes, which reflect data activity in which the drive is fetching and writing scattered files and pieces of files across the drive. This is mostly just used as a reality check against the wealth of 4K read data culled from PCMark 10’s traces.
AS-SSD
AS-SSD(Opens in a new window) is a popular utility designed specially for testing SSDs. We use AS-SSD’s unique copy tests to simulate moving different types of files around on the drive. This is similar to the folder drag-and-drop test that we use for external drives (detailed below), but it’s more comprehensive since AS-SSD offers three different transfer tests: a sample game-install folder, a program folder, and a single big ISO file.
In this test, AS-SSD makes a copy of the given file to another folder on the test drive. This is telling because some drives handle single large files (like the ISO) better than bunches of smaller files (like the game install folder).
The Benchmarks: External SSDs
As noted, in testing we attach external SSDs to the native USB 3.2 Gen 2 port on our main Windows 10 testbed, and afterward (if relevant) to a Thunderbolt 3/USB Type-C port on our test MacBook Pro. With the Windows 10 machine, we’ll cite if a drive is attached instead to the expansion-card USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 port on our Windows 10 testbed.
PCMark 10 Data Drive Benchmark
We’re not done with PCMark 10 quite yet! The Data Drive Benchmark is a solid test to run on any drive you intend to use as a data archive or a backup drive, and typically takes between 10 and 30 minutes to run, depending on the drive type and its connection standard.
Like the PCMark 10 Storage test, it runs through a host of trace-based activities to simulate typical daily drives activities for a secondary drive. The proprietary number it reports back is useful only when compared against other drives’ PCMark 10 results.
Crystal DiskMark 6
For external SSDs, we run the Crystal DiskMark 6 test under the same parameters as for internal drives above (sequential read/write, and 4K read/write).
BlackMagic Disk Speed Test
With this and our next test, we move the drive, if compatible, over to our Apple MacBook Pro tester platform and reformat it into exFAT. We use the macOS-only BlackMagic Disk Speed Test(Opens in a new window) app from professional media software firm BlackMagic Design (the makers of DaVinci Resolve) to perform this test. It reports back a drive’s throughput in bits per second. This utility is typically used to discern whether a given drive has enough throughput to play back specific video formats smoothly. But it also returns some useful throughput measurements.
BlackMagic offers both a read score and a write score, which we compare with those of other, similar drives. These scores are useful in discovering the theoretical maximum speed that a drive can achieve.
Folder Transfer Test
The final test for external drives is a drag-and-drop test, also performed on our MacBook Pro. It uses the macOS Finder to copy a 1.23GB test folder full of several different file types from the testbed’s internal drive to the external SSD being tested. We hand-time the scores (in seconds).
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we check the speed of Western Digital drives / Sudo Null IT News
Hello everyone! Today, in Habr’s edition, we will turn on the speakers louder, put the AC / DC «Highway to Hell» and properly drive several drives to speed. Using the example of one manufacturer, we will see how SSDs with a Sata interface differ from SSDs with a newer M.2 interface with the NVMe specification. To do this, we took two benchmarks and three terabyte SSDs — WD Blue 3D NAND SATA SSD, WD Blue SN550 NVMe SSD (WDS100T2B0C-00PXH0) and WD Black SN750 (WDS100T3XHC-00SJG0) — and looked at how the speed changes depending on the size files, how read and write speeds correlate, and what happens when working with fragments of different sizes. nine0003
What we’re testing
We took two drives (1TB SATA and M.2 NVMe) from WD’s blue line. This is a versatile range that is designed for everyday work with office applications and web surfing, as well as data storage and backup. The third drive is a new 1TB NVMe drive from the «black» line, designed for systems where maximum performance is required.
Blue 3D NAND SATA — SSD in a classic form factor with dimensions of a 2.5-inch magnetic disk. Blue SN550 and Black SN750 are more compact M.2 drives. The Blue SN550 looks like a small circuit board with a few chips, the Black SN750 has these chips covered by a massive heatsink. nine0004
M.2 drives use the NVMe interface for the third generation PCI Express bus. Blue 3D NAND is connected via SATA. Hence, there is a noticeable difference in performance.
Both the Blue SN550 and Black SN750 use the third generation PCI Express bus. This is the main difference between the NVMe interface and SATA, which was developed for the HDD. For example, for magnetic hard drives, there is enough support for a single queue with a depth of 32 requests. When creating NVMe — Non-Volatile Memory Express — they took into account the capabilities of SSD, providing for work with 65536 queues and a depth of 65536.
For HDDs, the transfer rate via SATA III with a ceiling of 600 MB / s is already space, and the solid state does not reveal its potential within this framework. PCIe is more attractive in this regard: in the most common version 3.0 now, the speed is limited to 985 MB / s per line. The NVMe drives we tested use four lanes, pushing the upper theoretical speed limit up to 3940 MB/s.
You have to pay for productivity gains. Users for whom autonomy is more important than speed should take into account: drives with NVMe controllers consume three times more power than SATA SSDs. nine0004
If we talk about prices, then the differences are gradually getting poorer. In the past few months, the flash market has stabilized to the point that NVMe SSDs can be offered as a faster alternative to SATA SSDs.
Last but not least, due to lower prices, solid state drives managed to squeeze out mechanical hard drives. SSDs are increasingly being used for backups, as well as portable storage and boot drives. For this reason, we decided to test 1 TB drives: they are convenient to use both for the system and for storing information. nine0004
Test parameters
To check the speed and performance of the drives, we will run them with tests on CrystalDiskMark and ATTO.
CrystalDiskMark WD, Blue 3D NAND SATA
CrystalDiskMark WD, Blue 3D NAND SATA
CrystalDiskMark, WD Blue SN550 NVMe
CrystalDiskMark, WD Blue SN550 NVMe
CrystalDiskMark, WD Black SN750
CrystalDiskMark, WD Black SN750
CrystalDiskMark measures the speed of writing and reading a file of a given size several times, demonstrating an average result. Two of the four tests, designated SEQ, determine the average speed when writing a file sequentially — in one thread and in multi-threaded mode. The second pair of tests — RAN4K — shows similar results with random writes in 4-kilobyte blocks. With their help, we tested the speed when working with 1 and 64 GB files. nine0004
Benchmark parameters:
- SEQ1M Q8T1 — sequential read / write test, 1 MB blocks, queue depth 8, 1 thread;
- SEQ1M Q1T1 Sequential Read/Write Test, 1MB Blocks, Queue Depth 1, 1 Thread;
- RND4K Q32T16 — random read/write test, 4K blocks, queue depth 32, 16 threads;
- RND4K Q1T1 — Random Read/Write test, 4K blocks, queue depth 1, 1 thread.
ATTO, WD Blue 3D NAND SATA
Sequential write and read
Let’s see how our drives behave in sequential write and read. Let’s take a look at their work with 1 and 64 GB to understand which of the participants in the test drive is better suited for working with heavy files and multimedia.
CrystalDiskMark, Sequential Read, MB/s
CrystalDiskMark, Sequential Write, MB/s
8-stream sequential read, all drives perform at their maximum specifications. The superiority of NVME in this series is especially noticeable: SSD SATA is clearly not a star here. The result of an outsider can only impress with stability. nine0003
In 64GB multithreading, the Black SN750 leads the pack, outperforming the Blue NVME by almost 1000Mbps. But with sequential writes and reads in 1 stream (for a 64 GB and 1 GB file), the speed of the leader drops, and Blue almost overtakes it. This result is easy to explain: the Blue NVME controller is almost the same as the Black, but with fewer flash channels.
Random write and read
Random read and write do not allow you to develop such speed as serial. But in the life of a system disk, this situation occurs more often: for example, when storing a large number of “hot” files that are constantly being worked on. These results are especially important for those who are going to use the drive under the OS. nine0004
CrystalDiskMark, random write speed, MB/s
CrystalDiskMark, random read speed, MB/s
In this part of the benchmarks, the speed drops to such an extent that the difference between the leader of the last race and the SATA outsider is not always noticeable. So, on random reading in one stream, all three drives demonstrate approximately the same result.
Blue NVMe this time lagged behind Black only in multi-threaded mode, but not so much. When working with a 1 GB file, it almost caught up with the leader. In single-threaded mode, Blue finished first at all. And in all categories: in reading and writing, with a fight of 1 and 64 GB. If you need speed when actively working with small and medium files, then Blue is perfect for this. nine0004
Reading and writing files of different sizes
To better understand how drives work, let’s look at how reading and writing depend on each other.
With sequential writes with a queue depth of 1 for NVME, the gap between reading and writing for 64 GB files is 1.5-2 times greater than for gigabyte files. In the case of SATA, the opposite is true.
When the sequential write depth is increased to 8, the Blue 550N no longer sees any differences when working with 1 and 64 GB files, for SATA it also decreases. Another interesting fact is that in this mode, NVMe media write speed becomes higher than read speed. nine0004
With random writes to 16 threads, the write/read ratio for 1 and 64 GB files is almost equal in Black. But in Blue, the read / write difference for gigabyte files becomes noticeable. The situation with SATA is the opposite — for large files, the difference in speed is greater than for small ones.
Random reads and writes to one stream are interesting because they read several times slower than writes for all drives. Such a mode can occur, for example, when using an SSD to store many small files that are being accessed simultaneously. nine0004
Black is better suited for storing and constantly working with large files, as reading will be faster and there will be no loss of speed. For example, Black is good for productive games or OS, as stated in the specification.
Working with large and small files
Let’s regroup the results of the CrystalDiskMark benchmark to understand how each individual drive behaves when working with large and small files.
Black N750
Blue N550
Blue Sata
From this perspective, it becomes very clear: in sequential mode with 8 NVMe streams, they read much better than they write. And in single-threaded mode, the opposite is true.
Random writes across all drives reduce the speed gap compared to sequential writes. Moreover, with an increase in the number of streams, the write speed overtakes the read speed. In the case of SATA, the speed fluctuations during sequential reads and writes are less than those of NVMe SSDs. But such stability is a dubious advantage, given the enormous difference in speeds. nine0003
It is worth noting that Blue SATA has the same 96-layer 3D NAND TLC memory chips on board as the rest of the experimental drives. It squeezes the maximum speed out of its outdated interface: the limitations of the SATA protocol have practically leveled the potential of progressive chips.
Working with fragments of different sizes
These graphs show the results of the ATTO benchmark. On the X axis — the data transfer rate when reading and writing, Y — the size of the blocks. We look at how drives with large and small files work. nine0004
Overclocking on fragments up to 4 KB, NVMe drives take the lead very quickly. And already in the zone with 16 KB, Black takes the lead with 500–700 MB/s. In the same tests on 32 GB files, the speed of the NVMe SSD drops when the fragment size reaches 16 MB. Because of this, on large fragments, the read speed will be noticeably higher than the write speed.
Based on the benchmark results, it becomes clear that all three drives work stably on small files. However, for a SATA disk, stability does not depend on size. nine0004
Temperature
Tiny and fast M.2 drives heat up easily and slow down to prevent overheating. This can be seen from the results of the previous test: the troughs in the graphs almost always correspond to peak temperatures.
During the test, the Black N750 heated up to 50–60 degrees, and the Blue N550, which does not have such a powerful radiator, reached 70 degrees. But after 5–10 minutes, both drives cooled down. In everyday work, this can be imperceptible, since the load that benchmarks give out is difficult to repeat. nine0004
The protection operation is also not a big problem: 2. 5 gigabytes per second is a speed that in most cases is enough for reading and writing, if we talk about home use. Passive cooling heatsinks for M.2 solid-states are being produced but are in low demand.
When working in system units, the increase in temperature will not be as noticeable as when installed in laptops. In the latter case, it should be taken into account that the SN750 heatsink height is 5 mm, which are not provided in many models. nine0004
Conclusions
As expected, the tests did not reveal significant deviations from the passport characteristics. The drive connected via SATA worked stably within the limits set by the interface. It can be seen that the maximum has already been squeezed out of this technology. Nevertheless, the WD Blue 3D NAND SATA SSD can be safely recommended to owners of older PCs and laptops that cannot connect NVMe media.
The main intrigue is the comparison of «blue» and «black» NVMe models. Testing showed the superiority of the SanDisk 20-82-007011 controller with 512 MB DRAM installed in Black drives in sequential multi-threaded operation, especially with large files. And in other tests, the flagship showed itself well, yielding to the “blue” brother in interface only in terms of random work in one thread. nine0004
If we talk about NVMe SSDs (in 2020, you can consider an alternative in the form of SATA only if there are no other alternatives), then the choice between blue and black drives depends solely on your budget. The slightly more expensive Black SN750 is better at overheating and will suit those looking for a top-end flash drive for their gaming build or workstation.
In general, SSD technology has room to grow, and in several directions at once. The 112-layer fifth-generation BiCS 3D NAND flash memory is already ready. 112 layers — only 16% more than 96, but the increase in speed at this density will be about 50%.
Since the future development of drives may rest on the PCIe 3.0 interface, the second direction for the development of drives may be the transition to PCIe 4.0, which has twice the bandwidth. There are already SSDs on PCIe 4. 0 and we will definitely drive them well next time.
SSD drives | Laboratory | Overclockers.ru
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Andrey Ponkratov
December 27, 2022
We got a modern PCIe 4. 0 NVMe M.2 drive based on the Phison PS5018-E18 eight-channel flagship controller and designed for Sony PlayStation 5 consoles and gaming computer assemblies.
Andrey Ponkratov
May 6, 2022
We will explore a ready-made solution with a good fast M.2 NVMe SSD inside, which is characterized by a stable data transfer rate and caching using a large buffer. nine0004
Andrey Ponkratov
January 20, 2022
MSI’s flagship M.2 PCI-e x4 Gen4 SSD based on the Phison PS5018-E18 eight-channel controller arrived for testing.
Andrey Ponkratov
December 21, 2021
The hero of the review is a modern M.2 drive with a PCI-e x4 Gen3 interface, based on an eight-channel controller, which until recently was a flagship.
nine0002 Andrey Ponkratov
November 11, 2021
Following the review of the budget model, we will examine the middle class of MSI drives in the PCIe Gen4x4 M.2 2280 segment.
Andrey Ponkratov
November 6, 2021
MSI’s new product is a typical representative of low-cost drives based on the Phison PS5013-E13 controller class PCIe Gen3x4 M. 2 2280.
Viktor Yushchenko
July 21, 2021
The Kingston NV1 drive is the right choice for those who want to completely get rid of the HDD and switch to SSD, and those who are planning to upgrade their PC or laptop. nine0004
Viktor Yushchenko
June 18, 2021
The new Patriot Viper is equipped with the Innogrit controller, offers two heatsinks in the kit and is close in performance to the market leaders.
Viktor Yushchenko
February 11, 2021
We will examine the flagship model of the WD Black series and find out its strengths and weaknesses.
Viktor Yushchenko
December 26, 2020
We will check in practice an interesting option for a high-performance low-profile SSD. nine0004
Viktor Yushchenko
December 11, 2020
ASUS’ TUF Gaming Alliance line is expanding and has recently added the first drives from the T-Force brand.
Viktor Yushchenko
September 24, 2020
We will study the Patriot Memory SSD which supports the high-speed PCIe 4. 0 interface. The interface of such models can be designated 4×4 (similar to how off-road cars are designated), which in this case stands for data transfer over 4 lines in the PCIe Gen 4 interface. The new interface is supported so far only by a small number of devices … How good is the drive in really? nine0004
Viktor Yushchenko
May 30, 2020
The hero of the review was the Kingston SSD. Of course, the NVMe PCIe interface is more promising than good old SATA, but if there is a need for SATA drives, then they are also available! This is the law of the market, nothing can be done. And, of course, it is very interesting to see what else can be «squeezed» out of the SATA interface today? Fortunately, one of the most interesting SSDs came to us for testing.
nine0002 Viktor Yushchenko
March 18, 2020
We received a 1TB Plextor model for testing. This is a large volume, and given the relationship between capacity and performance of an SSD, we can expect high performance from such an SSD. The Plextor M9PGN Plus series of drives includes three versions ranging from 256 GB to 1 TB, which are positioned as gaming. And the declared characteristics leave no doubt about it.
Viktor Yushchenko
February 13, 2020
Patriot is known for making gaming memory and various accessories for gamers, but it also manufactures products for «civilians» among other things. Today our guest is a sample of just such a product for «ordinary» users. There are four versions in the Patriot P300 series ranging from 128GB to 1TB, with a 2TB drive available in the US case… What would a 256GB SSD be good for?
Viktor Yushchenko
January 16, 2020
We have another SSD brand Viper (Viper Gaming) visiting us. This time he offers a drive dedicated to modding enthusiasts. Their number is growing, as it allows you to creatively approach the assembly of the system unit and turn it from a nondescript «box» into a work of art. The Viper VPR100 RGB series includes four devices (from 256 GB to 2 TB). The youngest came to us for testing.
Viktor Yushchenko
December 2, 2019
Our guest is the T-Force brand solid state drive, owned by the Taiwanese company Team Group. The new T-Force Cardea II series includes three PCIe NVMe devices positioned for gaming desktops in 256GB, 512GB, and 1024GB capacities. The most «average» of these three brothers came to us for testing — a 512 GB drive. What is he capable of? Does it deserve attention? nine0004
Viktor Yushchenko
June 28, 2019
The IronWolf series has also come to solid-state drives (SSDs). Of course, SSD drives are much more modest in volume than HDDs (price!), but progress cannot be stopped. The manufacturer positions the Seagate IronWolf 110 SSD series drives as designed for network storage (NAS). A feature of this use of SSD is the ability to simultaneously perform different types of operations by different users. In addition, the requirements for temperature conditions and some other parameters are increasing.
