![]() ![]() They’re much faster than the usual hard drives most newer computers use SSD drives. SSD drives are making a forward surge and are becoming the norm nowadays. The test system’s processor has had Intel’s Speedstep and Turbo Boost functionality disabled and all cores are locked to the same 3.7GHz frequency in order to ensure maximum consistency between test runs.If you have an SSD drive in your computer and want to monitor it, you can use the ADATA SSD ToolBox tool to help you get disk information, update your firmware, and manage your SSD drive. Where applicable, we will ensure drives are using the NVM Express protocol. M.2 drives will make use of a PCIe adapter card in this same slot to bypass the M.2 x2 interface bottleneck (some motherboards make use of a 2x PCIe lane M.2 port), allowing drives to utilize the maximum bandwidth (PCIe Gen 3 x4) that the M.2 interface supports. SATA drives are tested on an Intel 6Gbps SATA port, while PCIe cards will use the PCIe Gen 3 x8 slot to the processor. This will make sure every block has been written to at least once, including the unaddressable spare area present on all solid-state drives, ensuring all drives begin testing in a normalized “dirty” state. To ensure all drives have fair representation regardless of capacity, we use IOMeter to conduct continuous file writes beyond twice the rated capacity of each SSD. It also provides a quick “Total Bytes Written” indicator to easily satiate curiosity to total bytes written to the SSD. Also available is ADATA’s SSD Toolbox software which provides firmware updates, secure erase functionality, OS optimization, drive status information, and of course diagnostic options. In the future, as NAND chips continue to increase in capacity and 512Gb chips become mainstream, even 256GB capacity drives are going to suffer the same performance limitations as many 128GB models do today, so it’s something to be aware of when shopping for a new SSD.ĪDATA offers a download of Acronis True Image HD for data migration use with its SSDs. We’re not talking Transcend 370S levels of endurance, but certainly more so than the ADATA’s SP550 or SP580 model drives can offer.Īnother factor resulting from the 384Gb NAND arrangement is the 128GB model doesn’t have enough chips to deliver full performance from the controller this is reflected in the specifications table. Selling the drive at 256GB or 512GB gives it more value on a cost/GB ratio and the over-provisioning will still ensure more consistent performance.īesides providing additional space to wear-leveling, this heavy over-provisioning will help to minimize the write amplification factor, and all this combines to increase the total drive write endurance by a not-so-insignificant amount. This gives the SU800 a much higher amount of over-provisioning than one would see on even reduced capacity SSDs (think 240GB or 480GB). ![]() For example, three dual-stacks are used on the 256GB model which totals 288GB of NAND capacity onboard (and 576GB on the 512GB model). It is worth pausing to highlight the SU800’s use of 3D 384Gb NAND chips because it directly affects many drive metrics. The SU800 we have today is a midrange drive, offering a bit more performance and higher NAND endurance at the expense of a slightly higher price. ![]() We already took a look at ADATA’s budget SP550 drive and came away impressed with its performance for casual workloads, given the segment-leading pricing. While I wouldn’t complain about having a large range of choices, it does make it tough to determine which models fit into which categories. Currently, there is the budget SP550, midrange SU800, performance SU900, gaming SX950, and several others such as the DRAM-less SP580. While an SSD is essential for having smooth, fast user experience, SATA SSDs have been interface bottlenecked for many years now.Īs such, performance seekers and manufacturers have both moved on to the PCIe M.2 market, leaving the SATA SSD market focused almost entirely on value and budget offerings.ĪDATA is one of the most prolific, and most aggressive solid-state drive manufacturers remaining in the SATA SSD space. ![]()
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