Review
- Introduction
- Packaging and Specification
- Closer look
- Test Bench and Methodology
- AS SSD Benchmark (Pass 3)
- ATTO (Pass 3) Benchmark)
- AIDA 64 Access Test
- Boot Load Test
- TRIM Test
- CrystalDiskMark Benchmark
- HD Tune Pro Benchmark
- PC Mark Vantage x64 HDD Benchmark
- PC Mark 7 HDD Benchmark
- Anvil SSD Benchmark
- Conclusion
The main concern is the flash NAND degrade that you get to see. Now, I do a lot of runs on Anvil Endurance test alone and on top of it I do each test 3 times- and with few of them with different data fill on the drive. But, seeing that the drive was used for 17 hours before and “SSD Life Left” did show a decrease in lifespan already with 1.5 firmware, you have to be concerned. HyperX 3K and SSDNow V+ 200, the consumer type SSDs don’t even have that degrade. I mentioning these 2 drives because they come with flash NANDs rated for 3k Program Erase cycle, and since all drives I evaluate go ahead with the same treatment, the “SSD Life Left” count still stays 100.
But..
If we’re speaking about Sandforce powered drives, there’s one thing you should know. Different SSDs with different firmware does have a tendency to perform differently. I have a Force GS with Firmware 1.5 where TRIM doesn’t work, and I am waiting for the newer firmware. The performance degrade is horrible in that drive during TRIM tests. That’s why you see a lot of people are favouring more towards Samsung 830 series SSD and Crucial M4.
This flash NAND is something I’ve tested with in other drives with Sandforce Controllers, so most likely the garbage collection maybe is aggressive. To give you a good idea, when I run Anvil Endurance, I end up running it for 1 1/2 days atleast. A degrade to 64 is 17 hours (lets be honest, 17 hours most likely is used to do single pass benchmark+ OS installation most likely) and SSD Life left is hitting 64 out 100?
I hope the previous user did not defragment the drive to reduce the lifespan of the SSD- that is also another possibility. There’s no other explanation I can think of. For those who do not know- don’t defrag your SSD! When you do that, you reduce the lifespan of your SSD significantly. But I would have confirmed it if I had another unused drive and give it a usual runs of stress testing and benchmark to confirm it. For now, this is where is stands.
Also, this controller needs to be more flexible in giving out more information via S.M.A.R.T.
This drive does have a potential, maybe the SSD is a lemon, maybe not. But it does have higher IOPS and Much appreciated 4K Random with higher threads- especially in Write. In any case, you’re getting a 5 year warranty in this drive. Its very hard to sum up when a drive’s lifespan is not complete.
You’re getting Force GT and Crucial M4 with 120/128GB for the same price, but I tested Force GT with 1.3 firmware back then- if it comes with 1.5, it may have that TRIM issue as I faced in Force GS.
