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TSSDR TEST BENCH AND PROTOCOL
SSD testing at TSSDR differs slightly, depending on whether we are looking at consumer or enterprise SSDs. For consumer SSDs, our goal is to test in a system that has been optimized with our SSD Optimization Guide. To see the best performance possible the CPU C states have been disabled, C1E support has been disabled, Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology (EIST) has been disabled. Benchmarks for consumer testing are also benchmarks with a fresh drive so, not only can we verify that manufacturer specifications are in line but also, so the consumer can replicate our tests to confirm that they have an SSD that is top-notch. We even provide links to most of the benchmarks used in the report.
SYSTEM COMPONENTS
This Test Bench build was the result of some great relationships and purchase; our appreciation goes to those who jumped in specifically to help the cause. Key contributors to this build are our friends at ASRock for the motherboard and CPU and be quiet! for the PSU and cooling fans. Also, a big thank you to Thermaltake for the case and Kingston for the RAM. We have detailed all components in the table below and they are all linked should you wish to make a duplicate of our system as so many seem to do, or check out the price of any single component. As always, we appreciate your support in any purchase through our links!
| PC CHASSIS: | Thermaltake Urban T81 |
| MOTHERBOARD: | ASRock Z97 Extreme6 |
| CPU: | Intel Core i5-4670K |
| CPU COOLER: | Thermaltake Water 3.0 Ultimate |
| POWER SUPPLY: | be quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 850W |
| SYSTEM COOLING: | be quiet! Silent Wings 2 |
| GRAPHICS CARD: | MSI GTX 660 Ti PE OC |
| MEMORY: | Kingston HyperX Beast 2400Mhz |
| STORAGE: | Samsung 850 Pro |
BENCHMARK SOFTWARE
The software we will be using for today’s analysis is typical of many of our reviews and consists of ATTO Disk Benchmark, Crystal Disk Info, Crystal Disk Mark, AS SSD, Anvil’s Storage Utilities, PCMark 8, and PCMark Vantage. We prefer to test with easily accessible software that the consumer can obtain, and in many cases, we even provide links. Our selection of software allows each to build on the last and to provide validation to results already obtained.
Crystal Disk Info is a great tool for displaying the characteristics and health of storage devices. It displays everything from temperatures, to the number of hours the device has been powered, and even to the extent of informing you of the firmware of the device.
In Crystal Disk Info we can verify DevSleep is indeed a feature. We can also see that there are working read and write counters as well as a working temperature sensor. The firmware revision on this drive is 5.8.2.
ATTO Disk Benchmark is perhaps one of the oldest benchmarks going and is definitely the main staple for manufacturer performance specifications. ATTO uses RAW or compressible data and, for our benchmarks, we use a set length of 256mb and test both the read and write performance of various transfer sizes ranging from 0.5 to 8192kb. Manufacturers prefer this method of testing as it deals with raw (compressible) data rather than random (includes incompressible data) which, although more realistic, results in lower performance results.
In our first test we had no doubts about the drive performing well. In ATTO we see a max read speed of 557MB/s and a max write speed of 532MB/s. Advertised speeds were reached with no problem.
Would be best if this article started off by clearly stating if this is PCI-e or mSATA M.2. This is a big issue with the M.2 form factor – lack of clarity.
There is no such things as mSATA M.2. I am going to guess you meant SATA however, which is exactly the same as 6Gbps which is listed right after M.2 in the title. I might suggest lack of understanding rather than lack of clarity. 6Gbps is understood as SATA 3 since thats what it has always been. Thanks for taking the time.
From Wiki: “M.2, formerly known as the Next Generation Form Factor (NGFF), is a specification for internally mounted computer expansion cards and associated connectors. It replaces the mSATA standard, which uses the PCI Express Mini Card physical layout. M.2’s more flexible physical specification that allows different module widths and lengths, together with more advanced features, makes the M.2 more suitable for solid-state storage applications in general, especially when used in small devices like ultrabooks or tablets”
Does the 2242 have the same performance as the 2280? A lot of ultrabooks now only can fit 2242 slots but there is not a lot of choices or good reviews of the few choices in that size.
It depends on the combination of controller, memory and even DRAM cache. As the 2242 can accommodate less physical memory pieces, this could play a role in the end performance of the SSD.
Well specifically I meant the 2242
ADATA Premier Pro SP900 M.2. I think the review could use a blurb at the end. Like this model also comes in 42mm but the performance is about xx % less than the 80mm we reviewed.
I was thinking of buying it but cannot find any comparisons between it and the mydigitalssd models. Or even separate performance benchmarks I could compare on my own. Seems to be a real gap in information with the new thinkpads and many other models only fitting 42mm m.2s
My reply didn’t state that there was a performance difference, but rather, there may be and the reasoning for such. We can only comment on what we test and, having not compared both, could not make such a comment on our report. Thanks for the concern and we will see what we can do about getting the other in for testing.