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TSSDR X99 ASROCK EXTREME11 TEST BENCH
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 and 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.
This is a fairly new test bench and, as such, we would love to thank those who jumped in specifically to help the cause. Key contributors to this build are our friends at ASRock, Corsair, Kingston with components from past contributors to include In-Win, EVGA, beQuiet, and QNIX. We have detailed all components in the table below and they are all linked should you wish to make a duplicate our system as so many seem to do, or check out the price of any soul component. As always, we appreciate your support in any purchase though our links!
SYSTEM COMPONENTS
This Test Bench build was the result of some great relationships and purchase; our appreciation goes to the below mentioned manufacturers for their support in our project. Our choice of components is very narrow, in that, we choose only what we believe to be among the best available and links are provided to each that will assist in hardware pricing and availability, should the reader be interested in purchase.
| PC CHASSIS: | InWin D-Frame Open Air Chassis |
| MOTHERBOARD: | ASRock X99 Extreme11 Socket LGA 2011-3 |
| CPU: | Intel Haswell-E I7-5930K 6-Core CPU |
| CPU COOLER: | Corsair Hydro Series H105 Extreme Water Cooled |
| POWER SUPPLY: | be quiet Dark Power Pro 10 1000W PSU |
| SYSTEM COOLING: | be quiet Silent Wings 2 PC Fans |
| GRAPHICS CARD: | EVGA GTX 770 Superclocked with ACX Cooler |
| MEMORY: | Kingston HyperX Predator DDR4 |
| KEYBOARD: | Corsair Vengeance K95 Mechanical Gaming Keyboard |
| MOUSE: | Corsair Vengeance M95 MMO/RTS Laser Mouse |
| MONITOR: | QNIX 27inch QX2710 2560×1440 |
| SYSTEM SSD | Intel P3700 800GB NVME SSD |
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 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.
Crystal Disk Info is a great utility to identify SSD SMART attributes, as well as confirming the drive is TRIM compliant, and the amount of use the drive has seen. As we can see in this result, the drive we are using is brand new.
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.
Looking our ATTO Disk Benchmark performance, it is evident that (at least in testing with compressible data), the Patriot Ignite M.2 480GB SSD is right in line with published specifications. Something also very good to see in ATTO is the way the performance increases as file size in creases. In this case we see a steady read and write increase, with each improving on the result prior; this is the mark of a great build.
LES, from what I’ve gathered the M.2 SSD’s overheat a lot, as compared to traditional 2.5 inch or PCIe (slot) drives, & as a result throttle from time to time. Is that more like a norm now or are there exceptions, talking particularly about drives that are close to the SM951 in terms of performance, especially considering there’s very little data on this topic of temperature &/or thermal throttling of M.2 drives from reputable sites like yours?
Can I ask where you are hearing this info on overheating? We have yet to have any drives overheat or throttle in testing. We like to think the 17-24 testing where The drive is filled and TRIM is constrained for several hours might cause such…but it hasn’t. We run several M.2 drives on a continual basis in our systems without any heat considerations at all.
The difference between most PCIe and the notebook drives is they require a mechanism to get the heat to the exterior of the package to dissipate, whereas, the M.2 does not. Imagine running a race car without a hood.
Mostly on forums like AT, TPU, Toms et al. This is just for desktops btw, & most of’em were overclocked setups, so anecdotal or hearsay at best.
I’d like to think in a non open bench system this would be more of a problem, since I don’t own any M.2 SSD myself I’ll just have to rely on word of mouth from fellow board members but there certainly have been complaints of overheating from many of them. As for thermal throttling IIRC only the latest models, like 850 EVO & some of the others, have this mechanism incorporated that actually throttles the drive under severe conditions viz high temperature.
So to sum it up I’m just curious to know whether the extremely SFF & controller are responsible for this overheating/throttling phenomena or are the drives absorbing excess heat from the mobo &/or the CPU, GPU with the results varying greatly, depending on the individuals’ setup also their case airflow?
HELLO , looking for this form SSD with more than 500 GB any words awhere to get those
Many people are – they do not exist (yet). My guess is that first designs are around six month away. Samsung said that they intend to make higher capacities (no details, just vague between the lines suggestion). BTW, Les was asked this a few times, but never commented, thus he also does not know who/when, etc.