Toshiba Q Series Pro SSD Review (256GB) – Toshiba Pushes The SSD Price Bar Even Lower

CRYSTAL DISK BENCHMARK VER. 3.0 X64

Crystal Disk Benchmark is used to measure read and write performance through sampling of highly compressible data (oFill/1Fill), or random data which is, for the most part, incompressible. Performance is virtually identical, regardless of data sample so we have included only that using random data samples:

Considering the benchmark in use, we might like to have seen slightly higher write performance, especially since the same test on the M.2 client version of this SSD yielded an amazing 109MB/s in 4K random write transfer speeds.

AS SSD BENCHMARK VER 1.6

Up until recently, AS SSD was the only benchmark created specifically for SSD testing and it uses incompressible data.  AS SSD, for the most part, gives us the ‘worst case scenario’ in SSD transfer speeds because of its use of incompressible data and many enthusiasts like to AS SSD for their needs. Transfer speeds are displayed on the left with IOPS results on the right.

A Total Score of over 1000 points is ideal for any notebook SSD.  Although not listed in specifications, 4K read IOPS of 93064 is also very good.  We tried to push this to over the 100K mark with custom testing without luck.

A quick look at the AS SSD Copy Benchmark also shows some of the strongest transfer speeds and times we have seen in awhile for similar form factor SSDs. Coincidentally, this Total Score, IOPS and Copy benchmark results exceeded that of the client versions.

ANVIL STORAGE UTILITIES PROFESSIONAL (BETA)

You may not see this for long (and it’s definitely not common) but you get a freebee simply for reading! Over the last little while, we have been assisting with beta testing new benchmark software called Anvil Storage Utilities which is an absolutely amazing SSD benchmarking utility. Not only does it have a preset SSD benchmark, but also, it has included such things as endurance testing and threaded I/O read, write and mixed tests, all of which are very simple to understand and use in our benchmark testing.

PCMARK VANTAGE X64 HDD SUITE

The SSD Review uses benchmark software called PCMark Vantage x64 HDD Suite to create testing scenarios that might be used in the typical user experience. There are eight tests in all and the tests performed record the speed of data movement in MB/s to which they are then given a numerical score after all of the tests are complete. The simulations are as follows:

• Windows Defender In Use
• Streaming Data from storage in games such as Alan Wake which allows for massive worlds and riveting non-stop action
• Importing digital photos into Windows Photo Gallery
• Starting the Vista Operating System
• Home Video editing with Movie Maker which can be very time consuming
• Media Center which can handle video recording, time shifting and streaming from Windows media center to an extender such as XBox
• Cataloging a music library
• Starting applications

TOSHIBA Q SERIES PRO PCMARK VANTAGE RESULTS

The Q Series Pro pulled through PCMark Vantage testing with a Total Point Score of 66285 points and a high transfer speed of 400MB/s, while testing in Windows Media Center.  These aren’t, by any means, our strongest scores to date, and are actually significantly lower than both similar Toshiba client SSDs that had achieved 70000 points and higher.

Considering that the Q Series Pro had stronger AS SSD performance, this is a great example of why we don’t stick to one specific benchmark in our testing.   Due to the size that our Hierarchy Chart has grown to, it simply cannot accommodate scoring below 70K at this point.