Conclusion, Pricing, and Final Thoughts

Conclusion:

PROS:

  • High performing Barefoot 3 M00 controller launched at a competitive MSRP

CONS:

  • Limited write speeds and maximum IOPS in the 128GB model
  • Performance gain over competing products may not be worth the added cost/GB

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Pricing and Availability:

Introductory MSRP's for the Radeon R7 SSD are as follows:

  • 120GB – $100 ($0.83/GB)
  • 240GB – $164 ($0.68/GB)
  • 480GB – $299 ($0.62/GB)

While these launch prices are nearly identical to the Angelbird SSD wrk that launched earlier this week, the 240GB and 120GB models of the R7 would likely outperform the equivalent capacities of the wrk. We did ding the wrk a bit on relatively high cost/GB, especially at lower capacities. The same applies here, especially when you consider that OCZ's ARC 100 is significantly cheaper, available in the same capacities, and performs within only a few percentage points of the R7 in most tests.

Warranty:

The AMD Radeon R7 ships with a 4-year warranty, rated at 30GB per day of host writes.

Final Thoughts:

The AMD Radeon R7 SSD marks AMD's first venture into the Solid State Drive market. Partnering with OCZ for production means the R7 borrows many of the components from OCZ's lineup. The Barefoot 3 M00 controller comes from the Vertex 150, Toshiba A19nm flash comes from the ARC 100, and the warranty and GB/day write rating is slightly higher than the Vertex 460. Since all four Barefoot 3 equipped SSDs turn in very similar performance, AMD loyalists might have a hard time paying a 20-25% premium over the ARC 100, which is itself riding higher than competing drives from Samsung and Crucial – both of which routinely sell for $0.40/GB. That said, it is good to see AMD further rounding out their branding lineup, and we are hopeful that future price reductions and/or bundling can make the Radeon R7 SSD a true competitor in the flash storage landscape.

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