Internals, Testing Methodology and System Setup
Internals
Yes, I know, these aren't 'internals' pictures, but hey, the drive is basically bare here. The controller is a Silicon Motion SM2262, which is their newest and highest performing offering to date. The flash is IMFT 64-layer 3D TLC sourced from Micron. The ADATA flash branding suggests that ADATA is buying the media 'raw' and wrapping it up themselves. This is a cost-saving effort that we've seen other SSD makers employ in the past.
Due to the high per-die capacity of IMFT 64-layer flash, the SM2262 can't maintain the 8-channel performance advantage at the smallest 240GB capacity of this product (as evidenced by the falloff noted in the specs).
Testing Methodology
Our tests are a mix of synthetic and real-world benchmarks. IOMeter, HDTach, HDTune, Yapt and our custom File Copy test round out the selection to cover just about all bases. We have developed a custom test suite as off-the-shelf tests just no longer cut it for in-depth storage testing. More details on the next page. If you have any questions about our tests just drop into the Storage Forum and we'll help you out!
Test System Setup
We have several storage testbeds. A newer ASUS P8Z77-V Pro/Thunderbolt and a Gigabyte Z170X SOC Force (for RAID testing). Future PCIe and SATA device testing, including this review, take place on an ASUS Sabertooth X99, which comes equipped with USB 3.1, M.2, and can also handle SFF-8639 (U.2) devices with the proper adapter.
PC Perspective would like to thank Intel, ASUS, Gigabyte, Corsair, Kingston, and EVGA for supplying some of the components of our test rigs.
| Hard Drive Test System Setup | |
| CPU | Intel Core i7 5820K @ 4.125 GHz |
| Motherboard | ASUS Sabertooth X99 |
| Memory | 16GB Micron DDR4 @ 3333 |
| Hard Drive | G.Skill 32GB SLC SSD |
| Sound Card | N/A |
| Video Card | EVGA GeForce GTX 750 |
| Video Drivers | GeForce Game Ready Driver 347.88 |
| Power Supply | Corsair CMPSU-650TX |
| DirectX Version | N/A |
| Operating System | Windows 8.1 Pro X64 (update) |
PCPer File Copy TestHDTachHDTuneIOMeterYAPT- PCPer Custom SSD TEST SUITE!!!
not sure why this got an
not sure why this got an award? i would rather get the WD 512gb for $9 more. im not a fan of the Samsung hype either.
The WD is running the same
The WD is running the same price as the equivalent Samsung, which both run $30 higher than this was at the time of posting. Be sure to check Newegg prices since it seems to run lower there for the ADATA products.
Please review the ex920!
Please review the ex920!
Very good review. Like
Very good review. Like always.
At that cost, would be an impressive cache drive for a NAS behind a 10Gbit Nic. Will definitely keep this on top of the list for next build. (unless WD or Samsung respond by dropping their prices)