GoodRAM IRDM M.2 1TB PCI Express SSD Review
Source: Geeknetic added 28th Dec 2020
Introduction to the characteristics of the GoodRAM IRDM M.2 SSD
M.2 drives are already the cornerstone of any modern computer, in any format, both for laptops, where this format was undoubtedly an important improvement, to modern compact systems such as the Nuc or any desktop computer worth its salt, all motherboards on the market currently mount one of these connectors to install quality storage on the motherboard itself.
This format, especially the one we see in newer units of 80 mm long and 28 mm wide, it is the one that has spread the most in the domestic market and little little by little the most economical option has been made to find reasonable capacities at reasonable prices as we will see and n our review of the GoodRAM IRDM M.2 of 1TB capacity .
PCI Express 3.0 Drive with NVMe
The GoodRAM IRDM M.2 is not an exceptionally modern unit, it uses a consolidated controller and PCI Express 3.0 connectivity that we can find in computers for several generations, it is not the most modern, without a doubt, but it is a combination that is still very solvent and that also translates into a more affordable entry price and usually also lower consumptions and more accessible working temperatures.
These units offer us links PCI Express 3.0 up to 4x which translates to bandwidths of up to 32 Gbps (8GT / s) with actual speeds up to 3000 – 3500 MBps of trans speed Sustained difference in reading and very similar also in writing.
This type of units also take advantage of the NVMe protocol, which has been used for a long time in professional solutions, ranging from the reduction notable latencies in reading and writing as well as the possibility of using multicore controllers that can work with data input and output operations in parallel. They are the foundation on which all modern high-performance units have been built, including also this unit that we are testing today.
The construction of control units capable of this computing in parallel with configurations of high capacity SSD memory in multiple layers and channels is what makes up the foundation of these high speed and performance drives.
The GoodRAM IRDM M.2 uses NVMe version 1.3c which is a revision of the standard that was released in August of 2018. It is a minor revision, and it is not the most recent since the 1.4 standard was released in June of last year, although nowadays there are no domestic units that support it. s) which translates to more than 3000 MBps of actual bandwidth. On SATA drives
3D TLC memories and format
The GoodRAM IRDM M.2 is a completely conventional unit with the standard format that we expect for laptops and desktops, although we can currently find more compact formats, it is rare that we go them to be needed in more or less conventional format laptops or desktops. In fact, other formats such as 2280, or the 22110, are practically in disuse, leaving only the intermediate lengths of 64 and 80 mm, like this unit , as the really accessible formats.
GoodRAM has integrated one of the most reliable controllers that we can find with this interface, it is specifically a Phison E 12 (5012-AND12) , the predecessor of the PCI Express 4.0 controllers of this same designer integrated, and used in some of the best units on the market with this same interface.
It is a controller dated 2018, which began to be integrated into units of high performance that same year, before PCI Express 4.0 was a reality in AMD’s Ryzen systems and used in conjunction with Toshiba TLC memory from 450 Gb in 80 layers achieving the expected yields of 3200 MBps of read bandwidth and up to 3000 MBps in writing . It is a classic in this format, a classic for the better because it has formed some of the most solvent units on the market.
It has everything we expect from a good modern drive, including 1GB of DDR4 memory, 2GB on the 2TB model of capacity, with which we can enjoy excellent writing performance. This memory is used to speed up the recording of the cell writing structure and does not depend on the support by the operating system.
This controller includes the second generation of the Phison CoXprocessor , the third generation of the LDPC unit and a second generation signal processor. At the time it was the best of the best developed through a process of 28 nm. Supported up to 8 channels of Flash memory and up to 32 Chip Enables (CE) . This is what makes it possible to offer capabilities with this controller, without too much loss of speed, with only 256 GB capacity, although it shines in the densest configurations of 1 and 2TB capacity.
Technical specifications of the GoodRAM IRDM M. 2 of 1TB
GoodRAM takes advantage of the wide versatility of the Phison E 22 to offer powerful performance units for this interface at affordable prices. You also have the option of offering varied capacities between 256 and the 2TB of capacity. In fact, it is a unit that requires less cell pre-allocation, which allows you to enjoy a higher real capacity.
In 1TB units, like this one, we usually have 938 GB once the unit is formatted, in this we reach the 953 GB allowing to still have a certain capacity to place damaged cells as they appear and replacing them with cells in good condition. Models up to 600 GB use 512 MB of DRAM, 1TB 1GB and 2TB increases to 2GB of DRAM memory.
In terms of performance, the 1TB and 2TB models They are the ones that maintain the performance in the appropriate and expected way for this controller, this is due to the use of parallel channels, which are the ones that allow to develop all the performance of the controller. In short, we can enjoy linear speeds of up to 3200 MBps read, 2280 Write MBps with processing powers up to 250 k IOPs in reading and up to 500 k IOPs in writing.
The larger memory configuration also allows this unit to offer up to 600 TBW of durability, 600 TB of average writing before failure, which are also the ones that mark the guarantee of the unit. GoodRAM offers us two warranty limits, or 5 years, or this writing limit, from then on the unit will be out of support.
The disadvantage, in my opinion view, is that this unit requires double-sided to develop its full potential. This means that the 1 and 2TB capacity units place Flash memory chips on both sides of the unit and that limits the possibility of installing it in certain compact systems, mainly portable.
GoodRAM also adds a small aluminum heatsink on the main side, where almost all the memory and the controller are installed, leaving on the other side uncovered, but with less thermal load since fewer memory chips and DRAM memory are placed there. This flat aluminum heatsink does not prevent us from using other larger thermal solutions on top and in fact serves as an equalized contact base for these types of solutions.
It has a M.2 Socket 3 format with dimensions 2280 and a PCI Express 3.0 interface with 4x that generates up to 8GTs which is more than enough for the performance of the unit and that increases the compatibility because it makes it compatible with sockets of type M and B.
Its consumption is 4.9w in the 1-2TB model, 4.2w in the model of 500 GB, drops to just 5mW in the deepest idle states. It is fed, like all this type of unit, through the 3.3v rail. Supports working temperatures up to 80 degrees, much higher than the temperatures that we have detected during our tests.
To manage the unit we can use the application GoodRAM Optimum that will allow us to know the performance of the unit, update firmware, know the useful life that the unit has left and of course know if it has any problem in its operation so that we can anticipate and not lose data. It even has a utility to move data from our old drive to the new one if we are looking to migrate to a larger, faster drive or both.
Technical characteristics of the GoodRAM IRDM 1TB
Random write (maximum , IOPS), 4 KB QD 32 T8: 510.
GoodRAM IRDM M.2 1TB temperatures
Idle temperature
Load temperature, without heatsink
High-end performance, on PCI Express 3.0
Not the first unit we tested with this type of controller, we have already tested other units based on this controller and memories, such as the Corsair MP 512 with 1TB of capacity, which is one of my favorite drives of all time and that I still use daily in some of our test benches, or the Gigabyte Aorus RGB that we tested in a slower setting of 600 GB capacity.
TO Sequential Read tto
Atto Sequential Write
AS-SSD Sequential Read
AS-SSD Sequential Write
Crystal DM Sequential Read
Crystal DM Sequential Write
IOMeter QD 32 Read (KIOPs)
IOMeter QD 32 Write (KIOPs)
Anvil Storage Pro 1.0 read x 10
Anvil Storage Pro 1.0 Write x 10
A classic, for the good
We are not going to fool ourselves, currently there are PCI Express 4.0 units much faster than this, in fact, GoodRAM itself, has released one of these units together with the one we are analyzing today, but our experience in the past with this controller, and our new experience with this unit, confirms that this controller is d e the best thing we can find with this interface, which produces fast and quality units and which is undoubtedly an economical solution now.
In our tests we see what is expected, without surprises about what we already knew, and that is not bad at all, it reminds us that you can still enjoy cheap units with a PCI Express 3.0 interface with adequate capacities, expected consumption and a very long guarantee with very adequate prices.
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