TrendForce predicted that DRAM prices would rise 13-18% in the second quarter of 2021, DigiTimes reports, as suppliers maintain bit output despite steady demand.
The research firm claimed that PC DRAM buyers have enough inventory to last them four to five weeks, per the report, and that manufacturers are buying as much DRAM as they can now so they won’t have to purchase it at a higher price later in the year.
DRAM suppliers have reportedly maintained production levels in the face of this increasing (or at least consistent) demand from their customers. By now everyone can do the math: increased demand plus limited supply equals higher prices.
TrendForce reportedly said DRAM suppliers also have increased demand from the server market, where it predicted a 20% price increase in 2Q21. There’s increased demand from the smartphone market, too, but the server market gets priority.
DigiTimes reported that all of these factors could lead to price increases for 8GB DDR4 modules of 15% or more in the second quarter, per its industry sources.
TrendForce’s report is the latest indication that manufacturers will have to worry more about DRAM pricing as well as the broader chip shortage limiting the supply of CPUs, GPUs, and all the devices that rely upon them. (To say nothing of NAND woes.)
These estimates also seem to assume something akin to “business as usual,” but that has been increasingly hard to come by in the last year. COVID-19, earthquakes, droughts, and winter storms have all had serious effects on the industry recently.
Team Group is a well-known Taiwanese hardware manufacturer with a long history of catering to the needs of enthusiasts and gamers from all over the globe. Their lineup includes DRAM memory and solid-state drives, and they also offer various memory cards and USB thumb drives.
Today’s review covers the Team Group T-Force Cardea IOPS, which is powered by a Phison PS5012-E12S controller paired with 3D TLC NAND from Toshiba and DRAM from Kingston. PCI-Express 3.0 x4 is used as the host interface. The highlight of the Cardea IOPS is that it can operate in three cooling configurations: no heatsink (the default), a thin graphene heatspreader, or a large metal heatsink—the choice is yours.
The Team Group Cardea IOPS is only available in a 1 TB configuration with an endurance of 1665 TBW. Team Group provides a five-year warranty for the Cardea IOPS.
Specifications: Team Group T-Force Cardea IOPS 1 TB
Brand:
Team Group
Model:
TM8FPI001T0C322
Capacity:
1024 GB (953 GB usable) No additional overprovisioning
Any portable drive will let you store, backup, and transport files. But getting the best external hard drive or best portable SSD for your needs is important. An external hard drive or SSD is a do-it-all storage device. It’s a pocket-friendly gadget that lets you carry huge files (or lots of small ones) between PCs and Android devices, back up essential data, offload footage from your DSLR or drone while on the go and more.
But with dozens of models available, how do you know which is the right external drive to buy? And should you opt for a faster, more rugged (and more expensive) external SSD instead of a hard drive made up of fragile moving parts? To help you pick the best portable external drive for your needs, we thoroughly test and review key drives and publish our list of specific recommendations on this page.
If you’re headed back to school soon (whether virtually or in person), you may need a roomy external drive to tote around large files. You may already know how much you’re willing to spend on a storage drive and how much space you need. But there are still things to think about, like how rugged your drive needs to be or what connections will be available in places where you’ll want to use your drive.
If you’re curious about the kinds of speed and features that will be available with future external drives, check out our stories on USB 3.2 and Everything We Know So Far about USB 4.0.
When shopping for an external drive or SSD, consider the following:
Portable Hard Drive or SSD? Drives that have spinning storage platters inside are very affordable, with 1TB models often selling for under $50 (£40). But they’re also much slower and more fragile than solid-state drives. If you don’t need terabytes of storage and you often travel with your drive, a portable SSD is worth paying extra for. A portable SSD will also be much faster at reading and writing lots of data. But if you need cavernous amounts of external storage, a hard drive is a better option for most, as multi-terabyte external SSDs sell for several hundred dollars, but 4TB portable hard drives can sell for under $100 (£90).
Don’t Use a Portable Hard Drive as Your Only Backup. Portable hard drives are made up of spinning glass or metal platters, making them a poor choice as a primary backup of your data–especially if you carry them around. Portable SSDs are better here, but you should still keep your irreplacable data backed up on a desktop drive and / or on a cloud service. Because hardware failure is always possible, and portable drives are often small enough to lose or leave behind by accident.
Best External Hard Drives and Portable SSDs You Can Buy Today
Capacities: 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Drive Type: SSD | Transfer Protocol: USB 3.2 Gen 2 | Sequential Reads: 1,000 MBps | Warranty: 5 Years
Competitive and consistent performance
AES 256-bit Full Disk Encryption
Weather-resistant
5-year warranty
Short cable for desktop use
SanDisk’s Extreme v2 is one of the best portable 10 GBps SSDs for content creators on the go. Powered by a fast NVMe SSD and sporting a USB 3.2 Gen 2 bridge chip, SanDisk’s Extreme v2 packs twice the performance of its predecessor and offers increased security with hardware-accelerated full disk encryption.
Not only does it respond quickly when reading your media files or documents, but even when taxed with large write transfers, it is one of the fastest-writing portable USB 10Gbps SSDs for the price. The Extreme v2’s design is similar to the Extreme Pro v2, but it is smaller and lighter. That said, the Extreme v2 lacks the rigid aluminum construction and power indicator light we see with the more expensive model. However, the Extreme v2 is fairly priced, IP55 water and dust resistant, available in capacities up to 4TB, and comes backed by a 5-year warranty.
Read: SanDisk Extreme v2 Portable SSD Review
WD My Passport (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
2. WD My Passport
The Best External Hard Drive
Capacities: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 5TB | Drive Type: HDD | Transfer Protocol: USB 3.2 Gen1 (USB 3.0) | Sequential Reads: 120MBps | Warranty: 3 Years
Competitively priced
AES 256-bit hardware encryption
Solid software suite
3-year warranty
Dated Micro USB connection
Slides around on your desk
If you’re on the hunt for a new external hard drive, WD’s My Passport is an excellent choice. With a solid track record, password protection, and capacities of up to 5TB, it’s prepared to store a lot — if not all — of your data and keep it safe.
As street prices have started to fall, it;s become a better value than ever. It looks good and comes backed by a plentiful 3-year warranty. To top things off, it boasts top-notch AES 256-bit hardware encryption password protection to keep your content secure from prying eyes.
Read: WD My Passport 5TB Review
For those looking to spend a little less on an portable hard drive, who also don’t need 5TB of storage, should also consider Seagate’s Backup Plus Ultra, which features a good software suite AES 256-bit encryption, and USB-A and USB-C support via an adapter.
SanDisk Extreme Pro v2 Portable SSD (Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
3. SanDisk Extreme Pro v2
Best Professional-grade Portable USB 20 Gbps SSD
Capacities: 1TB, 2TB, 4TB | Drive Type: SSD | Transfer Protocols: USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 | Sequential Reads: 2,000 MBps | Warranty: 5 Years
Hardware-based AES 256-bit encryption and password protection
Responsive USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 performance
Weather-resistant rugged design
5-year warranty
Short cables for desktop use
Expensive
Built for the professional market and priced as such, SanDisk’s Extreme Pro v2 has a durable, secure design. When paired with the latest systems that fully support its USB 20 Gbps connection, it delivers very fast file transfer speeds that rival the Thunderbolt 3-based competition. The Extreme Pro v2 houses WD’s SN730E, a PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 NVMe SSD, and an ASMedia ASM2364 USB Gen 2×2 bridge chip.
All of this is protected by a rigid aluminum chassis that’s covered in an impact-absorbing silicone. The drive is even IP55 water and dust resistant. Not only is it fast and well-designed, but it is also secure, coming with AES 256-bit full-disk encryption and password protection for those who need to keep their data locked away from prying eyes.
Read:SanDisk Extreme Pro v2 Portable SSD Review
LaCie Rugged RAID Pro
4. LaCie Rugged RAID Pro
The Best Rugged Portable Hard Drive
Capacities: RAID0 | Drive Type: HDD | Transfer Protocols: Thunderbolt 3 , USB 3.1 Gen 1 | Sequential Reads: Depends on configuration | Warranty: 3 Years
Solid sequential performance
Rugged Build
Data recovery service free within the warranty period
Easy-to-use and effective software suite
Uses wall power for systems without TB3 / USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C
Expensive
While it is on the pricey side, LaCie’s Rugged RAID Pro isn’t too overpriced considering its market placement and the peace of mind of data redundancy. LaCie includes one month of all Adobe apps for free, a $79.49 (£61) value. More importantly, the drive comes with three years of free data recovery protection. That service can (at times) cost thousands of dollars.
If you are a creative professional in the market for an external HDD, be sure to check this drive out. There aren’t many competitors: Most other HDD solutions are much larger, and flash-based SSDs don’t yet offer similarly-priced capacity, nor the same value-adds. The LaCie Rugged RAID Pro 4TB has a unique blend of features and accessories that make it easy to use and quite the versatile travel companion.
Read: Lacie Rugged RAID Pro Review
Samsung T7 Touch(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
5. Samsung T7 Touch
Most Conveniently Secure Portable SSD
Capacities: 500GB, 1TB, 2TB | Drive Type: SSD | Transfer Protocol: USB 3.2 Gen 2 | Sequential Reads: 1,050 MBps | Warranty: 3 Years
AES 256-bit hardware encryption
Built-in fingerprint scanner
Attractive aesthetics
Available in capacities up to 2TB
18-inch USB-A and USB-C cables
3-year warranty
Small write cache
Samsung’s T7 Touch is an innovative portable SSD that blends USB 3.2 Gen 2 performance with convenient AES 256-bit hardware security that’s unlocked by the touch of your fingertip. The built-in fingerprint scanner is the most convenient way to unlock your data that we’ve seen yet. The design is elegant and to a higher standard than your ordinary run-of-the-mill portable drive. The aluminum construction is solid, and various color options are available to suit your unique taste.
Driven by an OEM variant of a Samsung 970 EVO and an Alpine Ridge Thunderbolt 3-to-PCIe bridge, Samsung’s X5 is the fastest Thunderbolt 3 portable SSD we’ve tested. Not only will it help speed up your workflow, but it also comes with an additional layer of AES 256-bit hardware-based encryption and password protection for those who need to meet compliance requirements. The three-year warranty is lacking for the professional crowd, and we wish the company offered more color options like those found with the company’s T5 and T7 portable SSDs.
Best High-Capacity/Budget Thunderbolt 3 External SSD
Capacities: 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, 4TB, 8TB | Drive Type: SSD | Transfer Protocol: Thunderbolt 3; USB 3.2 | Sequential Reads: 2,700MBps | Warranty: 5 Years (if registered)
Highest-capacity TB3 portable SSD
USB and Thunderbolt 3 compatibility
Slow write speed after write cache fills
Lacks AES hardware encryption or IP rating
With QLC NAND, Sabrent’s Rocket XTRM-Q aims to undercut most of its TLC-based competition while still delivering the storage goods. Not only does it come in high capacities, but the Rocket XRTM-Q is also very fast, performing well on both Thunderbolt 3 and USB hosts.
The Rocket XTRM-Q is an excellent pick if you plan on using it with a multitude of devices and across platforms. At lower capacities, it’s surprisingly affordable, undercutting most other TB3 drives. And if you are in the market for something as high in density as Sabrent’s Rocket XTRM-Q, we must say that without much competition at the moment this is the drive for you.
While it is expensive at 8TB and the QLC NAND flash can be slow at times, competitive pricing, fast performance, and attractive, durable design prop Sabrent’s Rocket XTRM-Q up as one of the best portable SSDs available.
Also note that, if you have a spare drive, you can easily make your own portable drive. Dozens of 2.5-inch drive enclosures can be found online for between $10-$25 (£15-25) that will let you drop in an old drive easily, and turn it into an external hard drive or SSD.
And if you have an M.2 drive that you’ve swapped out of a laptop or upgraded away from in your desktop, we’ve recently looked at NVMe enclosures from MyDigitalSSD and Pluggable. If you have a SATA-based M.2 drive that you’d like to turn into a portable drive, Silverstone’s MS09 enclosure lets you do just that. And if you’re keen on building your own speedy external SSD but don’t have a drive handy to use, the recent WD Blue SN550 is a good candidate for that task. It’s only available in capacities up to 1TB, but it’s plenty speedy for external storage, and the more spacious model is already selling for as little as $115 at various online outlets.
Just make sure you get an enclosure that matches your drive, be that SATA or NVMe. And also keep in mind that DIY external drives usually aren’t sealed, so they’re not as likely to stand up to dust and dampness as well as external SSDs and portable hard drives that are designed to do so.
SanDisk’s Extreme v2 packs double the performance of the original and ups the security with hardware-accelerated full disk encryption. This, along with a durable design and five-year warranty, makes the Extreme v2 one of the best 10 GBps NVMe portable SSD for content creators on the go.
For
Competitive and consistent performance
AES 256-bit Full Disk Encryption
Weather-resistant
Durable, grippy finish
5-year warranty
Against
No power indicator
Short cable for desktop use
Features and Specifications
Leveraging a USB 3.2 Gen 2 interface, WD’s Blue SN550E SSD, and a now-iconic design, SanDisk’s Extreme v2 is a great performing portable SSD that’s built secure and to endure the elements. Reasonably priced, it compares well in today’s market and is easy to recommend.
With an already award-winning and durable design, SanDisk’s focus for the Extreme v2 was to improve on what works, rather than start from scratch. Most of the changes in the v2 are internal rather than external. The company kept the old shell, scaling it up a little to account for faster NVMe-supporting hardware, and upping the performance from 5 Gbps to 10 Gbps to enable rapid data backups or reading when on the move.
SanDisk also upgraded the security significantly. No longer will you have to await the slow transfer speeds associated with the company’s old 128-bit software encryption. The AES 256-bit hardware-accelerated encryption support enables simple to use password security, making the SSD a good fit for those who carry sensitive data around with them.
Specifications
Product
Extreme v2 500GB
Extreme v2 1TB
Extreme v2 2TB
Extreme v2 4TB
Pricing
$94.99
$159.99
$309.99
$699.99
Capacity (User / Raw)
500GB / 512GB
1000GB / 1024GB
2000GB / 2048GB
2000GB / 2048GB
Interface / Protocol
USB-C / USB 3.2 Gen 2
USB-C / USB 3.2 Gen 2
USB-C / USB 3.2 Gen 2
USB-C / USB 3.2 Gen 2
Included
USB Type-C cable and USB Type-A adapter
USB Type-C cable and USB Type-A adapter
USB Type-C cable and USB Type-A adapter
USB Type-C cable and USB Type-A adapter
Sequential Read
1,050 MBps
1,050 MBps
1,050 MBps
1,050 MBps
Sequential Write
1,000 MBps
1,000 MBps
1,000 MBps
1,000 MBps
Interface Controller
ASMedia ASM2362
ASMedia ASM2362
ASMedia ASM2362
ASMedia ASM2362
NAND Controller
WD Architecture
WD Architecture
WD Architecture
WD Architecture
DRAM
DRAMless
DRAMless
DRAMless
DRAMless
Storage Media
WD 96L TLC
WD 96L TLC
WD 96L TLC
WD 96L TLC
Default File System
exFAT
exFAT
exFAT
exFAT
Endurance
“IP55 water-dust resistant; 2-meter drop protection”
“IP55 water-dust resistant; 2-meter drop protection”
“IP55 water-dust resistant; 2-meter drop protection”
“IP55 water-dust resistant; 2-meter drop protection”
Security
AES 256-bit hardware encryption
AES 256-bit hardware encryption
AES 256-bit hardware encryption
AES 256-bit hardware encryption
Dimensions (L x W x H)
101 x 52 x 9 mm
101 x 52 x 9 mm
101 x 52 x 9 mm
101 x 52 x 9 mm
Weight
63 g
63 g
63 g
63 g
Part Number
SDSSDE61-500G-G25
SDSSDE61-1T00-G25
SDSSDE61-2T00-G25
SDSSDE61-4T00-G25
Warranty
5-Years
5-Years
5-Years
5-Years
SanDisk’s Extreme v2 comes in capacities of 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB, with prices ranging from $0.15-$0.19 per GB. Rated for up to 1,050/1,000 MBps read/write, the SanDisk Extreme v2 can deliver some very responsive performance, but these are peak figures. Due to a small static SLC cache, the Extreme v2 will degrade to direct-to-TLC speeds quickly. The smallest capacity will suffer the most. However, while not bus saturating, sustained performance will remain reasonable with the 1TB and 2TB models.
SanDisk’s Extreme v2 comes with an IP55 rating, AES 256-bit hardware encryption support, and a long warranty to ease concerns when traveling with your storage. The Extreme v2 has been tested to withstand water flow at a rate of 30kPa for three minutes, and dust contact does not interfere with operation. On top of this, SanDisk backs the Extreme v2 with a longer five-year warranty over its predecessor’s three-year warranty.
Software and Accessories
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The Extreme v2 comes with a short 6-inch USB Type-C cable and a 1-inch long Type-C to Type-A adapter. It also comes with encryption management software to quickly set up a password to secure your data.
A Closer Look
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SanDisk’s Extreme v2 is a bit bigger than the original, measuring 101 x 52 x 9 mm and weighing in at under 63 grams. With a carabiner loop integrated and a durable silicone coating, the Extreme v2 features a functional, portable, and enduring design for those on the move in tough conditions. But unlike the Extreme Pro, the Extreme v2’s case and internal structure is made of plastic rather than rigid aluminum. This makes for a small and compact design that is also pretty light, but a little less resistant to twists and bending.
The company opted for an ASMedia ASM2362 USB 3.2 Gen 2 to PCIe 3.0 x2 bridge chip in the design, similar to the company’s WD My Passport SSD. Integration of a near full-length strip of thermal tape between the WD Blue SN550E drive and the front cover aids in maintaining cool operation. Both the SSD and the ASMedia ASM2362 support active-state power management and therefore will scale down power consumption when at idle and help reduce overall heat. It also supports thermal throttling, prioritizing data integrity over performance in high-temperature conditions.
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WD’s Blue SN550E is the company’s external-optimized SN550 Blue variant. It leverages a 4-channel DRAMless NVMe 1.3-compliant SSD controller with a multi-gear Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC) ECC. While this SSD lacks DRAM for caching the FTL mapping table, it leverages internal SRAM to help optimize metadata updates. The SSD’s hardware also supports Trim when formatted via a supported file system such as NTFS, helping aid performance consistency over the device’s lifespan.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
The controller interfaces with sixteen dies of WD’s BiCS4 96L TLC flash. This NAND measures 512Gb in density and features a 2-plane architecture, half the plane count of most of Micron’s 96L TLC, and operates at speeds of up to 800 MTps. While it features half the plane count of the competition, WD implements advanced algorithms to optimize both SLC and direct-to-TLC performance.
Although it’s a pricey drive, Corsair’s MP600 Pro is fast, secure, and keeps its cool with innovative cooling solutions.
For
+ Competitive performance
+ Innovative and functional thermal solutions
+ AES 256-bit encryption
+ 5-year warranty
Against
– Less endurance than the non-Pro model
– Smaller-than-expected SLC cache
– Slow-to-recover SLC cache
– Dated software support
– Costly
Features and Specifications
Powered by Phison’s new PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD controller and Micron’s 96-Layer TLC flash, Corsair’s all-new MP600 Pro is the company’s fastest M.2 NVMe SSD yet. With sequential read/write throughput that stretches up to a blistering 7.1 / 6.5 GBps, the MP600 Pro offers nearly bus-saturating performance and looks brilliant with innovative custom heatsinks, making it a sure contender for our list of Best SSDs. Though the drive is pricey, Corsair offers not only a standard drive cooled with a heatsink but also a Hydro X Edition with a water block for those who want a truly water-cooled M.2 SSD.
Historically, Corsair’s SSDs have a solid design and rank well in both performance and value. Until now, the MP600 served as the company’s top dog, sporting a sleek design, AES 256-bit encryption, and packing top speeds of up to 5 / 4.4 GBps of sequential read/write throughput.
Now, over a year later and just in time for Intel’s Rocket Lake launch, the company has upgraded to faster hardware to create a Pro model for those who want even more speed. Corsair’s MP600 Pro improves upon its predecessor, trading out the Phison E16 controller for the new E18 and interfacing with a faster flash with a 1,200 MTps transfer rate. Those enhancements yield up to 660,000 / 800,000 random read/write IOPS.
Unlike Team Group’s form-over-function attempt at water-cooling an SSD, Corsair’s MP600 Pro Hydro X Edition is the first truly water-cooled M.2 NVMe SSD we’ve seen. With both a heatsink edition and the Hydro X Edition for integrating into your custom watercooled PC, both of the sleek and innovative designs ensure cool operation.
Specifications
Product
Force MP600 Pro 1TB
Force MP600 Pro 2TB
Force MP600 Pro Hydro X 2TB
Pricing
$224.99
$434.99
$259.99
Capacity (User / Raw)
1000GB / 1024GB
2000GB / 2048GB
2000GB / 2048GB
Form Factor
M.2 2280
M.2 2280
M.2 2280
Interface / Protocol
PCIe 4.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4
PCIe 4.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4
PCIe 4.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4
Controller
Phison PS5018-E18
Phison PS5018-E18
Phison PS5018-E18
DRAM
DDR4
DDR4
DDR4
Memory
Micron 96L TLC
Micron 96L TLC
Micron 96L TLC
Sequential Read
7,000 MBps
7,000 MBps
7,000 MBps
Sequential Write
5,500 MBps
6,550 MBps
6,550 MBps
Random Read
360,000 IOPS
660,000 IOPS
660,000 IOPS
Random Write
780,000 IOPS
800,000 IOPS
800,000 IOPS
Security
AES 256-bit encryption
AES 256-bit encryption
AES 256-bit encryption
Endurance (TBW)
700 TB
1,400 TB
1,400 TB
Part Number
CSSD-F1000GBMP600PRO
CSSD-F2000GBMP600PRO
CSSD-F2000GBMP600PROHXE
Warranty
5-Years
5-Years
5-Years
The MP600 Pro is available in capacities of 1TB and 2TB for $225 and $435, respectively. The Hydro X Edition only comes in a 2TB capacity with a slightly higher price tag of $460. Corsair rates the MP600 Pro to deliver speeds of up to 7,000 / 6,550 MBps in sequential read/write transfers and up to 660,000 / 800,000 random read/write IOPS under heavy load.
Corsair didn’t improve the MP600 Pro’s endurance ratings, though. In fact, instead of improving, the Pro has slightly lower endurance than the MP600. Corsair’s MP600 Pro comes backed by a five-year warranty and is rated to endure up to 700TB of written data per 1TB of drive capacity, while the original MP600 carries a much higher 1,800TB-per-1TB of capacity rating.
Corsair supports the MP600 Pro with an SSD Toolbox software, too, but the GUI is dated compared to some of the better SSD Toolbox software like Samsung’s Magician, WD’s SSD Dashboard, or Intel’s Memory and Storage Tool.
A Closer Look
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Corsair’s MP600 Pro is an M.2 2280 SSD, and our sample comes with a large extruded aluminum heatsink rather than the XM2 water block. The heatsink measures 24 x 14.5 x 70 mm and comes with plenty of fins to dissipate the SSD’s heat output, even in situations with little to no airflow. However, the fins are large enough that they could potentially block a GPU.
Unlike Adata’s XPG Gammix S70, you can remove the MP600 Pro from the heatsink, which is always a plus. But bear in mind, doing so may ruin the thermal pad between the heatsink and SSD, so you might have to do some patchwork or replace it with a new strip entirely if you plan to reinstall the heatsink later.
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Phison’s PS5018-E18, a fast eight-channel PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD controller, resides under the hood. This controller offers among the fastest write speeds we’ve seen, thanks to its DRAM cache that assures responsive access to the file mapping table. The controller also interfaces with a single 8Gb package of SK Hynix DDR4.
Furthermore, the controller incorporates three Cortex R5 cores clocked at 1GHz, and two lower-clocked Dual CoXProcessor 2.0 cores handle the host’s requests and the SSDs’ internal NAND management algorithms. The controller also supports APST, ASPM, and the L1.2 standby power state for efficiency, as well as thermal throttling to ensure cool operation. However, like the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus, the MP600 also comes with a low throttle temperature limit. Thermal throttling triggers if the temperature exceeds 68 degrees Celsius. This algorithm dynamically reduces performance by roughly 50 MBps for every 1 degree Celsius over that limit.
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The MP600 Pro’s controller interfaces with Micron’s 96-Layer 3D TLC flash at speeds of up to 1,200 MTps. The 1TB model uses four NAND packages, each containing four 512Gb dies, while the 2TB models use eight NAND packages with eight 512Gb dies apiece. This flash features a robust quad-plane architecture and many innovative design features, including CuA (Circuit under Array) and tile grouping for responsive random read access. However, it isn’t as cutting-edge as Micron’s 176-Layer flash that should hit the market soon.
On Monday executives at SK Hynix gave a keynote speech to the IEEE International Reliability Physics Symposium (IRPS) where they shared their vision about the company’s mid-term and long-term technological goals. SK Hynix believes it can continue increasing capacity of its 3D NAND chips by increasing the number of layers to over 600. Furthermore, the company is confident that it can scale DRAM technologies below 10nm with the help of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography. Ultimately, SK Hynix wants to converge memory and logic into one device to address emerging workloads.
“We are improving materials and design structures for technical evolution in each field of DRAM and NAND, and solving the reliability problems step by step,” said Seok-Hee Lee, CEO of SK Hynix. “If the platform is innovated successfully based on this, it is possible to achieve the DRAM process below 10nm and stack over 600 layers of NAND in the future.”
The Future of 3D NAND: 600-Layers and Counting
3D NAND has proven to be a very efficient architecture both in terms of performance and scalability, so SK Hynix will continue using it for years to come. Back in December, 2020, SK Hynix introduced its 176-layer ‘4D’ 3D NAND memory with a 1.60 Gbps interface. The company has already started sampling 512Gb 176-layer chips with makers of SSD controllers, so expect drives based on the new type of 3D NAND memory sometimes in 2022.
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Just a few years ago the company believed that it could scale 3D NAND to ~500 layers, but now it is confident that it can scale it even beyond 600 layers in the long-term future. By increasing the number of layers, SK Hynix (and other producers of 3D NAND) will have to keep making layers thinner, NAND cells smaller and introduce new dielectric materials to maintain uniform electric charges therefore preserving reliability. The company is already among the leaders in atomic layer deposition, so one of its next goals is to implement high aspect ratio (A/R) contact (HARC) etching technology. Also, for 600+ layers it will probably have to learn how to string stack more than one wafers.
SK Hynix did not even imply when the industry should expect 3D NAND devices with over 600 layers and what capacities will such incredible number of layers bring. With its 176-layer technology SK Hynix is looking at 1Tb products, so with 600 layers per-device capacities will get even more impressive.
The Future of DRAM: Below 10 nm with EUV
Just like Samsung Semiconductor and unlike Micron Technology, SK Hynix believes that adoption of EUV lithography is the most straightforward way to keep increasing performance of DRAM while also boosting capacity of memory chips and keeping their power consumption in check. With DDR5, the company will have to introduce memory devices with a capacity of over 16Gb and data transfer rates of up to 6400 GT/s (initially) that will be stacked together to build high-capacity DRAM chips.
(Image credit: SK Hynix)
Since future memory products will have to bring together high performance, high capacity, and limited power consumption, advanced manufacturing technologies will get even more important. To successfully implement EUV, SK Hynix is developing new materials and photoresists for stable EUV patterning and defect management. In addition, the company is looking at innovating the cell structure while maintaining its capacitance by using thinner dielectrics made of materials with high dielectric constant.
It is noteworthy that SK Hynix is now also looking at ways to reduce resistance “of the metal for interconnect”, which is an indicator that the sizes of DRAM transistors have gotten so small that their contacts are about to become a bottleneck. With EUV, transistors will shrink their sizes, gain performance, and reduce their power, so contact resistance will indeed become a bottleneck somewhere at 10nm or below. Producers of logic solved this issue in different ways: Intel decided to use cobalt instead of tungsten, whereas TSMC and Samsung Foundry switched to selective tungsten deposition process. SK Hynix did not elaborate about its way to fight contact resistance, but only said it was seeking “next-generation electrode and insulating materials and introducing new processes.” It remains to be seen what DRAM makers will use to lower contact resistance, but it is evident that memory makers have essentially the same issues as their logic peers.
Converging Processing and Memory
In addition to making DRAM faster and boosting its capacity, SK Hynix is looking forward to converging memory and processing. Nowadays leading-edge processors for supercomputers use high-bandwidth memory (HBM) that is connected to them using an interposer. SK Hynix calls this concept PNM (Processing Near Memory). SK Hynix asserts that the next step is PIM (Processing In Memory) with the processor and the memory existing within a single package, whereas ultimately the company is looking at CIM (Computing in Memory), where the CPU and the memory is integrated into a single die.
To a large degree, SK Hynix’s CIM concept resembles Samsung’s PIM (Processing in Memory) concept introduced this past February and set to become an industrial standard defined by JEDEC. Samsung’s HBM-PIM embeds 32 FP16-capable programmable computing units (PCUs) that run at 300 MHz into a 4Gb memory die. The PCUs can be controlled using conventional memory commands and execute some basic computations. Samsung claims that its HBM-PIM memory is already under trials in AI accelerators with leading AI solutions providers and indeed the technology makes a lot of sense for AI and other workloads that do not require high precision, but benefit from the number of simplistic cores that can be made using DRAM fabrication processes.
At this point it is unclear whether SK Hynix’s CIM will be implemented in accordance with the upcoming JEDEC standard proposed by Samsung, or SK Hynix will go with a proprietary technology. But at least the largest makers of DRAM in the world have similar vision about converged memory and logic devices.
(Image credit: SK Hynix)
Converging logic and memory makes a lot of sense for niche applications. Meanwhile, there are more common applications that that can benefit from tighter integration of memory, storage, and processing. To that end, SK Hynix is developing heterogeneous computing interconnect technology for tightly integrated packages containing processing IP, DRAM, NAND, micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), radio frequency identification (RFID), and various sensors. Again, the company did not provide many details here.
It is well known that Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Foundry dominate the market of contract chip production. They are the only companies to offer leading-edge process technologies and have the largest capacities. Meanwhile, TSMC and Samsung Foundry are on track to become the dominant manufacturers of advanced chips as nobody, including Intel, can match their capital expenditures.
TSMC: Big Can Only Get Bigger
Founded in 1987, TSMC was the world’s first pure play foundry that manufactured chips for others. In 34 years of its history, the company has grown from a small entity with one fab to a multi-billion corporation with five 300mm fabs, seven 20mm fabs, and one 150mm production facility. Having developed dozens of process technologies throughout its history and having installed vast production capacities, TSMC can offer services to almost any fabless chip designer with almost any requirements. At present, TSMC serves over 460 customers.
(Image credit: TSMC)
As the demand for leading-edge fabrication processes and volumes from its large customers (such as Apple, HiSilicon, Qualcomm, Nvidia, and AMD) have grown in recent years, TSMC intensified building of new GigaFabs — production facilities with a capacity of more than 100,000 300-mm wafer starts per month (WSPM). Each costs around $20 billion, and TSMC also increased its research and development (R&D) budgets. The strategy has paid off and today TSMC has not only left Intel and Samsung Foundry behind with its manufacturing technologies, but it also has more leading-edge capacity than other makers of semiconductors. This is largely because because it serves virtually all fabless designers that require advanced technologies.
This year the company decided to radically increase its capital expenditure (CapEx) spending to $25 billion ~ $28 billion, an increase of 45% ~ 62% year-over-year from $17.2 billion in 2020. IC Insights believes that TSMC will “begin what is likely to be a huge multi-year ramp of spending,” and expects the company to boost its CapEx budget in 2022 and 2023 once again.
Being the leading maker of semiconductors both in terms of volumes and in terms of technology leadership has its advantages. First, it’s easier to get the fab tools when you buy them in high volumes. Second, it’s easier to set up your own production and supply chain standards, something that is tremendously important in an industry that is all about standardization.
Samsung Foundry: Closing the Gap with TSMC, Widening the Gap with Intel?
Samsung Electronics has been the world’s largest maker of dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and NAND flash for quite a while and has been in the semiconductor business for decades. Furthermore, it has produced various chips for its own needs. The company started to offer foundry services in mid-2000s, as it realized that only the largest chipmakers will survive in the long term. Samsung Foundry has been trying to catch up with TSMC for years, and while the gap is closing, it is still not quite there yet.
(Image credit: Samsung)
Samsung Foundry’s largest customer is still its parent company Samsung, which strives to make the world’s best smartphones, televisions, PCs, displays and other electronics. To that end, SF’s design decisions at times resemble those of an integrated device manufacturer (IDM) that makes money on actual products rather than on manufacturing services.
Samsung realized early enough that demand for chips (all chips, including DRAM, 3D NAND, SoCs, etc.) will only grow, so its corporate semiconductor CapEx spending exceeded $10 billion for the first time in 2010. Having spent $93.2 billion on expanding production capacities over the 2017–2020 period, the company significantly closed the gap with TSMC from a capacity point of view.
Samsung Foundry is still about three times smaller than TSMC in terms of wafer starts per month (and also in terms of the number of nodes it offers), but the gap between the two has been closing. So far, Samsung has not unveiled its 2021 semiconductor CapEx budget, but analysts believe that it could spend at least as much as it spent last year — around $28.1 billion.
Cumulative CapEx of Samsung and TSMC will total approximately $55.5 billion this year, according to IC Insights. A significant part Samsung’s funds will of course be used to buy equipment for Samsung’s memory businesses, but these two companies will be able to influence development of fab production tools and supply chains.
Should Intel Worry?
Intel traditionally spends tens of billions of dollars on CapEx (it spent about $14.3 billion last year), so it will remain a leading maker of processors. Yet, its spending on fabs will be about half that of Samsung and TSMC this year. Furthermore, since Intel will not start production of chips using a node that relies on EUV, it will not have an immediate significant influence on development of the industry and supply chains.
(Image credit: Intel)
Historically, Intel had several competitive advantages that set it apart from all of its direct and indirect rivals:
Intel’s CPUs were the fastest in the industry.
Intel’s microarchitectures and CPU designs were scalable for all market segments.
Intel had enough power to ensure that its architectural innovations were supported by software makers.
Intel had the best process technologies, which could offset certain imperfections of its microarchitectures or design.
Intel could produce CPUs in volumes unachievable by any of its competitors.
Since Intel was the de facto leader of the semiconductor market both financially and technologically, it set standards for the rest of the industry, which further ensured its leadership position.
While Intel competed against most companies in the semiconductor industry, it could build alliances or partnerships that strengthened it (e.g., with Microsoft, Dell, HP, Apple, and ATI Technologies) and helped it to better compete.
Intel spent hundreds of millions of dollars on marketing and advertising, usually more than all of its rivals combined.
So far, Intel has lost at least three out of eight advantages. These days Intel’s CPUs are not the undisputed leaders, and in many cases competing products from AMD are unchallenged. While Intel’s 2nd generation and 3rd generation 10nm fabrication technologies are competitive against TSMC’s N7, the company’s nodes cannot offer the same transistor density as TSMC’s N5. Finally, Intel no longer spends as much as its rivals on fabs and no longer has technological leadership.
If/when AMD becomes TSMC’s second largest customer, it could ask its production partner to customize the nodes it uses in a bid to gain performance and/or lower power consumption. Meanwhile, we still know nothing about Intel’s outsourcing plans other than the fact that some of its products will be made at TSMC in 2022.
Intel remains a driving force behind many industry initiatives, and no technology can get widespread in the PC world without Intel’s support. Yet, there are no more Wintel-like initiatives and Intel is no longer an exclusive CPU supplier for companies like Apple.
Meanwhile, Intel has extremely capable x86 CPU architectures that offer higher single-thread performance when compared to those from AMD. Intel also produces more processors than any other maker, and it can supply its partners with volumes of chips not available from anyone else. Given Intel’s market share and volume leadership, virtually all of its initiatives are supported by the software industry. Furthermore, the company knows how to advertise its products and promote its brand.
In general, Intel has many things to worry about, as it no longer can compete against all of its rivals on all fronts successfully. Hopefully, the company’s new CEO will shed some light on the chip giant’s future plans next week in a live chat.
Could Countries Compete Against Dominant Makers of Semiconductors?
Now that TSMC and Samsung spend around $28 billion each on manufacturing facilities and billions on R&D, it is extremely hard for a commercial company to catch up with these chipmakers. Even Apple, with its massive earnings and cash reserves, is hardly willing to invest tens of billions on chip manufacturing. In the recent years, the governments of the EU, US, and China started to talk about local semiconductor production industries and expressed willingness to assist chipmakers.
(Image credit: TSMC)
IC Insights deems that it is close to impossible to catch up with TSMC and Samsung. Keeping in mind the two leading makers of semiconductors are way ahead of the industry both in terms of R&D and CapEx, analysts believe that “governments would need to spend at least $30 billion per year for a minimum of five years to have any reasonable chance of success.” The Chinese corporation SMIC has received a lot of help both from local authorities and Chinese government over the years, but the company is still about five years behind GlobalFoundries, Samsung Foundry, and TSMC.
Summary
Both TSMC and Samsung Foundry started to use EUV tools to produce chips using their leading-edge process technologies several years before Intel, so they have been gaining experience with new tools and supply chains for quite a while now.
Both TSMC and Samsung will invest two times more in their production facilities than Intel will in 2021. Arguably, Intel does not need to spend as much as TSMC and Samsung on CapEx since it only produces chips for itself, whereas its peers offer foundry services. Yet, previously Intel’s technological leadership was enabled by massive spending on fabs and R&D.
In theory, governments could stimulate development of the local semiconductor industry using direct help, tax breaks, and incentives. However, their total spending over the next five years would need to exceed $150 billion, and chances of success are not high.
The winter storm that savaged Texas in February might affect the tech industry for months to come. TrendForce said today it expects the shutdown of Samsung’s fab in Austin to contribute to a quarter-over-quarter increase in NAND flash pricing.
The research firm said that NAND flash pricing could rise 3-8% in the second quarter as supply of NAND flash controllers tightens. Samsung is a critical supplier of those controllers, which means delays to its fab’s re-opening will affect the entire industry.
The predictions follow a DigiTimes report claiming the disruption of controller supply could halt production of up to 75% of Samsung’s PCIe SSDs in March. Samsung’s plan is to resume NAND flash controller production in April and shipping in May.
TrendForce said that limited supply will be paired with higher-than-anticipated demand from notebook manufacturers scrambling to keep pace with the pandemic-induced rise in consumer interest. (And pandemic-caused production delays, too.)
(Image credit: TrendForce)
The research firm also said it expects both of those factors, along with “bids from Chinese telecom operators and increased IT equipment purchases from small and medium businesses globally” to help stabilize the enterprise SSD market in 2Q21.
These increases won’t offset the decline from 1Q21, when TrendForce put client and enterprise SSD pricing down 5-10% and 10-15%, and supply could level out soon. The firm predicted an up to 10% increase in NAND flash bit output next quarter.
But for now it seems the industry will have to wait with bated breath for Samsung to resume normal NAND flash controller production at its Texas factories. Until then, manufacturers are expected to stockpile however many SSDs they can get acquire.
Update: We’ve added responses from both Intel and Micron to the article below:Micron announced today that it is selling its 3D XPoint fab in Lehi, Utah, bringing an end to its production of the radical new memory technology that it developed with Intel. The company plans to sell the fab by the end of 2021 and exit the 3D XPoint business entirely.
Micron will cease all further development of 3D XPoint-based products due to lackluster demand that the company says has “insufficient market validation to justify the ongoing high levels of investments required to successfully commercialize 3D XPoint at scale.” The company recently divulged that it lost $400 million this year alone due to the lack of demand for 3D XPoint.
Intel and Micron developed the revolutionary 3D XPoint persistent memory, which melds the speed and endurance of DRAM with the persistence of data storage devices, in a secret joint effort that spanned a decade. The first formal announcement came in 2015.
Intel and Micron dissolved the joint development effort in 2018, with Micron buying out Intel’s share of the business for $1.5 billion. Intel continues to use 3D XPoint as the underlying storage medium for its Optane products but has long relied upon Micron for its supply of 3D XPoint. The two companies have a supply agreement that lasts until the end of the year.
Micron issued the following statement to Tom’s Hardware:
“Micron is committed to completing our obligations under the existing wafer supply agreement with Intel, which currently goes through the end of CY21, and Micron intends to retain all of its intellectual property associated with 3D XPoint.”
Intel also fabs its own 3D XPoint media in a New Mexico fab, but it’s unclear how much volume the company currently produces. While Intel is in the process of selling its own NAND flash and SSD businesses to SK hynix, it’s fully possible that it could be a potential suitor to purchase Micron’s Utah fab. Intel certainly has a vested interest in ensuring the supply of the memory because it is the key underlying technology in several of its differentiated data center offerings.
Intel responded to our queries on the matter, stating, “Micron’s announcement doesn’t change our strategy for Intel Optane or our ability to supply Intel Optane products to our customers.”
Intel’s own efforts to productize Optane, which uses the 3D XPoint media, have met with slow but steady uptake in the data center but fizzled in the consumer market. As such, Intel ceased production of all Optane devices for desktop PCs in January 2021. The company continues to develop both storage and persistent memory DIMMs for the enterprise markets. In fact, Intel recently unveiled its new Optane SSD P5800X for servers. This new device brings second-gen Optane to market for the first time, signaling that Intel remains committed to using the exotic memory for the enterprise market.
Micron announced several of its own storage devices based on 3D XPoint memory, like the QuantX and X100, but they never came to market, leaving Intel as the sole supplier of 3D XPoint-based products.
Micron says that it will shift its focus to developing memory products that support the Compute Express Link (CXL) standard, an open memory standard that ties together disparate pools of memory and compute. Micron says it “plans to apply the knowledge it has gained from the breakthroughs achieved through its 3D XPoint initiative, as well as related engineering expertise and resources, to new types of memory-centric products that target the memory-storage hierarchy.”
Shenzhen Longsys Electronics Co. Ltd, a Chinese NAND flash memory manufacturer, has demonstrated the power of its DDR5-6400 memory with one of Intel’s Alder Lake-S processors. The company’s results show that DDR5 will be an absolute delight for next-generation hardware.
Longsys currently has two DDR5-6400 memory modules in development. The 16GB variant follows a single-rank design, while the 32GB variant conforms to a dual-rank design. Both memory modules feature an eight-layer PCB, CAS Latency (CL) of 40, and a 1.1V DRAM voltage. Longsys’ offerings aren’t even the pinnacle of what DDR5 has to offer, though. DDR5 will eventually arrive with data rates up to DDR5-8400 and capacities that scale up to 128GB per module.
Longsys demonstrated the company’s DDR5-6400 (ES1) memory module in its 32GB version with a CL40. For comparison, JEDEC’s “A” specification for DDR4-6400 is rated for CL46.
There aren’t many processors that support DDR5 memory, and we haven’t heard anything conclusive from the AMD camp. Alder Lake is the closest processor on the horizon that will support DDR5. In fact, Longsys’ test platform is based on an Alder Lake-S chip with eight cores that operate with an 800 MHz base clock speed.
DDR5-6400 Benchmarks
It’s uncertain if Longsys compared its DDR5-6400 or DDR5-4800 memory module to one of the brand’s DDR4 memory modules. The company refers to DDR5-6400 in its results, but the BIOS screenshots show DDR5-4800. The data rate of the DDR4 memory is unknown as well. But judging by the CL22 value, the DDR4 memory module most likely conforms to the DDR4-3200 standard. In any event, we’ve reached out to Longsys for clarification.
Longsys DDR4 32GB C22
Longsys DDR5 32GB C40
Difference
AIDA64 Read
25,770
35,844
39%
AIDA64 Write
23,944
32,613
36%
AIDA64 Copy
25,849
28,833
12%
AIDA64 Latency
56.8
112.1
97%
Master Lu Benchmark
91,575
193,684
112%
According to Longsys’ provided RAM benchmarks, the DDR5 memory module outperformed the DDR4 memory module in AIDA64’s read, write and copy tests. The performance gains came down to 39%, 36%, and 12%, respectively. However, the DDR5 memory module did show a 97% higher latency than the DDR4 offering, though.
Longsys also shared the memory result for the Master Lu benchmark, which is a pretty popular benchmark in China. The DDR4 memory module scored 91,575 points, while the DDR5 memory module put up a score of 193,684 points. Synthetic benchmarks don’t tell the whole story, but the DDR5 memory module delivered up to 112% better performance in Master Lu.
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DDR5 (Image credit: Longsys)
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DDR5 (Image credit: Longsys)
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DDR5 (Image credit: Longsys)
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DDR5 (Image credit: Longsys)
Intel’s 12th Generation Alder Lake-S processors may debut in late 2021 or early 2022, therefore, it shouldn’t be long before consumers get a first taste of the type of performance that DDR5 can supply.
Samsung is being impacted by yet another supply shortage in the tech industry, this time related to its own SSD controllers. Samsung’s Texas factories, which are responsible for producing SSD controllers, have been idle since February due to power outages caused by severe weather conditions. The company still hasn’t resumed production at the facilities, and according to a report from DigiTimes, this will halt the production of Samsung’s PCIe SSD controllers until May.
This situation could be very detrimental to the company over the course of a few months. Samsung’s factories in Texas are responsible for producing most of Samsung’s SSD controllers worldwide. Sources tell DigiTimes that up to 75% of its PCIe SSD controller production will be affected this month, impacting the company’s products for high-end desktop PCs.
According to the report, the situation doesn’t end there—Samsung’s supply issues could spill out into the server and mainstream PC markets by April, as well.
Even though Samsung’s NAND flash is not built in Austin, every SSD needs a controller to function properly, so this shortage will directly affect Samsung’s ability to produce SSDs.
To counter this issue, many OEMs responsible for building PCs have already made arrangements to switch to competing storage solutions for the time being. Expect the DIY market to get hit as well. So if you’re eyeballing a Samsung SSD for a new build, like the Samsung 980 we reviewed earlier today, get your order in as soon as possible before prices skyrocket due to a supply/demand imbalance.
Fortunately, Samsung expects to restart its SSD controller production by April and resume shipping PCIe SSD controllers by May, so this shortage could only last a few months. However, as we’ve seen time and again, shortages can impact the market long after production equalizes, as empty supply chains can take quite a bit of time to resume normal operations.
If you aren’t looking for the best of the best like Samsung’s 980 Pro but still want solid performance for large files or graphics-heavy games at a more affordable price point, Samsung’s 980 is worth your consideration.
For
Competitive performance
Attractive design
AES 256-bit hardware encryption
Software package
980 Pro-like endurance and 5-year warranty
Against
Slow write speeds after the SLC cache fills
Features and Specifications
Samsung’s SSDs are widely regarded as among the most reliable and best-performing in the market, and today the company hopes to extend that reputation with the introduction of the 980 NVMe SSD. Samsung’s 980 is designed for everyday PC users and gamers, although with performance ratings six times that of a standard SATA SSD, it possibly appeals to lower-budget content creators, too.
Samsung’s 980 also stands out with much more affordable pricing than the 980 Pro and 970 Evo Plus, a benefit borne of its DRAMless design that the company claims makes it the highest-performing DRAMless SSD on the market. Powered by the company’s V6 V-NAND and an efficient DRAMless controller that first debuted in the Portable SSD T7 Touch, this mix of hardware promises fast PCIe Gen3 performance and respectable endurance ratings.
Specifications
Product
980 250GB
980 500GB
980 1TB
Pricing
$49.99
$69.99
$129.99
Capacity (User / Raw)
250GB / 256GB
500GB / 512GB
1000GB / 1024GB
Form Factor
M.2 2280
M.2 2280
M.2 2280
Interface / Protocol
PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4
PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4
PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4
Controller
Samsung Pablo
Samsung Pablo
Samsung Pablo
DRAM
DRAMless / HMB
DRAMless / HMB
DRAMless / HMB
Memory
Samsung 128L V-NAND TLC
Samsung 128L V-NAND TLC
Samsung 128L V-NAND TLC
Sequential Read
2,900 MBps
3,100 MBps
3,500 MBps
Sequential Write
1,300 MBps
2,600 MBps
3,000 MBps
Random Read (QD1)
17,000 IOPS
17,000 IOPS
17,000 IOPS
Random Write (QD1)
53,000 IOPS
54,000 IOPS
54,000 IOPS
Random Read
230,000 IOPS
400,000 IOPS
500,000 IOPS
Random Write
320,000 IOPS
470,000 IOPS
480,000 IOPS
Security
AES 256-bit encryption
AES 256-bit encryption
AES 256-bit encryption
Endurance (TBW)
150 TB
300 TB
600 TB
Part Number
MZ-V8V250BW
MZ-V8V500BW
MZ-V8V1T0BW
Warranty
5-Years
5-Years
5-Years
Samsung targets the 980 at lower price points with capacities that include 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB models. With prices of $50, $70, and $130, the 980 hits the market with affordable price points at each capacity. That stands in contrast to the rest of the company’s SSD families, many of which span from 2TB to 8TB and cost hundreds of dollars.
Samsung’s 980 comes with TurboWrite 2.0, meaning it features a massive SLC buffer that’s larger than the cache on the 970 Evo and 970 Evo Plus. This speedy buffer absorbs data at a faster rate before write speeds degrade as the workload spills into the native TLC flash. However, the 980’s TurboWrite 2.0 implementation is a bit different than the 980 Pro’s; instead of a hybrid arrangement with both static and dynamic TLC caches, the 980 comes with just a dynamic SLC. This enables more cache capacity for the 500GB and 1TB models than the 980 Pro, but due to the 980’s lower-end SSD controller, the SSD isn’t quite as fast when the cache is full.
970 Evo Plus – Intelligent TurboWrite 1.0
980 – Intelligent TurboWrite 2.0
Capacity
Default
Intelligent
Total
Intelligent / Total
250GB
4GB
9GB
13GB
45GB
500GB
4GB
18GB
22GB
122GB
1TB
6GB
36GB
42GB
160GB
Interfacing with the host over a PCIe 3.0 x4 link, the 980 NVMe SSD can up to 3.5/3 GBps of sequential read/write throughput and even sustain up to 500,000/480,000 random read/write IOPS at its highest capacity. But, while peak figures are eye-catchers, the real key to application performance lies in the QD1 random performance rating. Samsung rates the drive with up to 17,000/54,000 read/write IOPS at QD1, which promises responsive performance in everyday desktop PC workloads.
Like the 980 Pro and 970 Evo Plus, the new 980 comes factory over-provisioned by roughly 9% and is backed by a five-year warranty or up to the respective TBW rating, which varies based on the capacity of the drive (150 TB per 250GB). The 980 also boasts the same AES 256-bit Full Disk Encryption feature set that’s compliant with TCG/Opal v2.0 and Encrypted Drive (IEEE1667) standards.
Software and Accessories
Samsung’s Magician application is one of the best pieces of storage management software available, and it’s getting better with its next iteration. Magician 6.3 comes with the same capabilities as prior versions but also brings the debut of Full Power Mode support. Like the WD Black’s SSD Dashboard Game Mode, this feature allows the 980 to operate at peak performance by disabling the lower power states, thus reducing the latency associated with transitioning between power states. Unforunately Magician 6.3 isn’t available for today’s review, but Samsung says it will be available within the next few weeks. The company also provides additional software to quickly clone your old data to your new Samsung SSD.
A Closer Look
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
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(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Samsung’s 980 comes in an M.2 2280 single-sided form factor with a black PCB. To keep the SSD cool, Samsung incorporated a few thermal solutions into the design. The heat spreader label on the back of the drive improves thermal dissipation to help combat excess heat, and the Dynamic Thermal Guard technology invokes thermal throttling if needed. The 980 also supports Active State Power Management (ASPM), Autonomous Power State Transition (APST), and the L1.2 ultra-low power mode to regulate overall power consumption. The controller also comes with a nickel-coating that the company claims reduces its operating temperatures by five degrees Celsius.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Speaking of which, Samsung’s Pablo, an NVMe 1.4 compliant SSD controller, powers the 980. The company wasn’t too forthcoming with deeper details on the controller. We believe it to be a multi-core Arm architecture that may be manufactured using its 14nm process, especially since the 980 Pro was so proudly touted for being manufactured on the company’s 8nm process node.
The controller features half the NAND channels of the controllers that power the company’s 970 Evo Plus and 980 Pro, which, along with the lack of a memory controller, helps save on cost due to less complex logic. Naturally, that comes at the expense of performance. However, to mitigate these performance bottlenecks, the DRAMless architecture uses host memory buffer (HMB) tech that leverages the host system’s DRAM instead of an onboard DRAM chip to host the FTL mapping table.
This technology allows the controller to leverage a small portion of the host system’s DRAM memory by using the Direct Memory Access functionality that’s baked into the PCI-Express interface. The company programmed the SSD to use 64MB of system memory for the 980’s needs, which is similar to other HMB drives on the market.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
Each capacity of Samsung’s 980 NVMe SSD comes with a single NAND package containing up to sixteen 512Gb dies. Samsung’s V6 V-NAND TLC has a 2-plane architecture. While this is only half the number of planes compared to competing types of flash, Samsung says it has engineered the silicon to still provide speedy programming and read times. For further detailed reading, we covered this flash more extensively in our review of the Samsung 980 Pro.
While not the best looking M.2 NVMe SSD we’ve come across, Silicon Power’s UD70 is a responsive PCIe 3.0 SSD with an attractive price point.
For
Competitive performance
Single-sided form factor
AES 256-bit hardware encryption
5-year warranty
Against
Low endurance ratings
Slow write speed after write cache fills
Features and Specifications
Silicon Power’s UD70 oozes value and is a perfect option for tight-budgeted gamers and ordinary everyday office users. The UD70 comes with a potent combination of Phison’s E12S PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD controller and Micron’s latest QLC flash, making it quite similar to the Sabrent Rocket Q we reviewed last year.
The UD70 delivers solid performance for a PCIe 3.0 SSD, has an inexpensive price tag, and comes with hardware encryption support. But due to its rather weak sustained write performance, it’s not too appealing to the prosumer crowd.
Specifications
Product
UD70 500GB
UD70 1TB
UD70 2TB
Pricing
$76.50
$109.99
$195.99
Capacity (User / Raw)
500GB / 512GB
1000GB / 1024GB
2000GB / 2048GB
Form Factor
M.2 2280
M.2 2280
M.2 2280
Interface / Protocol
PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.3
PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.3
PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.3
Controller
Phison PS5012-E12S
Phison E12S
Phison E12S
DRAM
DDR3L
DDR3L
DDR3L
Memory
Micron 96L QLC
Micron 96L QLC
Micron 96L QLC
Sequential Read
3,400 MBps
3,400 MBps
3,400 MBps
Sequential Write
1,000 MBps
1,900 MBps
3,000 MBps
Read
95,000 IOPS
120,000 IOPS
250,000 IOPS
Write
250,000 IOPS
500,000 IOPS
650,000 IOPS
Security
AES 256-bit encryption
AES 256-bit encryption
AES 256-bit encryption
Endurance (TBW)
120 TB
260 TB
530 TB
Part Number
SP500GBP34UD7005
SP01KGBP34UD7005
SP02KGBP34UD7005
Warranty
5-Years
5-Years
5-Years
Silicon Power’s UD70 comes in capacities of 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB and is priced as low as $0.10 per GB. The 2TB model is rated for peak speeds of up to 3.4/3 GBps of sequential read/write throughput, while the 500GB and 1TB models write a little slower at up to 1.0 GBps and 1.9 GBps, respectively. The entire series is rated for up to 250,000/650,000 random read/write IOPS.
These peak performance ratings are measured within the SLC cache, though. The UD70 features a large dynamic SLC cache that spans one-quarter of its capacity, but the cache will shrink as you fill the drive, or grow as you free up space. As such, because the SSD comes armed with QLC flash, that sustained performance won’t last long after you begin filling the SSD with data.
The UD70 comes backed by a five-year warranty and supports standard data integrity mechanisms like end-to-end data protection, LDPC ECC, and RAID-like parity protection. These mechanisms help enable reasonable endurance ratings for a low-end device with QLC flash — our 2TB sample can absorb up to 530TB of writes within its warranty period. The drive also comes with optional support for hardware-accelerated AES 256-bit encryption, enabling responsive and secure data storage.
Software and Accessories
Silicon Power also includes access to the company’s SSD toolbox. While not as robust or polished as some of the bigger brands, SP Toolbox enables end-users to monitor the SSD’s SMART data and run diagnostic tests.
A Closer Look
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Silicon Power’s UD70 comes in a compact single-sided M.2 2280 form factor at all capacities, enabling broad compatibility. Like the US70, the UD70 isn’t the best-looking M.2 SSD we’ve come across. The blue PCB and red-themed sticker clash, and the compliance marks and barcodes detract from the aesthetic even more.
(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)
At the heart of the UD70 is a Phison PS5012-E12S PCIe 3.0 x4 8-channel NVMe 1.3 complaint SSD controller. The E12S utilizes dual Arm Cortex R5 CPUs clocked in at 666 MHz and leverages CoXProcessor 2.0 technology (dual coprocessors) to help maintain a consistent latency profile during write workloads.
The controller is built on a 12nm node and uses a smaller physical design than its predecessor, the original E12, downsizing from a 16×16 mm to a 12x12mm package, but retaining the same performance. This enables more flexible NAND placement to allow for up to four NAND emplacements on a single side of the PCB, while the original could only handle up to two.
The controller leverages active state power management (ASPM) and autonomous power state transition (ASPT). The company dubs these features a ‘dual self-cooling system,’ but this tech is found in most of the other NVMe SSDs on the market.
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The controller caches its FTL metadata with a single 4Gb Kingston DDR3L DRAM chip on our 2TB review sample. The controller interfaces with sixteen dies of Micron’s 1Tb N28A 96-layer QLC flash that operate at 666 MTps. Each die is split into four virtual planes, as Micron’s design leverages a tile-based architecture for both performance and reliability. Micron claims the floating gate architecture provides better data retention than most charge trap flash designs.
A number of European retailers have started to list Samsung’s yet-to-be-announced Samsung 980 (non-Pro) SSDs. Despite expectations, the new units are not inexpensive SSDs with a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface, but are rather unpretentious midrange PCIe 3.0 x4 drives that share some technologies with the flagship.
The Samsung 980 SSDs come in 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB versions. The drives are based on the company’s latest Pablo controller as well as 136-layer TLC V-NAND memory, just like the company’s top-of-the-range 980 Pro drives. The controller supports AES 256-bit encryption as well as TCG/Opal IEEE 1667 coding, so the new SSDs can be used for aimed at enterprises, government agencies and other entities that require advanced security. The new M.2-2280 SSDs do not use any DRAM cache and are therefore cheaper to produce than Samsung’s typical PCIe SSDs that usually come with a DRAM cache.
From sequential performance point of view, Samsung rates the new 980 drives for an up to 3,500 MB/s sequential read speed as well as an up to 3,000 MB/s sequential write speed. As for random performance, advanced versions of the Samsung 980 are claimed to be capable of up to 500,000 random reads (4KB, QD32) as well as up to 480,000 IOPS random writes (4KB, QD1).
(Image credit: Samsung)
Since the Samsung 980 SSDs feature a PCIe 3.0 x4 interface, unlike their 980 Pro counterparts, it is not surprising that the new drives are considerably slower when compared to the flagship products from Samsung (and other SSDs using a PCIe 4.0 x4 bus). What is surprising is that the new Samsung 980 SSDs are slower when compared to their predecessors, the Samsung 970 Evo Plus drives in such metrics as sequential write speed (3,000 MB/s vs. 3,300 MB/s), random read speed (500,000IOPS vs. 620,000 IOPS), and random write speed (480,000 IOPS vs. 560,000 IOPS).
Based on data from Geizhals.eu (via ComputerBase.de), Samsung’s 980 250GB drive costs €70, the 500GB version is priced at €90, and the 1TB model carries a €150 price tag. Meanwhile, Samsung’s 970 Evo Plus 250GB can be obtained for €54, the 500GB flavor is available for €74, whereas the 1TB version can be bought for €144.
Right now, Samsung’s 980 SSDs do not really look competitive with its direct predecessors at the given prices, but we’ll have to test them. But since the new drives are based on 136-layer TLC V-NAND and lack DRAM cache, it is possible that their manufacturing costs are lower than those of the 970 Evo, which will allow Samsung to lower prices of the 980 SSDs in the future.
European retailers intend to start sales of the Samsung 980 SSDs on March 30, 2021.
Team Group’s EX2 is a budget-oriented 2.5” SATA 6 Gbps SSD that’s responsive under light workloads, but it’s not worth the purchase when better SSDs are only a few dollars more.
For
Low-cost
Responsive performance within the cache and fast to recover
Against
Plastic casing
3-year warranty
Lacks hardware-based AES 256-bit encryption
Incredibly slow write speeds after cache fills
Team Group EX2 Features and Specifications
Team Group‘s EX2 is a low-cost SATA SSD composed of a mix of both new and old hardware that is fairly similar to the Crucial BX500. Combining both TLC flash and Silicon Motion’s somewhat dated DRAMless SM2258XT SSD controller, Team Group has created a low-cost SSD that delivers mixed signals. On the one hand, the BiCS4 96-layer TLC flash is typically more reliable than QLC, but on the other, the dated controller makes for inconsistent performance under mixed and write-heavy workloads.
Team Group’s EX2 wouldn’t be our first choice in upgrading our own systems, especially because its sustained write performance can tank to slower speeds than the Crucial BX500, and even HDDs. It’s not much cheaper than competitors, but if you’re pinching pennies and you are fine with the performance trade-offs, the EX2 may be worth your consideration if you don’t write a lot of data to your drive and you can snag it for a very low price.
Specifications
Product
EX2 512GB
EX2 1TB
EX2 2TB
Pricing
$53.99
$89.99
$ 189.99
Capacity (User / Raw)
500GB / 512GB
1000GB / 1024GB
2000GB / 2048GB
Form Factor
2.5″ SATA
2.5″ SATA
2.5″ SATA
Interface / Protocol
SATA 6 Gbps / AHCI
SATA 6 Gbps / AHCI
SATA 6 Gbps / AHCI
Controller
Silicon Motion SM2258XT
Silicon Motion SM2258XT
Silicon Motion SM2258XT
DRAM
DRAMless
DRAMless
DRAMless
Memory
SanDisk 96L TLC
SanDisk 96L TLC
SanDisk 96L TLC
Sequential Read
550 MBps
550 MBps
550 MBps
Sequential Write
520 MBps
520 MBps
520 MBps
Security
AES 256-bit encryption
AES 256-bit encryption
AES 256-bit encryption
Endurance (TBW)
400 TB
800 TB
1,600 TB
Part Number
T253E2512G0C101
T253E2001T0C101
T253E2002T0C101
Warranty
3-Years
3-Years
3-Years
The EX2 comes in three capacities of 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB, priced at roughly $0.0-$0.11 per gigabyte. Team Group rates the EX2 to hit sequential read and write speeds of up to 550/520 MBps, but unlike most SSDs, it lacks performance ratings for random workloads. Team Group’s EX2 is backed by a three-year warranty and comes with some solid endurance ratings, though.
The drive uses Silicon Motion’s proprietary NANDXtend ECC, which utilizes 1KB codeword LDPC and RAID, along with SRAM ECC and end-to-end data path protection to ensure data integrity. The EX2 is rated to endure up to 400TB of writes per 512GB of capacity within its warranty period, which is much higher than most of its QLC-based competitors.
A Closer Look
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A large sticker with a brushed metal-like finish covers the top of the Team Group EX2, and depending on your preference, the look may be a pro or a con. We prefer the more sophisticated look of Samsung’s SATA SSDs and the like more than the EX2. The EX2 comes in a 2.5” 7mm form factor and is mostly made of plastic to reduce cost. Internally, the PCB snaps into the casing and the casing snaps together without any need for screws.
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Team Group’s EX2 uses a Silicon Motion SM2258XT SATA 6 Gbps SSD controller to manage the flash. It’s an older SATA controller that’s based on a single 32-bit ARC CPU and it is produced on a low-power 40nm process node for cost-effectiveness.
The drive has a DRAMless architecture, too, meaning that instead of using a fast DRAM buffer space to update the FTL mapping table, the drive updates and retrieves LBA metadata on the much slower NAND. Unlike NVMe SSDs, SATA SSDs cannot harness Host Memory Buffer (HMB) to use the host system’s DRAM as a cache. The EX2 does support Trim and S.M.A.R.T. data reporting, though.
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This four-channel controller interfaces with four SanDisk BiCS4 96L TLC NAND packages, two on each side of the PCB. This flash operates at Toggle DDR3.0 speeds of up to 800 MTps in a dual-plane configuration (doubling performance over one plane) and sips power at 1.8V. Each package contains four 512Gb NAND dies, for a total of sixteen dies.
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