Comprehensive Test of Chinese NVMe SSD Drives

TLDRWe conducted a comprehensive test of popular Chinese NVMe SSD drives, analyzing their performance, heat generation, and SLC caching capabilities. Despite the low prices, these drives showed decent performance and no thermal throttling. However, the absence of a DRAM buffer affects their sustained writing speeds. Overall, they provide good value for budget-conscious users.

Key insights

🔍Chinese NVMe SSD drives offer good value for money with decent performance and no thermal throttling.

💰Low prices of Chinese NVMe SSD drives are due to the use of cheap or obsolete controllers and memory chips.

🌡️Despite the absence of thermal throttling, some drives exhibited high temperatures, which can be mitigated with inexpensive heat sinks.

📊SLC caching enables high-speed data writing in the initial stages, but sustained writing speeds are impacted due to the lack of a DRAM buffer.

⭐MSI NVMe SSD drive showed the best overall performance and had a working thermal sensor.

Q&A

Why are Chinese NVMe SSD drives so cheap?

—Chinese NVMe SSD drives are cheap due to the use of cheap or obsolete controllers and memory chips.

Do Chinese NVMe SSD drives suffer from thermal throttling?

—No, the tested drives did not exhibit thermal throttling. However, some drives showed high temperatures, which can be mitigated with inexpensive heat sinks.

What is SLC caching?

—SLC caching is a feature that allows NVMe SSD drives to write data at high speeds in the initial stages by storing it in faster Single-Level Cell (SLC) memory cells. However, sustained writing speeds are affected once the SLC cache is full.

Which Chinese NVMe SSD drive performed the best?

—The MSI NVMe SSD drive showed the best overall performance and had a working thermal sensor.

Are Chinese NVMe SSD drives suitable for budget-conscious users?

—Yes, Chinese NVMe SSD drives offer good value for money with decent performance and no thermal throttling. They are a viable option for budget-conscious users.

Timestamped Summary

00:00In this video, we conducted a comprehensive test of popular Chinese NVMe SSD drives.

08:00The performance results from CrystalDiskMark showed variations among the tested drives, with the MSI NVMe SSD drive performing the best.

11:58We explored the trade-offs of SLC caching, which enables high-speed data writing in the initial stages but impacts sustained writing speeds.

16:40The absence of a DRAM buffer in the tested drives affected their sustained writing speeds.

22:15We analyzed the heat generation of the drives and discussed the importance of inexpensive heat sinks in mitigating high temperatures.

26:05Overall, Chinese NVMe SSD drives offer good value for budget-conscious users, despite the use of cheap or obsolete components.

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