TRIM Performance:
While SSD's offer many benefits, there are some downsides to using flash memory. One of the biggest issues people run into is performance degradation. Over time, an SSD will run out of fresh blocks and will have to write over data the file system has marked as deleted. This procedure is very complicated and can slow an SSD's write speeds considerably.
To fix this problem, most manufacturers have added TRIM support to their SSDs. The TRIM command allows an operating system, such as Windows 7, to tell an SSD which data blocks are no longer in use. Using this information, the drive pro-actively erases these blocks and adds them to the free block pool.
To test the SX8200 Pro's TRIM and garbage collection functions, I first put the drive in a "dirty" state. I used Iometer to fill 80% of the drive and then ran a random write test for 30 minutes. This had little impact on the SX8200 Pro's read speed. However, its average writing speed dropped to 183.91 MB/s.
ADATA SX8200 Pro - Dirty
To see how well the SX8200 Pro could recover, I let the computer sit for about 30 minutes and then reran the test. The drive wasn't able to reach the factory fresh performance shown in our earlier tests. However, its sequential write speed jumped up to 2015.53 MB/s.
ADATA SX8200 Pro - After TRIM
Lastly, I used Parted Magic to perform a secure erase on the SX8200 Pro. With the drive wiped clean, it had average read and write speeds of 3025.45 MB/s and 2035.94 MB/s, respectively.
ADATA SX8200 Pro - Secure Erased
Final Thoughts:
The ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro is an excellent choice for the gamer, enthusiast or overclocker looking for a fast, yet affordable, NVMe SSD for their notebook or desktop computer. This compact, M.2 form factor SSD is powered by Silicon Motion's SM2262EN controller and is available with up to 1TB of Micron's 64-layer 3D TLC NAND flash. Combine this with an ultra-fast PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe 1.3 interface and you have a drive that is capable of outpacing your average SATA 6Gb/s SSD by a considerable margin. The 512GB version of the SX8200 Pro flew through our sequential transfer rate tests, reading at speeds as high as 3,517 MB/s and writing at more than 2,259 MB/s. The drive also did fairly well in our random write tests, producing more than 144,000 IOPS at low queue depths.
Of course, fast read and write speeds aren't the only things the XPG SX8200 Pro has to offer. In addition to a large DRAM cache buffer, the drive uses an intelligent SLC caching to boost read and write performance. The SX8200 Pro also features advanced LDPC error correction technology, E2E Data Protection, and a RAID Engine to ensure data integrity and extend the lifespan of the SSD. To top it all off, the drive comes with a sleek black XPG heatsink and is backed by a 5 year warranty.
The XPG SX8200 Pro is available now in 256GB, 512GB and 1TB capacities. Prices on Amazon.com currently range from $59 up to $205, with the 512GB version reviewed here retailing for about $105.
Highs:
- Available in 256GB, 512GB and 1TB capacities
- PCIe 3.0 x4 interface with NVMe protocol
- Silicon Motion SM2262EN controller
- Equipped with Micron 64-layer 3D TLC NAND
- Good sequential and random read and write performance
- RAID Engine, E2E Data Protection and LDPC ECC technologies
- Small M.2 2280 form factor
- Intelligent SLC caching
- Large DRAM cache
- Includes heatsink
- Works with ADATA's SSD Toolbox software
- Reasonably priced
- 5 year warranty
Lows:
- Write speed drops considerably when SLC cache is full
- Does not support hardware based encryption
