Heatsink Performance:
While faster than their SATA-based SSDs, PCIe drives like the FALCON tend to generate more heat. In fact, if your computer doesn't have enough airflow or a large video card covering your M.2 slots, they can get quite hot. To prevent themselves from overheating, most SSDs have implemented a mechanism called thermal throttling which automatically reduces a drive's performance when it reaches a certain temperature.
If you're someone looking to get the most out of your SSD, this is something that you don't want to happen so companies like ADATA have begun to include an optional, stick-on heatsink with many of their PCIe SSDs. In the case of the FALCON, its aluminum alloy heatsink comes pre-installed.
The FALCON's heatsink did a great job of keeping it cool. At idle, temperatures hovered around 35 ºC. During our tests, the drive's temperature ranged between 50 ºC and 60 ºC and even hit 70 ºC at one point with no sign of thermal throttling.
Final Thoughts:
The ADATA FALCON is an excellent choice for the creative professional looking for a fast, yet affordable, PCIe SSD for their notebook or desktop computer. This heatsink-equipped, M.2 form factor SSD is powered by Realtek's RTS5762DL controller and is available with up to 2TB of 3D TLC NAND flash. Combine this with a PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe 1.3 interface and you have a drive capable of delivering nearly six times the performance of your average SATA 6Gb/s SSD. In our sequential read and write tests, the 1TB version of the FALCON was able to read at speeds as high as 3,402 MB/s and write at speeds in excess of 1,629 MB/s. It also did relatively well in our random write tests, producing more than 154,000 IOPS at low queue depths.
Of course, fast read and write speeds aren't the only things the FALCON has to offer. In addition to a good looking, aluminum alloy heatsink, the drive features intelligent SLC caching, Host Memory Buffer (HMB) and advanced LDPC error correcting code technology. To top it all off, the FALCON supports AES 256-bit encryption and is backed by a 5 year warranty.
The FALCON is available now in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB capacities. Prices on Amazon.com currently range from $55 up to $240, with the 1TB version reviewed here retailing for about $130.
Highs:
- Available in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB capacities
- PCIe 3.0 x4 interface with NVMe protocol
- Realtek RTS5762DL controller
- Equipped with 3D TLC NAND
- Excellent sequential read speeds
- Good random read and write performance
- Small M.2 2280 form factor
- Intelligent SLC caching
- Advanced hardware LDPC ECC technology
- Host Memory Buffer (HMB)
- Aluminum alloy heatsink
- AES 256-bit encryption
- Works with ADATA's SSD Toolbox software
- Reasonably priced
- 5 year warranty
Lows:
- Write speed drops considerably when SLC cache is full
