ADATA SX8000 M.2 512 GB SSD Review - Introduction

ADATA XPG  SX80000 M.2. NVMe SSD Tested 

In this article we review the ADATA SX8000np M.2 512 GB NVMe SSD. This PCIe Gen 3 based M2 MLC NAND based SSD has been fitted with a simple heatsink and comes in a nice all dark PCB. Will it manage to impress?

As you guys all now, M2 SSDs are interesting stuff, these smaller form factors storage units are evolving from being "just as fast" as a regular SSD towards double, tripling, heck... even quadrupling that performance. It comes in a different package, M.2. The M.2 interface is so much more capable as it can deal with way more bandwidth using PCI-Express lanes. As such, M.2 solutions are intended for enthusiast class motherboards. 

This series of M.2 SSDs are a breathtaking series of storage technology as they offer enthusiast class performance yet remain reasonable in pricing depending on NAND type. We already spotted our tested 512 GB version for roughly 256 EURO, which would mean 50 cents per GB. Keep in mind you are looking at an MLC NAND written product with @ 2,500MB/s and 1,100MB/s reads and writes respectively. These M.2 units use the NVMe protocol and that means storage technology at truly fast speeds while remaining competitive in pricing. And ADATA gives a proper 5 year warrenty on these units.

The SMI SM2260 controller based unit uses Micron Vertically stacked NAND. The performance numbers a good SATA3 SSD offers these days are simply excellent, but with NVMe you can triple maybe even quadruple performance, which offers serious numbers. When it comes to random I/O, they should be able to do 150K read IOPS. Random write figures are 140K IOPS for the 240 GB Cardea Jr. and 150K IOPS for the 512 GB drive. At just one-tenth the weight of a traditional 2.5-inch SSD, the M.2 SSDs are ideal for users looking to upgrade their desktop or ultra-thin PCs with high-capacity, high-performance storage. You do need a modern motherboard with capable NVMe supported M.2 (PCIe 3.0 x4 connected) interface though, please do check out your motherboard manufacturer for that. But ever since Z97/Z170/Z270/B350/X370 chipsets have been released, the mainstream to high-end class motherboards mostly all support it very well.

Yeah, have a look at the photo below, and then let's head on-wards into this review.

ADATA XPG SX80000 M.2. with SMI SM2260 controller and MLC written Micron NAND Flash