Review: AMD Radeon R7 Series SSD

#4896251 Posted on: 08/19/2014 07:29 AM

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And I like the cover sticker as well

#4896253 Posted on: 08/19/2014 07:41 AM

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Thanks for the review, Hilbert.

This SSD looks really great. While it's not the cheapest one around, it doesn't cost as much as Sandisk Extreme Pro.

#4896323 Posted on: 08/19/2014 11:57 AM

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Not bad.

However, I have a question: Are you ever going to test the actual Toshiba SSDs? You know, the Q Series PRO? I'd like to know how do they compare to these now as well.

#4896328 Posted on: 08/19/2014 12:06 PM

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Seems like a good drive.
Question: samsung evo drives shows bad results in degradation test, but Samsung magician (software that came with them) has an "performance optimization" option that can be run manually. Does this improve the results on that test or real life use?

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Notes:
1- there is an error in hardware used: "8 GB (4x 4096 MB) DDR3 2133 MHZ"
2. Sorry for my english, my native language is spanish.

#4896387 Posted on: 08/19/2014 03:06 PM

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Seems like a good drive.
Question: samsung evo drives shows bad results in degradation test, but Samsung magician (software that came with them) has an "performance optimization" option that can be run manually. Does this improve the results on that test or real life use?

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Notes:
1- there is an error in hardware used: "8 GB (4x 4096 MB) DDR3 2133 MHZ"
2. Sorry for my english, my native language is spanish.

With the recommended over-provision on my Samsung 840 EVO 1TB, and RAPID Mode enabled I get the following when I bench from multiple programs.



RAPID Mode actually uses your spare system memory to help speed up the drive.

Minimum requirement for RAPID mode is 2GB recommended 4GB free, I would recommend at the minimum an 8GB machine, 16GB is perfect.

So the faster the memory, and better the bandwidth, the more of a boost you will get from RAPID mode.

Over provisioning increases lifespan and also performance, thus the crazy increase in Random Read/Write (IOPS).

I ran the CrystalDisk benchmark last, which is probably why it has the higher numbers for reads/writes.

#4896428 Posted on: 08/19/2014 04:28 PM

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I wouldn't recommended any one any thing made by OCZ past history ever again and as for AMD SDD well they just shot them self in foot now that I know this by picking one of worse manufacturer of all time and Toshiba was dumb enough for acquisition them that going fellow them around for min years to come and if I was you smart way to go with Corsair, Samsung or SanDisk.

#4896489 Posted on: 08/19/2014 07:03 PM

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I'd add Transcend to that list, they aren't bad, and have decent software.

#4896550 Posted on: 08/19/2014 10:00 PM

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With the recommended over-provision on my Samsung 840 EVO 1TB, and RAPID Mode enabled I get the following when I bench from multiple programs.



RAPID Mode actually uses your spare system memory to help speed up the drive.

Minimum requirement for RAPID mode is 2GB recommended 4GB free, I would recommend at the minimum an 8GB machine, 16GB is perfect.

So the faster the memory, and better the bandwidth, the more of a boost you will get from RAPID mode.

Over provisioning increases lifespan and also performance, thus the crazy increase in Random Read/Write (IOPS).

I ran the CrystalDisk benchmark last, which is probably why it has the higher numbers for reads/writes.
I believe you are benchmarking your system ram in rapid mode. Hence the bloated numbers. I don`t really notice a difference having it enabled or disabled. I leave it disabled as it seems more like eye candy more than anything else. Read some article that said it hindered performance in some situations.

#4896819 Posted on: 08/20/2014 01:49 PM

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This is your statement even after an edit? That is quite the revealing statement.

#4897101 Posted on: 08/21/2014 12:30 AM

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I do, it's not bloat, makes a huge difference in long transfers. Burst not so much. Any file transfers are much faster.

And yes that was the point, he asked about samsung magician software, so I showed him the benefits.

That is also why I said this in my post with the benches at the top....

With the recommended over-provision on my Samsung 840 EVO 1TB, and RAPID Mode enabled I get the following when I bench from multiple programs.

#4897130 Posted on: 08/21/2014 02:57 AM

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It's his/her opinion.

I've used a few OCZ products in the past with acceptable results. Their RAM never impressed me but based on percentages, it's failure rate for me wasn't any worse than Kingston. I've never actually received a usable stick of Crucial RAM, but I've had no issues with my Crucial SSDs.

Everyone has a different experience with different brands and they form their opinions based on those experiences. At least that's how opinions SHOULD be formed. There are some that prefer the "mob mentality" for opinion development, but that makes no sense to any reasonable person and is generally caused by ignorance or a need to "fit in".

#4897167 Posted on: 08/21/2014 07:37 AM

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I really didn't want to say anything to your initial post as I feel strongle that everybody can voice their opinion. It didn't sit well with me, so I wanted to explain something to you. My comment however is based on your remark before you edited it.

Yes OCZ has had problems with up-to the Vertex 3 series mostly, Sandforce products had proven to not be reliable enough. The result have been RMA rates topped to 3% which is incredibly high.

Ever since OCZ has purchased Indilinx, the use of barefoot controllers not only give them great performance, but reliability increased towards incredible levels as well. What I am trying to say is that you can't keep throwing back old stuff like that, they moved away from the technology to harmed them and their end-users. I consider the new barefoot based SSDs paired with Toshiba NAND to be among the best in the business. VERY reliable, VERY fast.

I have a chart here for you that should interest you, and have a look at the current RMA rates with their Indilinx / Toshiba based products.



Now I am not evangelizing OCZ here, but some users attach the company because of a bad experience, and that is uncalled for as the latest return rates clearly indicate.

#4897213 Posted on: 08/21/2014 09:55 AM

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I do, it's not bloat, makes a huge difference in long transfers. Burst not so much. Any file transfers are much faster.

And yes that was the point, he asked about samsung magician software, so I showed him the benefits.

That is also why I said this in my post with the benches at the top....

With the recommended over-provision on my Samsung 840 EVO 1TB, and RAPID Mode enabled I get the following when I bench from multiple programs.
I also expressed my opinions and findings just like you did.

#4897258 Posted on: 08/21/2014 12:25 PM

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Is this drive comparable with the 512 GB Vertex 4? Tempted to RAID0 2 x 512 (480) GB SSDs when I build my X99 rig

#4897259 Posted on: 08/21/2014 12:25 PM

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I've used a bunch of OCZ products in the past and never had a problem, some of which are fairly recent (Agility 3 SSD's and a OCZ ZS 550W PSU). Both of the products I've used recently have been fantastic, and both reviewed well. Toshiba is a fantastic company, and I'm glad to see them going forward with OCZ into the future. There's a lot of people that tend to get a proverbial stick up their backsides regarding certain tech' companies, often over a small number of issues. The fact is, if you look at ANY company you will find problems at some point. They all go through them, nobody is infallible.

I'll end with saying that my next SSD will most likely be a Indilinx/Toshiba/OCZ drive, which in turn means it'll probably have an AMD label slapped on it. This of course depends on the price to a point, but the prices I've seen so far seem to be well in line with what I would expect to pay for a product like this.

PS: Thanks for the review Hilbert!