ADATA SX8200 Pro 1 TB

[Andalusian]

Thanks to @W1zzard review I bought a SX8200 960GB. Amazing drive. On the Z370-itx it actually performs a lot better than my 960Pro 1TB on the X99

The review was for the SX8200 "pro" model, while the none pro model is the last generation.

 

[Ruru]

This looks awesome! Lighning fast and not bad price at all.

 

[valentyn0]

I bought today the SX8200 PRO 512GB variant ( 3500/2300 R/W ) and i only paid the equivalent of $10 more than my old SX8200.

But here is the issue i have with this drive, in CrystalDiskMark my write speeds for seq Q32T1 is 700-1000 MB/s MAX, it should be over 2 GB/s, capping around 2.3 GB/s.

Anyone else has this problem ? (512GB variant ).

PS.
Firmware on the drive is R0906I ( A-data own SSD toolbox which you use to upgrade firmware and other stuff doesnt give you any option to upgrade, in reality it sends you to their website and nothing more).

 

[bug]

I bought today the SX8200 PRO 512GB variant ( 3500/2300 R/W ) and i only paid the equivalent of $10 more than my old SX8200.

But here is the issue i have with this drive, in CrystalDiskMark my write speeds for seq Q32T1 is 700-1000 MB/s MAX, it should be over 2 GB/s, capping around 2.3 GB/s.

Anyone else has this problem ? (512GB variant ).

PS.
Firmware on the drive is R0906I ( A-data own SSD toolbox which you use to upgrade firmware and other stuff doesnt give you any option to upgrade, in reality it sends you to their website and nothing more).

You'll never use 32 queues at home, don't worry about that test.
Also, is Q32T1 32 queues and 1 thread? Wth?

 

[Andalusian]

I bought today the SX8200 PRO 512GB variant ( 3500/2300 R/W ) and i only paid the equivalent of $10 more than my old SX8200.

But here is the issue i have with this drive, in CrystalDiskMark my write speeds for seq Q32T1 is 700-1000 MB/s MAX, it should be over 2 GB/s, capping around 2.3 GB/s.

Anyone else has this problem ? (512GB variant ).

PS.
Firmware on the drive is R0906I ( A-data own SSD toolbox which you use to upgrade firmware and other stuff doesnt give you any option to upgrade, in reality it sends you to their website and nothing more).

Do you have multiple nvme slots? Some are only 2 lanes or 4, with 4 being faster. Also, nvme performance is also bottlenecked by cpu performance and integrated cooling of the nvme drive.

 

[valentyn0]

Seq Q32T1 ( 32 queues and one thread as you say ) is the 1st test in Crystaldiskmark ( latest version 6.0.2) and if you look at any review on SSD's, that first test always comes up.

I do have multiple NVME slots (all are PCIEx4 lanes capable), and i currently have 2 occupied ( one runs at x2, since the NVME SSD only works at that speed < aka the A1000 from Kingston> and SX8200PRO ofc works at x4);
Temps are not an issue (under 40 degrees); and SX8200PRO has adequate cooling on it's own and i might say 200mm fans above it also. )
CPU is definitely not a bottleneck ( 8700K );

In 2 days if i dont figure out a solution as to why is so slow on the writes, i'll return it and get another one ( had 2 reserved before i went and bought it hehe).

 

[Andalusian]

Seq Q32T1 ( 32 queues and one thread as you say ) is the 1st test in Crystaldiskmark ( latest version 6.0.2) and if you look at any review on SSD's, that first test always comes up.

I do have multiple NVME slots (all are PCIEx4 lanes capable), and i currently have 2 occupied ( one runs at x2, since the NVME SSD only works at that speed < aka the A1000 from Kingston> and SX8200PRO ofc works at x4);
Temps are not an issue (under 40 degrees); and SX8200PRO has adequate cooling on it's own and i might say 200mm fans above it also. )
CPU is definitely not a bottleneck ( 8700K );

In 2 days if i dont figure out a solution as to why is so slow on the writes, i'll return it and get another one ( had 2 reserved before i went and bought it hehe).

ya, just return it, or exchange, I did that once, and they dont give you any trouble.

 

[bug]

Seq Q32T1 ( 32 queues and one thread as you say ) is the 1st test in Crystaldiskmark ( latest version 6.0.2) and if you look at any review on SSD's, that first test always comes up.

I was just asking because I can't imagine how you'd use 32 queues with a single thread.

 

[valentyn0]

I finally found and fixed the issue ! Yay me, guess i wont return it anymore.

After i tried several other benchmark tools just to confirm me that my write speeds are shiet, i launched AS SSD ( forgot about it ) and after doing the tests, they were still low on the writes (reads too but not so much as affected as the writes), then just in that little window of information in the program itself it said "31K bad, under offset alignment@4k and i immediately recalled that i used earlier in the day Easeus partition master to wipe/format and even clone the disk (but i cancelled in the last minute) then i used windows own self partitioning and format and i guess something went bad over there

After i aligned the partition back to health (using a free app called minitool partition wizard) i redid the tests on CrystalDiskMark and AS SSD and voilá: the manufacturer marketed speeds were there !

I was just asking because I can't imagine how you'd use 32 queues with a single thread.

Obviously your casual user wont use those settings, but if the benchmark boast it in the first place, i guess most people will look at that number and say " wow good numbers".

 

[bug]

Obviously your casual user wont use those settings, but if the benchmark boast it in the first place, i guess most people will look at that number and say " wow good numbers".

No, I mean a typical home computer under heavy usage will reach QD4. For QD32 you need a serious server with lots of concurrent users accessing the disk. I don't see, from a technical point of view, how QD32 can be stressed with only one thread. The guys writing the benchmark are not idiots, so naturally I'm wondering what I'm missing here.

 

[valentyn0]

For any buyers of the SX8200 PRO and non pro version, if you want to see the temps and TBW used, if you are on latest windows (1809) there's a bug (as always MS) that wont lead you read even the SMART details of these drives; The only program that let's you see it right now is hard disk sentinel after the devs were asked to fix what MS got broken and they did lmao.

Right now if you try to watch the temps with any program (even A-data own SSD toolbox geezes) it will show you erroneous numbers, you are safe if you have windows under 1809 version tho'.

 

[bug]

For any buyers of the SX8200 PRO and non pro version, if you want to see the temps and TBW used, if you are on latest windows (1809) there's a bug (as always MS) that wont lead you read even the SMART details of these drives; The only program that let's you see it right now is hard disk sentinel after the devs were asked to fix what MS got broken and they did lmao.

Right now if you try to watch the temps with any program (even A-data own SSD toolbox geezes) it will show you erroneous numbers, you are safe if you have windows under 1809 version tho'.

You're quick to pin this on MS, yet if it works with every other drive, there's a good chance this is on ADATA
Still, a useful heads-up. Thanks.

 

[valentyn0]

You're quick to pin this on MS, yet if it works with every other drive, there's a good chance this is on ADATA
Still, a useful heads-up. Thanks.

Well, I havent tested with other products from A-data, but if you use the same drive on a different version of windows (let's say 1803 or 1709 etc.) your temps and TBW and S.M.A.R.T data will show up with no issue, so yea, it is MS fault here. ( developer from the software Hard disk sentinel confirmed this);

 

[terroralpha]

the 1TB samsung 960 Evo in my main rig just died (2nd samsung SSD to die on me in the last 4 months). i'm going to give this guy a whirl and see how that shakes out. should be here today.

 

[xkm1948]

the 1TB samsung 960 Evo in my main rig just died (2nd samsung SSD to die on me in the last 4 months). i'm going to give this guy a whirl and see how that shakes out. should be here today.

I am still hearing good things about the 1TB SX8200 I put in the Z370 build a short while ago. Blazing fast.

 

[czajunia]

Is there any difference between SX8200Pro and the new XPG Gammix S11 Pro? ( http://www.xpg.com/en/feature/587 ) I've checked the specification and it looks like the only difference is a larger heatsink on the S11 Pro. Am I missing something or are they essentially the same drives with the same memory modules and controllers?

 

[terroralpha]

Is there any difference between SX8200Pro and the new XPG Gammix S11 Pro? ( http://www.xpg.com/en/feature/587 ) I've checked the specification and it looks like the only difference is a larger heatsink on the S11 Pro. Am I missing something or are they essentially the same drives with the same memory modules and controllers?

did you even look at the link you posted? the two products are not even remotely comparable. the gammix drive is literally half as fast and uses a realtek (garbage) controller.

 

[czajunia]

did you even look at the link you posted? the two products are not even remotely comparable. the gammix drive is literally half as fast and uses a realtek (garbage) controller.

Ha ha. Must have pasted the wrong link accidentally as was comparing all the products at the same time. Did you even notice that I was asking about S11 Pro and the link took you to the S5?

This is the correct S11 Pro link - http://www.xpg.com/en/feature/596

 

[metalfiber]

Thanks for the review TPU. I'm getting one of these while the prices are still low.

 

[Aquinus]

Thanks for the review TPU. I'm getting one of these while the prices are still low.

165 USD on Amazon right now.
https://www.amazon.com/SX8200-Pro-Gen3x4-3000MB-ASX8200PNP-1TT-C/dp/B07K1J3C23

 

[metalfiber]

165 USD on Amazon right now.
https://www.amazon.com/SX8200-Pro-Gen3x4-3000MB-ASX8200PNP-1TT-C/dp/B07K1J3C23

Thanks Aquinus. That 20 bucks cheaper than the one i found with a heatsink. My motherboard has a M.2 2280 heatsink.

 

[metalfiber]

This thing is fast for sure. Of coarse it depends on the game itself most of the time. Realistically it seems 3 times as fast in most cases.

 

[kapone32]

I have a total of 6 ADATA drives in my rig. The SX8200 Pros are 256GB boot, 512GB x2 in RAID 0. The SX 8200 is 480GB x2 in RAID 0 and by itself a SX8000 512GB. I can say that there is not much difference between the drives in terms of read speeds. For writes the 8200 Pro is about 70% faster than the non pro and the 8000 is about 40% slower than the non pro. In RAID 0 the SX8200 pro and SX8200 have around the same read performance but for some reason the writes for the 8200 are not much faster than the single drive's sequential speed of around 1.9 GBps. The 8200 Pro on the other hand is in the range of 5.5 GBps writes in RAID 0. I did some test runs by moving TWWH2 from one RAID to another and then from RAID to the single 8000. The difference in moving files was about 10 seconds between the fastest and slowest drive(s). The best thing about these drives though are that they run at about 1/2 the temp of my Corsair MP 500 480GB. I never see that drive at less than 60 C in Everest 64 vs the Adata drives which never go higher than 40 C.

 

[NumberCruncher]

What drivers are you using in Windows 10 with your SX8200 pro?

 

[W1zzard]

What drivers are you using in Windows 10 with your SX8200 pro?

Default Windows 10 NVMe drivers