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TSSDR TEST BENCH AND PROTOCOL
SSD testing at TSSDR differs slightly, depending on whether we are looking at consumer or enterprise SSDs. For consumer SSDs, our goal is to test in a system that has been optimized with our SSD Optimization Guide. To see the best performance possible, the CPU C states have been disabled, C1E support has been disabled, Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology (EIST) has been disabled. Benchmarks for consumer testing are also benchmarks with a fresh drive so, not only can we verify that manufacturer specifications are in line but also, so the consumer can replicate our tests to confirm that they have an SSD that is top-notch. We even provide links to most of the benchmarks used in the report.
SYSTEM COMPONENTS
This Test Bench build was the result of some great relationships and purchase; our appreciation goes to those who jumped in specifically to help the cause. Key contributors to this build are our friends at ASRock for the motherboard and CPU and be quiet! for the PSU and cooling fans. Also, a big thank you to Thermaltake for the case and Kingston for the RAM. We have detailed all components in the table below and they are all linked should you wish to make a duplicate of our system as so many seem to do, or check out the price of any single component. As always, we appreciate your support in any purchase through our links!
| PC CHASSIS: | Thermaltake Core V51 |
| MOTHERBOARD: | ASRock Z97 Extreme6 |
| CPU: | Intel Core i5-4670K |
| CPU COOLER: | Corsair H75 |
| POWER SUPPLY: | be quiet! Dark Power Pro 10 850W |
| SYSTEM COOLING: | be quiet! Silent Wings 2 |
| MEMORY: | Kingston HyperX Beast 2400Mhz |
| STORAGE: | Samsung 850 Pro |
| IRST DRIVER: | 13.1.0.1058 |
BENCHMARK SOFTWARE
The software in use for today’s analysis is typical of many of our reviews and consists of Crystal Disk Info, TRIMcheck, ATTO Disk Benchmark, Crystal Disk Mark, AS SSD, Anvil’s Storage Utilities, PCMark Vantage, and PCMark 8. We prefer to test with easily accessible software that the consumer can obtain, and in many cases, we even provide links. Our selection of software allows each to build on the last and to provide validation to results already obtained.
Crystal Disk Info is a great tool for displaying the characteristics and health of storage devices. It displays everything from temperatures, to the number of hours the device has been powered, and even to the extent of informing you of the firmware of the device.
Crystal Disk Info shows us that the MX300 SSD’s S.M.A.R.T. data features a working temperature attribute as well as many others to monitor the health of the SSD over its lifespan. It also shows us that it supports NCQ, TRIM, and DevSleep. Benchmarks on the MX300 will be run with the firmware M0CR011.
We’ve covered TRIMcheck in the past. It is a great tool that easily lets us see if TRIM is actually functioning on a SSD volume in your system.
As can be seen in the screenshot above, TRIM is indeed working.
ATTO Disk Benchmark is perhaps one of the oldest benchmarks going and is definitely the main staple for manufacturer performance specifications. ATTO uses RAW or compressible data and, for our benchmarks, we use a set length of 256mb and test both the read and write performance of various transfer sizes ranging from 0.5 to 8192kb. Manufacturers prefer this method of testing as it deals with raw (compressible) data rather than random (includes incompressible data) which, although more realistic, results in lower performance results.
Our first look at performance is a positive one, with ATTO showing up to 535MB/s read and 516MB/s write speeds. On an interesting note, the MX300’s write performance is much greater than that of read when testing the smaller file sizes, up until 8KB. Overall, the performance improvement from small to large file sizes is very solid.
There is a typo in the first page where you say that the mx300 has mlc nand, and some photos won’t zoom in. Otherwise good review.
Thanks for pointing that out, I fixed both issues! To be fair, TLC is technically MLC (MLC multi-level cell) NAND. Since TLC has 3-bits per cell it qualifies as MLC. It is sometimes referred to as 3-bit MLC. In the shows we’ve attended we have heard speakers refer to TLC as MLC as well due to this. It is just clearer to refer to TLC as TLC only.
Thanks for testing also the sequential write speed over the whole capacity 🙂
Sounds OK for 3D-TLC, but Samung Evo 500GB is almost 50% faster.
If the price go strong down the MX300 is maybe a good buy. But still waiting for other capacities
You’re welcome! We are patiently awaiting the other capacities as well. We are hoping to see improvements in the base write performance and when production ramps up, hopefully lower prices too! Right now $199.99 is the MSRP, so street costs should drop rather soon.
CLEVER MARKETING
750 GB means there’s no direct competitor.
This should really be the replacement for the BX200 (which deserves LEMON status)
not the MX200-That would hopefully be replaced with 3D-MLC……………..
Be interesting to see what follows-Have a feeling speeds will tank on smaller drives-Be
interesting to see this size with a 8 ch controller……….
Yeah Sean there was obviously no forward thinking when Dual bit was named MLC…
Would be nice and simple if we had-SLC-DLC-TLC.
Still a happy C400 user……………………………………………..
Seems like a great all around drive. Has good performance, good feature set, and a good price. Can you name any other drives with similar performance or better performance that have power loss protection and encryption at this price point??
The Crucial MX300 OR the MyDigitalSSD BP5e?! What would you pick Sean? Will use it for sample libraries storing…dependent on speed and reliability and ofc power efficiency, don’t want any of my SSD’s to crack. Best regards!
MX300 M.2 if you can.