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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 storage media. Our newest system is comprised of the latest Intel Ultra 9 CPU set into the ASUS Z890 ProArt Creator motherboard with 64GB of Corsair Platinum Dominator DDR5-6400 memory. For Creators, this motherboard contains two Thunderbolt 5 (80Gbps), a Thunderbolt 4 (40Gbps) and a USB 3.2 2×2 (20Gbps) Type-C port, something no other has done to date.
For this Test Bench, there are just a few standard performance tweaks and our new ProArt Z890 Test Bench is set at 5.4GHz while the 64GB Corsair Dominator Platinum DDR5-6400 memory settled in at 6600MHz.
The components of this Test Bench are detailed below. All hardware is linked for purchase and product sales may be reached by a simple click on the individual item.
TSSDR INTEL ULTRA 9 ASUS PROART Z890 COMPONENTS
| PC CHASSIS: | Corsair iCUE Link 6500x RGB Mid-Tower Dual Chamber |
| MOTHERBOARD: | ASUS ProArt Z890-Creator WIFI LGA 1851 ATX |
| CPU: | Intel Ultra 9 Desktop Processor 285K |
| CPU COOLER: | Corsair iCUE Link Titan 360 RX RGB Liquid |
| POWER SUPPLY: | Corsair HX1000i Platinum Modular Ultra Low Noise |
| GRAPHICS: | ZOTAC GeForce RTX 3080 Trinity White |
| MEMORY: | Corsair Dominator Platinum 64GB DDR5-6400 |
| FANS: | Corsair iCUE Link RX120 MAX RGB |
| KEYBOARD: | Corsair K100 AIR Wireless RGB Mechanical |
| MOUSE: | Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro Wireless Gaming |
| MONITOR 32″x3 | Samsung 32 Inch Viewfinity UR59 4K |
MICROSDXS EXPRESS CARD READER
We had mentioned initially that our initial testing of microSDXS Express cards was utilizing a Realtek 9211XD SD7.1 Express card reader with a microSDXC Express adapter that was generously provided by Silicon Motion. We tested both this along with the SanDisk Pro-Reader to identify any performance differences; there were none.
The SanDisk Pro-Reader provides effective thermal cooling which allows our sustained write testing later on in the report, whereas our original solution could not.
BENCHMARK SOFTWARE
The software in use for today’s analysis is typical of many of our reviews and consists of ATTO Disk Benchmark, Crystal Disk Info, Crystal Disk Mark, Anvil’s Storage Utilities, and TxBench, as well as testing utilizing Nintendo Switch 2 comprising of transferring data to and from the media and game loaad times while running MarioKart from the ADATA SDXC Express card. We have also thrown in card sustained write testing.
CRYSTAL DISK INFO VER. 9.6.0 X64
Crystal Disk Info is a great tool for displaying the characteristics and health of storage devices. It displays everything from temperatures, the number of hours the device has been powered, and even to the extent of informing you of the firmware of the device.
Crystal DiskInfo validates that our SanDisk 256GB microSD Express Card is operating within the NVMe interface which means it is using the PCIe 3.0 lane and follows the NVMe 1.3 standard. It is also interesting to note that these cards are TRIM compatible, whereas a normal UHS -I/II card does not even show up in this software.