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3D MARK STORAGE GAMING BENCHMARK
UL Solutions has created a new storage gaming benchmark that we will start to use as new SSDs come in. The 3DMark Storage Benchmark DLC extends 3DMark Advanced Edition with a dedicated component test for measuring the gaming performance of SSDs and other storage hardware. It supports all the latest storage technologies and tests practical, real-world gaming performance for activities such as loading games, saving progress, installing game files, and recording gameplay video streams.
The Transcend MTE260S placed twelfth of all SSDs tested to date on 3DMark Storage Benchmark.
3D MARK MS DIRECT STORAGE FEATURE TEST
As our Transcend MTE260S Gen5 2TB DRAMless SSD is MS DirectStorage compatible, we thought we might take advantage of the 3DMark DirectStorage Feature Test and see how this SSD fared. MS DirectStorage, in very basic terms, allows direct transfer of data from your SSD storage directly to your GPU, eliminating its historical necessary passage from the SSD through the CPU to RAM, back through the CPU and finally to the GPU VRAM. This is, for the most part at this time, intended on increasing game load times,reducing CPU overhead and providing more detailed graphics.
In our testing, data transfer achieved a 159% faster transfer of data than with MS DirectStorage disabled.
REPORT ANALYSIS AND FINAL THOUGHTS
The Transcend MTE260S Gen5 SSD is a bit of an odd duck in the present SSD namespace. On one hand, it reaches listed specifications of 14GB/s and even exceeds listed IOPS specs of 1400K significantly by reaching just a hairline under 2000K in our synthetic testing regimen. Our question is why the listing of 1400K IOPS when the tested results are 2000K, which is much the same as all SMI SM2508 based SSDs?
We are a fan of the graphene branding sticker heatsink, even if the drive does run a bit warm which is most likely because it is a two-sided SSD. Two-sided SSDs can present a challenge if there are any thoughts of installation in a ultrabook such as our LG Gram Pro. This below picture depicts our attempt to install the Transcend MTE260S Gen5 SSD into our 2024 LG Gram Pro 2-in-1 16″ Ultra. Don’t mind the ‘wrinkled’ branding sticker as it is constructed of graphene and aluminum. This is inevidable if you want those ever so important component shots. Still 100% functional…
Any attempt whatsoever to push this SSD down and screw it in could damage the socket itself, and/or the MTE260S SSD. We would not recommend this SSD for this, or similar laptops where the SSD rests against the PCB itself. This is how the stock Samsung PM9A1a (980 Pro) Gen4 SSD Sits:
Throughout our testing, we found the MTE260S to be in the upper mid-range of SSDs tested to date. Bronze Seal.
CHECK MTE260S AVAILABILITY AND PRICING AT AMAZON
