You know it's time to do a storage upgrade when you can't install more than a handful of programs or 1 or 2 games. That's the crossroad I faced recently, and it can be a daunting task if you don't know anything about hardware or what to get; This is why I'm bringing up the ADATA XPG Gammix S11 PRO 1TB in the mix.
It's 2022, and for the most part, laptops and desktops are now making use of M.2 NVME storage drives. In case you weren't aware, this is where all your downloads are stored, music, videos, apps, games and operating systems, but most importantly, I'll explain to you why I've landed on this particular brand/model.
I determined my interest in 3 areas; Capacity, Speed and Durability.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDy2SnoMsJ4[/embedyt]
Capacity
I was aware that 512GB SSD or M.2 NVME would not be enough. Considering I was working with 256GB of M.2 NVME and 256GB expansion SSD.
I believe that 512GB of storage is more than adequate for most people, and I'd like to see this become the standard option by default with manufacturers. Very shortly, I also think that 1TB should be the standard.
Hunting down the perfect storage for my needs wouldn't be a challenge, but I did need to limit my choices to 3 options. Because a 2TB would be too expensive, and most of the good deals we're on the 1TB, I limited myself to 1TB of storage capacity.
But as you guessed, I'm using the XPG Gammix S11 PRO 1TB.
Speed
A drive's ability to read/write information is crucial. I still don't understand why there are options below 1000MB/s. I get it, it's cheaper, and that's what people will most likely get because it's easily affordable, but is it the best option?
The answer is no because you have to think long-term. In the short-term, it's good, but over time you'll realize this isn't working, and you'll be back to square 1. As the drive fills up with your files or apps, you'll notice that the time it takes to copy or read/delete stuff will get affected.
The XPG Gammix S11 PRO 1TB delivers premium performance and boasts read/write speeds over 3500MB/s. If you are advertising this, you better make sure to back it up! CrystalDiskMark is going to tell us exactly what to expect in a real-world scenario; This is just a benchmarking tool that allows anyone to get a glimpse of the drive's speed capability.
CrytalDiskMark shows that the XPG Gammix S11 PRO 1TB real-world results are closer to 3200MB/s when reading large files. When handling multiple smaller files, we see that the drive delivers around 56MB/s when reading them. The following changes when writing larger files with 578MB/s and writing multiple smaller files yielded 95MB/s.
During the benchmark process, I actively ran my computer. The results reflected a system under casual load.
The XPG Gammix S11 Pro uses Silicon Motion top-end consumer SSD controller, the SM2262EN, and a Micron 64L TLC flash. It produces speedy performance for those looking for that.
Durability
The durability of the drive for the 1TB is at 640 TBW (Terrybytes written). I would have to do 640TB of data to the hard drive before it failed, which is pretty high. I don't believe that I can reach that level of use, even as a power user.
Final thoughts
At the price point of $119.99, the XPG Gammix S11 Pro 1TB drive is cheap for what you get. Loads of storage, fast-performing NVME drive, designed to give fast access to your files at the fastest speed possible. The high TBW value ensures that it will last and provide you with storage capacity for a long time.
