SSD by stefan @ 2017-02-05
Silicon Power is continuing the line of affordable SSDs by releasing the S57 model that is available in both 120GB and 240GB variants; the product is aimed towards mainstream computers, which still pack slow 5400RPM hard drives as boot drives in order to boost the read speeds and access times considerably.
We would like to thank at first Silicon Power for supplying a sample of their S57 240GB TLC SSD for testing and reviewing.
“Founded in 2003 by a group of enthusiastic data storage industry experts, Silicon Power is committed to delivering outstanding product and service quality. Headquartered and with its own state-of-the-art production site in Taipei, SP has become a leading manufacturer of flash memory cards, USB flash drives, portable hard drives, solid state drives, DRAM modules and industrial-grade products.
The international player with four branch offices around the globe continuously strives to offer the perfect data storage solution for all requirements of modern digitized life.
With a strong focus on combining innovative technology and award-winning design, SP lives up to its brand promise to reliably preserve and protect your most valuable data.
Because memory is personal!”
Reliable performance and quality
The S57 allows superior performances and offers longer lifespan of the SSD with advanced SATA III 6Gb/s interface and the "SLC Cache Technology". The optimized processor guarantees the stability and durability of the SSD.
Slim S57 Performance multiplied by Marvell controller
Powered by Marvell controller, the S57 is that delivers impressive operation speeds and greater function performance. It provides the lag-free experience with features of quick boot-up, fast data transmission speed, smooth video watching and effective system operation.
SLC Cache Technology
The S57 especially applies the ”SLC Cache technology”, which adopts the new caching architecture that combines both SLC and TLC flash blocks. The implementation of such technology enables all data to be written in the SLC portion first and then sequentially copied to TLC, therefore leading to higher peak writing performance.
Internal Auto-copy technology
The Internal Auto-copy technology allows automatic copy operation from SLC cache to TLC blocks inside the NAND without using the controller or DDR, which can encourage higher efficiency by reducing the burden from the controller and DRAM.
We care more about your data with higher reliability
If a new disk contains one or more bad blocks, this may cause irreparable damages to your system. However, the S57 is built with Bad Block Management, which can continually monitor and replace bad blocks to keep your system in good condition with prolonged lifespan of the SSD. This is why the S57 offers a lower capacity than other SSD, we have sacrificed capacity for durability and reliability because we care more about your DATA!
Multiple techniques supported
The S57 is one of the lightest and thinnest SSD of its kind yet it is shock- and vibration-proof since it contains no moving parts. Furthermore, S.M.A.R.T. monitoring system and ECC technology are built to promise higher data transmission safety.
SP ToolBox Free-download Software
SP Toolbox was developed for using with SP SSDs and Industrial Flash products, and provides multiple ways for users to obtain disk information, and to change settings easily. Additionally, it is an advanced and user-friendly software that makes it easier than ever to maintain a healthy and efficient device.
Next up in the lab have the chance to try out another budget-friendly SSD from Silicon Power, which packs TLC NAND flash but also a Marvell controller. As we have seen with the previous SSD models from the same company, the products do arrive in a very simple packaging, displaying in the front the rated read/write speeds, total capacity, the free downloadable software and more:
On the back side of the enclosure we will find out that Silicon Power is comparing the current SSD model with 5400RPM drive performances and highly recommends it for upgrades:
Another different aspect versus the previously tested drives is the fact that S57 comes with a chassis completely made of plastic. On the top cover, we will get to see a large sticker that holds the product logo, along with the total capacity and serial number:
On the bottom area of the drive, we will spot a removable black plastic cover:
Also here we will get to see the gold-plated SATA Data/Power connectors:
After removing the bottom cover, we will be able to spot the drive PCB, which occupies very little space inside the chassis:
The visible part of the PCB is populated with two SK Hynix TLC NAND Flash ICs, but also one Marvell controller:
To be more exact, the ICs carry the H27Q1T8QEM6R code name:
The Marvell 88NV1120 component is marketed as a value SSD controller and is the company’s first NVM Express DRAMless SSD controller, supporting both X1-lane PCIe 3.0 or 6Gb/s SATA interfaces:
We did not risk it to fully remove the SSD from its chassis, because Silicon Power has not used screws for securing the PCB, but glue:
CPU : Intel i5 3570K Retail
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14
Motherboard : ASRock Z77 Extreme6
RAM :GeIL PC3-17000 2133MHz 8GB EVO Leggera
Video : Sparkle X560 Calibre
Power Supply : Cooler Master 850W
HDD : OCZ Vector 150
Case: Cooler Master ATCS 840
The drive is shipped unformatted:
Here is the total free space reported by Windows:
With the help of AIDA64, we could extract more information regarding the drive:
SP Toolbox utility has been recently released by Silicon Power and allows the user to interact directly with the SSD statistics. The fist tab, Device Info allows us to check out the current firmware version of the drive, used space, total data written but also the current drive temperature:
The Health tab is next, where we will get to see the current state of the drive, along with the estimated remaining life:
S.M.A.R.T. info can be also consulted here:
Wear Out Count menu displays even more in-depth information:
If we have experienced issues with the product, we can always go to the Diagnostics Scan tab and check the SSD:
The final tab, Performance Test does also act as a benchmark:
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Silicon Power is continuing the line of affordable SSDs by releasing the S57 model that is available in both 120GB and 240GB variants; the product is aimed towards mainstream computers, which still pack slow 5400RPM hard drives as boot drives in order to boost the read speeds and access times considerably.
Since S57 is equipped with TLC NAND that we have experienced before, the write speeds are decent until the SLC cache is filled and afterwards we will get to see a significant drop in performance if many large files are written to the drive at once. However, if we do use the product as a boot drive and not for installing recent Steam games that can weight over 40GB nowadays for a single title, most users will not notice the write slowdown phenomenon.
After writing over 131GB of files to the drive the write speed dropped to about 133MB/s:
Silicon Power S57 SSD also takes care of data by incorporating Bad Block Management, ECC technology and the 7mm height ensures compatibility around a large number of systems.
The drive is available online for about 67.68 Euros, which is a good value for what we are getting. Silicon Power does not hide the performance of this product and marks it as “Entry Grade” right from the product presentation page.
We would like to thank again to Silicon Power for making this review possible!