Silicon Power A55 256GB 3D NAND SSD Review

SSD by stefan @ 2017-11-25

As we have seen before with TLC NAND SSDs, the SLC cache is used first for gaining a respectable speed boost and once this one gets filled up, the write speed will start dropping gradually, sometimes under 100MB/s. This particular aspect does not recommend the drive if our workload does imply writing large files frequently onto the drive, but even when we are writing straight to TLC, the access times do remain smaller versus mechanical drives. For a better compatibility, A55 256GB does ship with a 7mm form factor, while the integrated DRAMless Silicon Motion SM2258XT controller does come with support for TRIM command and Garbage Collection technology.

Introduction

 

 

We would like to thank at first Silicon Power for supplying a sample of their A55 256GB 3D NAND SSD for testing and reviewing.

 

 

About Silicon Power:

 

"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 our own state-of-the-art production site in Taipei, we have become a leading manufacturer of flash memory cards, USB flash drives, portable hard drives, solid state drives, DRAM modules and industrial-grade products. As an international player with four branch offices around the globe, we continuously strive to offer the perfect data storage solution for all requirements of modern digitalized life. With a strong focus on combining innovative technology and award-winning design, we live up to our brand promise to reliably preserve and protect your most valuable data.

Because memory is personal."

 

Product Features, Specifications

Product Features:

 

Affordable Upgrade for Everyone

 

A high-quality product for the budget-minded among us, the A55 is positioned as one of the most cost-effective SSD models. With its advanced SATA III 6Gb/s interface and an affordable price, you can now easily upgrade your old computer without spending a fortune.

 

Time is Money! Don't Waste It

 

Still wasting precious time while booting your computer or loading applications? Then it's time to get rid of your old hard drive and switch to an SSD. Powered by SATA III 6GB/s interface, the A55 is able to boot your computer or launch applications within seconds.

 

An Upgrade as Easy as 1-2-3

 

Upgrading your computer is a piece of cake – you don’t need to be a techie to do it. Just follow these three easy steps:

Step 1. Backup your data to another storage device

Step 2. Remove the old HDD from your computer

Step 3. Insert the A55 in your computer.

 

Bad Block Management for Higher Reliability

 

Even new disks can contain one or more bad blocks which may cause irreparable damage to your system. But have no fear! To prevent flash memory corruption, the A55 is built with bad block management technology. Bad blocks are continually monitored and replaced to keep your system in good condition and to improve reliability and endurance of the SSD. Because we do care about your data.

 

Durability and Performance

 

Equipped with an original controller and 3D NAND flash, the A55 can not only guarantee stability and durability. It also delivers outstanding performance which enables 10-second quick boot-ups, shorter application load times and faster data transmission speed. Whether you are web surfing, enjoying a good movie, or have to handle paperwork, the A55 will bring you a smooth, lag-free experience.

 

Light and S.M.A.R.T.

 

The A55 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.

 

SLC Cache Technology

 

The A55 applies ”SLC Cache technology” with a new caching architecture that combines both SLC and TLC flash blocks. This technology enables all data to be written in the SLC section before being sequentially copied to the TLC block, and as a consequence allows for higher peak writing performance. The A55 also uses “DRAM buffer cache” to improve overall performance and to reduce write amplification on the TLC portion. This leads to enhanced endurance and a longer lifespan of the SSD.

 

Internal Auto-Copy Technology

 

The A55’s auto-copy technology allows automatic copy operations from the SLC cache to the TLC blocks inside the NAND without using the controller or DDR. This supports higher efficiency by reducing the controller’s and DRAM’s workload.

 

Free-Download of SSD Health Monitor - SP Toolbox

 

Easily monitor your new SSD’s health with our free-download software – SP Toolbox. Run performance tests on the A55, get an overall function evaluation, or check detailed information about your device, including used space, device temperature, total bytes written, and many more.

 

 

Product Specifications:

 

Packaging, A Closer Look

The A55 3D-NAND TLC SSD from Silicon Power is oriented towards the mainstream and is meant to boost older (and newer) systems that still rock mechanical drives. It does support the SATA III interface, SLC caching for maintaining high write speeds when performing regular tasks on our PC, while the bad block management technology ensures high reliability.

 

The manufacturer ships the A55 3D-NAND TLC SSD inside a simple cardboard enclosure, and here we will get additional details on the rated transfer speeds, total capacity, but also the fact that the product features a 3-year warranty and packs a 7mm ultra-slim form factor:

 

 

 

The back side of the packaging reminds us that this product is an excellent upgrade component versus older 5400RPM mechanical drives, but also lists some of the product main features:

 

 

 

The drive chassis is made from aluminum and on the top cover we can spot a large sticker with the product logo and also the serial number:

 

 

 

The bottom layer does pack a textured black paint surface:

 

 

 

On the sides of the drive, we will spot the mounting holes:

 

 

 

Unlike other mainstream SSD models, this one is considerably easy to disassembly, by first removing one side screw; plastic adhesive tape can be seen on both case panels, in order to avoid short-circuits:

 

 

 

The SSD PCB is considerably smaller versus the total footprint of the case; on one of the sides we’ve got the controller, along with one of the 3D NAND TLC Flash packages:

 

 

 

We can spot one 29F01T2ANCMG2 package, which is actually an Intel 16nm 3D TLC:

 

 

 

The second package reads 29F64B2AMCMG2, which is also an Intel part:

 

 

 

As the SSD controller, we can spot a Silicon Motion SM2258XT, which is a DRAMless version of the SM2258:

 

 

 

Test Setup and Extra Info

Test Bench:

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

Silicon Power does also provide a free tool for their SSDs, which helps with monitoring parameters; we can check the device information in the first available tab:

 

 

 

Drive health and estimated life information can be also checked out next:

 

 

Wear Count and Block Info parameters information is also available:

 

 

We can perform a quick or full scan in order to check the drive for possible errors:

 

 

An integrated benchmark can be also spotted with the last menu option:

 

 

Test Results (Blank) Part I

The Tests

 

HDTach Short Test

Blank SSD

 

HDTach Long Test

 

Blank SSD

 

CrystalMark HDD Test Suite

AIDA64 Disk Test Suite

PCMark05 HDD Test Suite

 

 

Test Results (Blank) Part II

CrystalDisk Test Suite (Random)


HDTune Test Suite


Blank SSD

 

PCMark Vantage HDD Test Suite


 

PCMark 7


 

Anvil [Read]


Anvil [Write]


 

Extra Tests:

 

AS SSD Benchmark

Blank SSD

AS SSD Benchmark (IOPS)

Blank SSD

ATTO Disk Benchmark

Blank SSD

PCMark 8

Blank SSD

 

 

 

Test Results (Filled) Part I

The Tests

 

HDTach Short Test

Filled SSD

 

HDTach Long Test

 

Filled SSD

 

CrystalMark HDD Test Suite

AIDA64 Disk Test Suite

PCMark05 HDD Test Suite

 

 

Test Results (Filled) Part II

CrystalDisk Test Suite (Random)


HDTune Test Suite


Filled SSD

 

PCMark Vantage HDD Test Suite


 

PCMark 7


 

Anvil [Read]


Anvil [Write]


 

Extra Tests:

 

AS SSD Benchmark

Filled SSD

AS SSD Benchmark (IOPS)

Filled SSD

ATTO Disk Benchmark

Filled SSD

PCMark 8

Filled SSD

 

 

 

Conclusive Thoughts

As we have seen before with TLC NAND SSDs, the SLC cache is used first for gaining a respectable speed boost and once this one gets filled up, the write speed will start dropping gradually, sometimes under 100MB/s. This particular aspect does not recommend the drive if our workload does imply writing large files frequently onto the drive, but even when we are writing straight to TLC, the access times do remain smaller versus mechanical drives. For a better compatibility, A55 256GB does ship with a 7mm form factor, while the integrated DRAMless Silicon Motion SM2258XT controller does come with support for TRIM command and Garbage Collection technology.

 

In order to show the speed drop aspect, we have transferred no less than 168GB to the drive; while the first stage of the copy process occurred at respectable (near MLC Flash) speeds, the SLC buffer did fill up so we have effectively started to write straight to the TLC portion of the packages. In our test, the speed stabilized to about 79.6MB/s:

 

 

 

The HD Tune Pro Write Test does show the times when the SLC cache kicks in (quite frequently):

 

 

 

The Silicon Power A55 256GB drive can be found online for about 86 Euros, while the 128GB model can be picked up for about 51.54 Euros; the 512GB and 1TB models are not yet priced.

Silicon Power A55 256GB 3D NAND SSD is Recommended for:

 

 

 

We would like to thank again to Silicon Power for making this review possible!

 

  翻译: