Fanxiang S770 SSD 4TB Review
Today, we take a closer look at the Fanxiang S770 4TB Solid State Drive, purchased during the 11.11 AliExpress event. I opted for this drive without much prior information, trusting that its performance would be up to par, considering the quality of the SSD parts. The final price of the drive was $157, a fairly competitive figure for a PCIe Gen 4 SSD with cache. Now, we will put this product to the test on our test bench, comparing it with other SSDs to evaluate its performance.
Currently, for 11/11, the S770 4TB is on sale for $171 USD to Peru. Link: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DnpmENf
Table of Contents
Fanxiang S770 4TB SSD – Specifications
Fanxiang It is not a widely recognized brand, but its products are available in online stores such as AliExpress and Amazon. The model S770 includes a heatsink, thermal pads (for those who need them) and uses the controller Innogrit IG5236. It is interesting to note that this controller is also found in SSDs from more established brands. Initially, we expected that the unit we are reviewing today would feature NAND Flash of YTMC, However, to our surprise, we found NAND de Micron de 176 layers, With the code LGLM01TB4BCB1.
This 4TB drive is made up of four 1TB modules and employs two DRAM cache, specifically the H5ANAG6NCJR-XNC de Hynix, distributed one on each side of the PCB.
Today's unit uses firmware 3.W.J.E4.
It is certainly curious that, despite the expectation of NAND Flash from YTMC, the unit ultimately incorporates components from Micron. According to information provided by Fanxiang, the 4TB drive boasts impressive speeds, reaching up to 7300 MB / s in reading and 6800 MB / s in writing. In addition, it offers the peace of mind of a guarantee of 5 years or 2800 TBW (terabytes written), which is quite solid and provides confidence in the durability of the product.
Photos - Fanxiang S770 4TB SSD
Benchmarks - Storage
Contrary to popular belief, most storage benchmarks are mostly synthetic and do not accurately reflect performance in real-world usage situations, due to variability in individual user usage patterns.
Does not exist a single test that can replicate actual usage in a comprehensive manner; however, these benchmarks are used to provide a reference to the potential performance of the product during testing.
Out of all the tests, PCMark 10 (Storage Benchmark) is considered the most representative, on which we will base our evaluation of the actual performance of a storage device for daily use, although it does not cover all possible scenarios.
For the average gaming-focused user, this test best simulates everyday use.
We have incorporated and updated several benchmarks in our SSD test suite, including the load time of the demo of FFXIV and the latest version of CDM 8, among others.
Below is the list of benchmarks that we will use:
-CrystalDiskMark8
-ATTO Disk Benchmark
-AS SSD Benchmark
-Anvil Storage Utilities
-HAHA VIDEO
-Black Magic Disk Tester
-FFXIV Demo- Loading Time
-PCMark10 (Storage Benchmark)
-3DMark Storage Benchmark
Benchmark (for storage reviews)
CPU: Intel Core i9-13900K (Power Limiters Disabled) (https://amzn.to/3X53WQS)
Board: ASUS ROG STRIX Z790-E GAMING WIFI II (BIOS 0801) (https://amzn.to/3ClPWde)
RAM: v-color DDR5 XSky ROG Certified 32GB (16GBx2) 7200 MHz CL36 – What we are testing (https://amzn.to/3Z8g45y)
T.video: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 Founders Edition (Link: https://amzn.to/3Pe4Vx6)
Operating system: Windows 11 Home Edition 22H2 – VBS OFF
Liquid refrigeration: Lian Li Galahad 360 (https://amzn.to/3jMvNXO)
SSD: Addlink S70 1TB + TeamGroup MP34 4TB SSD (https://amzn.to/3PuIAvX)
SSD test: Fanxiang S770 4TB SSD (https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_mODhBs4)
Driver: NVIDIA Driver
Power supply: Seasonic Prime Gold 1300W (https://amzn.to/3Qd102w)
CrystalDisk Mark 8
CrystalDiskMark has undergone a major update and we are currently on version 8 of this tool. As is customary with every new iteration of CrystalDiskMark, making comparisons with previous versions might be inappropriate in most cases. In CrystalDiskMark version 8, in addition to the standardized tests, new test profiles have been added specifically for NVMe solid-state drives. Precisely, we are using one of these profiles to carry out our benchmark tests on this occasion.
ACT Disk Benchmark
AS SSD benchmark
Anvil Storage Utilities
AHA VIDEO
Black Magic Disk Tester
FFXIV Demo - Loading Time
PCMark10 (Storage Benchmark)
PCMark10 it is the closest test to what an average user can do in real life. PCMark 10 Full Storage has several traces of different types of usage, such as OS loads, Adobe loads, games, file copying, and more. We will be looking at each of these results in more detail.
It also offers a final score, bandwidth (MB/s) y latency (µs). This quiz takes about an hour and I will do three strokes per activity (23 categories, 69 quizzes total).
3DMark Storage Benchmark
Temperatures
The stress test we use to measure temperatures is a torture test using CrystalDisk Mark 8 for an extended period of time. We then take the highest temperature during the test and check the ambient temperature as well.
Fanxiang S770 4TB SSD | |
| (Maximum temperature) Degrees Celsius | |
| With motherboard M.2 heatsink | 54 54 54 (I assume it's the controller) |
While we generally don't focus much on the temperatures section, I was surprised not to see higher temperatures on the drive, especially considering it shares a heatsink with the OS SSD. While the Samsung unit reached 62 degrees centigrade, el Fanxiang it did not show a significant temperature increase, which is unusual. This contrast makes me think that there could be a reading error on the part of the SSD, possibly firmware related.
Final analysis - Results much lower than expected
Performance test results are noticeably lower than expectations, even compared to entry-level SSDs that show superior performance in tests such as PCMark 10 y 3DMark. This unexpected result leads me to consider the possibility that there is an issue with the firmware that is limiting the performance of the SSD. Additionally, Fanxiang's lack of an up-to-date and easy-to-find website complicates the ability to access firmware updates, which is a disadvantage for the end user.
It is discouraging to see that the results do not meet expectations, especially when losing to the NV2 en 3DMark. I plan to test the unit on another PC to rule out possible interference, although disabling the E-Cores does not appear to have affected performance. Additionally, the seemingly imprecise behavior of the SSD sensors adds another layer of complexity to the analysis.
The positive aspects of the SSD, such as its aggressive price acquired during the 11.11 the inclusion of the heatsink and the DRAM Cache, They are remarkable. However, the poor performance raises significant questions. It would be beneficial for a brand representative to reach out to address the reason behind this underperformance and discuss possible solutions.
Final Score – Fanxiang S770 4TB SSD
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Performance
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Temperatures
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Warranty
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Price
Overall
Summary
I have tried the Fanxiang S770 4TB SSD, a solid state drive PCIe 4.0 y NVMe. Its reading and writing speeds are impressive, but when tested in extensive tests, its performance was much lower than expected, despite having DRAM Cache and good specifications. It's hard to recommend after seeing its poor performance today.
Pros
-Good price during 11.11.
-Comes with heatsink and thermal pads included
-5 year warranty and high TBW.
Cons
-Performance much lower than expected.
-Inconclusive temperature tests (perhaps a firmware issue).
-Firmware problems limiting its performance?
