ZADAK TWSG3 PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 SSD Review 512GB
ZADAK TWSG3 PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 SSD Review 512GB
Today we have storage under review ZADAK TWSG3 PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 SSD in presentation of 512GB. It should be noted that ZADAK offers the same product in different presentations, from 128GB to 2TB. NVMe SSDs and SSDs in general have grown in market share in end user PCs and it is no longer surprising to see a solid state drive installed in a gaming PC.
Today we will evaluate the performance of this product that has been sampled thanks to ZADAK and is the brand's top-of-the-line model using PCIe Gen3.
Table of Contents
ZADAK TWSG3 PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 SSD – Specifications
El ZADAK TWSG3 PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 SSD de 512GB use INNOGRIT IG5216BBA controller, a design that comes without DRAM (no cache) but according to marketing material, offers fairly high speeds. On the website of ZADAK, they just specify what it comes with 3D NAND Flash (does not specify if it is TLC or QLC) but the sample we have today comes with the part 29F2T08EMLCE (Micron TLC).
The guarantee offered by the manufacturer is 5 years o 400TBW for the 512GB drive. Being a 512GB drive, does not come with dedicated space for “overprovision”.
We do not have current price of the unit, but it is located between 45.50 USD (version of 256GB) y 123 USD (version of 1TB).
Unboxing and disassembly - ZADAK TWSG3 PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 SSD 512GB
Benchmarks - Storage
Contrary to what most think, the benchmarks storage are mostly synthetic and do not reflect the performance in real life, since the type of use given by each user varies.
Does not exist "a single test” that can replicate real use, but they exist to give a reference of the possible performance of the product under test.
PCMark 10 (Storage Benchmark) is the "most faithful" test among all on which we will base the real performance of a storage device for daily use, although it does not simulate all possible scenarios.
For the average gamer public, this test is the one that resembles everyday use.
We have added/updated some benchmarks for our SSD suite, such as FFXIV Demo loading time and CDM 8 new version update among others.
Here is the list of benchmarks 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)
Benchmark (for SSD storage reviews)
Processor: Intel Core i9-12900KF (Power Limits Unlimited, non-MCE) (https://amzn.to/3Jr6zFC)
Motherboard: TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4 (BIOS 1304) (https://amzn.to/3KzwnAK)
RAM: G.Skill Flare X Series 3200 MT/s CL14 <– ASUS XMP-2 (https://amzn.to/3jbm5KX)
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Founders Edition
SSD: ZADAK TWSG3 PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 SSD Review 512GB <– What we are testing, directly connected to CPU line
SSD OS: Addlink S70 1TB (https://amzn.to/3mhCoaL) <– Via chipset
Closed Loop Liquid Cooling: Lian Li Galahad 360 (https://amzn.to/3uvzOCO)
Power supply: Seasonic Focus 1300W Gold (https://amzn.to/3aoNuIi)
Operating system: Windows 10 Home 21H2 (Win Game Mode On, RSB On, HAGS OFF).
CrystalDisk Mark 8
CrystalDiskMark has received an update and we are in the version 8. Like any new iteration of CDM, making comparisons with previous versions may be invalid in most cases. With CDM8, in addition to the standardized test, they have added new test profiles for NVMe SSDs. We are using that profile for this benchmark test.
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).
Temperatures
The stress test we use to measure temperatures is a torture test using CrystalDiskMark 8 over an extended period of time. We then take the highest temperature during the test and check the ambient temperature as well.
For this unit, we tested with and without the M.2 heatsink that comes with the motherboard and these are the results.
ZADAK TWSG3 PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 SSD 512GB | |
(Maximum temperature) Degrees centigrade | |
No motherboard M.2 heatsink | 72 |
With motherboard M.2 heatsink | 47 |
Although this unit It has a graphene heatsink, there is a substantial difference when installing the M.2 heatsink on the motherboard. Therefore, we suggest some type of heatsink, especially if you will be using the product for heavy constant read and write loads.
Conclusion
We entered with high expectations of the ZADAK TWSG3 PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 SSD 512GB since it comes in a fairly detailed presentation that the brand has put on the product (with its graphene heatsink). The results in synthetic tests weren't bad at all, but in others like PCMark10 I started to see a trend.
It was at the time of removing the pre-installed graphene heatsink that the reason for the poor performance we saw in PCMark10. it's a design DRAM-less (nothing against that) if the price is well placed and it is used for things that are not heavy (like gaming).
I have previously reviewed another NVMe SSD with similar specifications, the ACER FA100 which uses the same 3D TLC controller and memory.
BACK offers major TBW to NVMe SSD ACER FA100 in its same presentation of 512GB (400TBW versus 300TBW) but it is far from what top-of-the-range models offer. Recommending the product or not depends on what price it is marketed locally and if it will be focused on gaming.
My criticism is maybe to increase a little more to the TBW of the unit, as we easily burned 6% of its warranty (TBW) during our tests.
We expect ZADAK to release a top of the line Gen 3, 4 or soon 5 model using a controller that has cache (DRAM) support.
Final Score - ZADAK TWSG3 PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 SSD 512GB
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Economical performance
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Temperature
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Warranty
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Price
Overall
Summary
solid state drive ZADAK TWSG3 PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 SSD 512GB It is a model without cache, which offers sufficient performance for gaming, although it will depend on the market price.
Pros
-Performance in CrystalDiskMark 8 as advertised.
-Graphene heatsink included (helps with temperatures but we suggest additionally using a heatsink).
Cons
-Top-of-the-range model of the brand without cache option (by design).
-Performance in PCMark10 Storage below expectations (bandwidth and latency).
