Final Thoughts
As it currently sits the ADATA XPG SX8000 is the company’s premium M.2 SSD offering which is targeted at gamers and enthusiasts who are looking for those fast load times in games, and other applications. It makes use of 3D MLC NAND, has SLC caching, and a DRAM cache buffer. Since it has such a small form factor it is going to be very easy to fit into your system and as I said earlier since it attaches directly to your motherboard it does not take up any extra space.
Taking a look at our testing results the drive seemed to be sort of all over the place. The only test where the drive performed right up to specifications was CrystalDiskMark where we received scores of 2124 MB/s read and 1146 MB/s write. In ATTO Disk Benchmark the scores were lower at 1900 MB/s read and 1110 MB/s write. And of course in this test the drive was effected by SLC caching. This was also made apparent in AIDA64’s Disk Benchamrk, which actually tests the entire drive. SLC caching with a small (256 MB) cache buffer seems to be the Achilles heel of this drive. If you have sustained writes of large files your performance is going to drop significantly. Typically for most people this is not the case, but it is something you are definitely going to want to keep in mind.
For those we are looking to get into the M.2 game will be gladly satisfied with the XPG SX8000. It will give you much better performance than 2.5-inch SATA solid state drives and incredible performance over traditional hard drives. ADATA also backs the drive with a 5-year warranty. Right now you can pick up the 256 GB version which we reviewed today for $139.99 at our favorite online retailer. Overall ThinkComputers gives the ADATA XPG SX8000 PCIe M.2 Solid State Drive an 8 out of 10 score.
Pros:
– Definitely faster than your typical solid state drive
– Small form factor, takes up no space
– No extra drivers needed
– 5-year warranty
Cons:
– Performance sort of all over the place
– SLC caching with a low cache buffer will slow the drive down during sustained writes
