Crucial RealSSD-C300 SSD Review
Solid State Drive technology has helped transform computers into high-performance machines. Adding to the mania, 6.0-Gbps SATA-III bandwidth has cleared any bottlenecks that may have previously limited SSD speeds. Based on the Marvell 88SS9174-BJP2 SSD processor, the 256GB Crucial RealSSD-C300 becomes the industry's first SATA-6G consumer Solid State Drive. Likewise, the C300 is also the first SSD to use ONFI 2.1 synchronous NAND flash. In this article, Benchmark Reviews tests the CTFDDAC256MAG-1G1 model rated for 355/215 MBps read and write speeds using the HighPoint Rocket 620LF PCI-Express host controller.
Just over two years ago there were only five companies involved in Solid State Drive technology, and as of January 2010 there are nearly 140 names in the business. Without doubt, the SSD market has enjoyed a powerful growth period with relatively painless consumer acceptance. Benchmark Reviews has been on top of the SSD scene since retail products were first introduced at the 2008 Consumer Electronics Show
In such a short amount of time, the entire SSD market has created and recreated itself several times over. Counting the generations of SSD processors has become difficult for experienced experts, and keeping-up with controller architecture has come with its own set of challenges. Benchmark Reviews has already tested dozens of Solid State Drive products, and we've seen everything from dual-SATA controllers in RAID-0 to large cache buffer modules used inside of them. In this article Benchmark Reviews tests the Marvell 88SS9174-BJP2 SSD controller, which is used in the Crucial RealSSD C300 Solid State Drive by Micron Technology.
While the SSD industry grows daily, only a few select manufacturers offer popularly-accepted Flash NAND SSD controllers. The most popular consumer controllers at the moment are: Indilinx IDX110M00-FC "Barefoot", Intel PC29AS21AA0, JMicron JMF612, Toshiba T6UG1XBG, Samsung S3C29RBB01-YK40, Marvell 88SS8014-BHP2, SandForce SF-1200/1500, and now the Marvell 88SS9174-BJP2 SATA-III SSD controller.
EDITOR'S NOTE 04-May-2010: Crucial Technologies has released the first public firmware update (version FW0002) for the RealSSD C300 SSD series, available here. Based on our experience, this update must use IDE-mode on a SATA-3GB/s controller. The drive will not be recognized if AHCI or RAID mode is used.
About Crucial Technology
Crucial is a key brand in the Lexar Media family of products. As the Memory Experts, we're the only DRAM supplier that's part of a major memory manufacturer.
A wholly owned subsidiary of Micron Technology, Inc., Lexar Media, Inc. boasts one of the most comprehensive offerings of memory product lines in the industry. We deliver high-quality, award-winning products in every memory category: USB flash drives, all popular form factors of memory cards and card readers, DRAM computer memory for PCs and Mac systems, and solid state drives (SSD). We back our products with outstanding customer support and industry-leading warranties, and we strive to expand our offerings to meet the ever-changing needs of our customers - customers just like you.
The Lexar brand has long been synonymous with reliable, high-performance products, which is reflected in the award-winning memory products and USB flash drives sold under the Lexar name.
Our Crucial brand reflects our status as the only consumer memory upgrade supplier that's part of a major DRAM manufacturer. We sell high-quality memory that has been qualified and approved by most major original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). The Crucial.com website features innovative online tools and an intuitive design that makes it easy to find compatible memory and recommended upgrades. And because we carry over 250,000 upgrades for more than 40,000 systems, we've got options for nearly every system out there.
Lexar Media has more than 10 years experience in the memory industry. Our strong retail brands, along with our direct online and OEM presence, make Lexar Media a global player in every major customer channel, including value-added resellers, system builders, and e-commerce. And we've built a name synonymous with quality, innovation, and customer service.
About Micron Technology
Micron is one of the world's leading providers of advanced semiconductor solutions. Micron's DRAM and Flash components are used in today's most advanced computing, networking, and communications products, including computers, workstations, servers, cell phones, wireless devices, digital cameras, and gaming systems.
Solid state technology is changing the way data is stored. And, not surprisingly, Micron is a major contributor to the changing NAND landscape. From cost-effective embedded storage to high-performance client SSDs and high-endurance enterprise solutions, our RealSSD products are setting the bar high.
We're able to offer such highly tuned solid state storage because we're one of the few SSD manufacturers who also makes NAND Flash memory. Leveraging our industry-leading advanced process technologies and integration of ONFI interface standards, we're helping push storage to greater heights.
Our groundbreaking RealSSD C300 drives are the fastest client SSDs on the market. Built on our high-speed MLC NAND and the SATA 6Gb/s interface, these drives dramatically improve boot and application load times. Find out how our C300 drives can help optimize the performance of your computing applications.
Crucial RealSSD Features:
The RealSSD C300 drive was designed by Micron Technology, using the company's award-winning 34-nanometer NAND technology and a high-speed ONFI 2.1 NAND interface. Product features include:
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128GB Capacity: MTFDDAC128MAG-1G1
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256GB Capacity: CTFDDAC256MAG-1G1
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2.5-inch form factor
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SATA 6Gb/s system interface
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4.3W / 94mW average power (active/standby)
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Up to 355 MB/s sustained sequential read speed
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Up to 215 MB/s sustained sequential write speed
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1500 G/1ms shock and 2Hz to 500Hz at 3.1G vibration
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0°C to +70°C temperature range
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75g weight
| Features | Benefits |
| Capacity |
C300: 128GB to 256GB |
Industry standard for notebook applications |
| Form Factor |
2.5-inch |
Drop-in replacement for existing designs that use HDDs |
| System Interface |
C300: SATA 6Gb/s |
Next-generation SATA 6Gb/s provides ultra-high bandwith for unprecedented performance |
| Average Power (active/standby) |
C300: 3.9W / <100mW |
Improves battery life and heat dissipation |
| Sustained Sequential Read/Write Speeds |
C300: up to 355 MB/s read and 215 MB/s write |
Improves operating system boot and application load times |
| Shock and Vibration |
1500 G/1ms shock
2Hz to 500Hz at 3.1G vibration |
Absence of any moving parts enables reliable operation in the most demanding environments |
| Temperature Range |
0°C to +70°C |
Ideal for rugged environments |
| Weight |
2.5-inch: 75g |
Lighter than HDDs, making them better for portable applications |
MTFDDAC256MAG Specifications:
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Micron MLC NAND Flash
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RoHS-compliant package
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SATA 6Gb/s interface
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ATA modes supported
- PIO mode 3, 4
- Multiword DMA mode 0, 1, 2
- Ultra DMA mode 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
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Industry-standard, 512-byte sector size support
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Hot-plug capable
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Native Command Queuing support with 32 command slot support
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ATA-8 command set compliant
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ATA security feature command set and password login support
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Secure erase (data page) command set: fast and secure erase (clear, sanitize)
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Self-monitoring, analysis, and reporting technology (SMART) command set
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Performance:
- PCMark Vantage (HDD test suite score): 45,000 (SATA 6Gb/s), 35,000 (SATA 3Gb/s)
- Sequential READ: up to 355 MB/s (SATA 6Gb/s), up to 265 MB/s (SATA 3Gb/s)
- Sequential WRITE: up to 215 MB/s (140 MB/s for 128GB drive)
- Random 4k READ: up to 60,000 IOPS (SATA 6Gb/s), up to 50,000 IOPS (SATA 3Gb/s)
- Random 4k WRITE: up to 45,000 IOPS (30,000 IOPS for 128GB drive)
- READ latency: 55μs (TYP SATA 6Gb/s), 70μs (TYP SATA 3Gb/s)
- WRITE latency: 60μs (TYP SATA 6Gb/s), 95μs (TYP SATA 3Gb/s)
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Reliability
- MTBF: TBD
- 3-year warranty
- Static and dynamic wear leveling
- Field-upgradable firmware
- Uncorrectable bit error rate (UBER): <1 sector per 1015 bits read
- Low power consumption
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Endurance: Total bytes written (TBW) - 72TB
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Mechanical
- SATA connector: 5V ±5%
- 2.5-inch drive: 100.45mm x 69.85mm x 9.5mm
- Weight: 75g (MAX)
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Capacity (unformatted): 128GB, 256GB
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Operating temperature: Commercial (0°C to +70°C)
First Look: Crucial RealSSD
Micron Technology, the parent company behind the Lexar and Crucial brands, has a long history of product development. Manufacturers will often dress-up their new product to help them sell, but consumers shouldn't get caught-up in the flashy stickers or packaging because they drop out of sight soon enough. When it comes to notebook computer drives consumers need to remember that once installed, that SSD gets hidden away from view and forgotten.
Because this is a premium-priced Solid State Drive storage device with no moving parts, it takes some extra attention towards product presentation to keep consumers feeling comfortable with their high-dollar purchase. To this extent Crucial has pulled out all the stops, and delivered their new RealSSD-C300 in my favorite color combination: black and yellow. This takes me back to my childhood when I would watch stock-car races and cheer for the machine painted with these same colors. Hopefully Crucial's RealSSD-C300 will be just as fast.
In addition to notebook and desktop computer installations, the 256GB Crucial RealSSD-C300 MLC SSD could also be utilized for mission-critical backups or high-abuse data systems; but its real focus is on high-performance data transfer speeds. Although the Micron CTFDDAC256MAG-1G1 model does not offer an integrated USB Mini-B port, there is a USB-to-SATA (and SATA power) adapter for making this into a portable backup storage device. Honestly, this should be standard equipment for all SSD storage products, and I'm happy to see Crucial lead by example.
Standard 2.5" drive bay mounting points are pre-drilled and threaded into the Crucial RealSSD-C300, which allows for quick upgrade or addition into any existing notebook or desktop system. The mounting positions matched up to the drive bracket on my notebook computer, and after only a few minutes of drive cloning I was quickly loading the Windows O/S.
Unlike most Hard Disk Drive (HDD) storage products, SSDs are nearly impervious to impact damage and do not require (or benefit from) any kind of special vibration dampening or shock-proof enclosures. Crucial utilizes a textured metal enclosure for their CTFDDAC256MAG-1G1 model, which reveals the internal components after removing just four small counter-sunk Phillips-head screws from the top side. The Crucial RealSSD-C300 has a warranty-void sticker along the seam, and removing the enclosure cover will remove consumer protection with it. Benchmark Reviews will reveal all of the internal components on our next section anyway, so just be patient.
Thanks to a new SATA-III Marvell 88SS9174 controller architecture (detailed in the next section), the Crucial RealSSD-C300 Solid State Drive offers outstanding transfer speeds for high-performance enthusiasts. Now that you're acquainted with the basic exterior features for this 256GB C300 SSD, it's time to peek inside the metal enclosure and inspect the internal components...
Marvell 88SS9174-BJP2 SSD Controller
Micron utilizes the Marvell 88SS9174-BJP2 Solid State Drive controller inside their 256GB Crucial RealSSD-C300 SSD, model CTFDDAC256MAG-1G1. While the SSD industry grows daily, only a few select manufacturers offer popularly-accepted Flash NAND SSD controllers. The most popular consumer controllers at the moment are: Indilinx IDX110M00-FC "Barefoot", Intel PC29AS21AA0, JMicron JMF612, Toshiba T6UG1XBG, Samsung S3C29RBB01-YK40, Marvell 88SS8014-BHP2, SandForce SF-1200/1500, and now the Marvell 88SS9174-BJP2 SATA-III SSD processor introduced by Crucial.
In most respects, the new Marvell SSD circuit board follows the design of several past products. Illustrated from the top-view image above, you'll notice that the printed circuit board (PCB) utilizes a dense component layout for the Micron flash NAND modules and Marvell 88SS9174 SSD-controller with few electronics filling the remaining area. Marvell's 88SS9174 SATA-III SSD processor is joined by up to sixteen flash NAND modules (Micron 0AB12 used here), and a single DRAM chip for buffered transactions. Although only a 256GB capacity has been revealed for the Crucial RealSSD-C300, anything is possible as demand grows for more storage space.
The Marvell 88SS9174-BJP2 processor used in this architecture was taken from the Crucial RealSSD-C300 Solid State Drive model CTFDDAC256MAG-1G1. The Marvell 88SS9174 supports Native Command Queuing (NCQ) with 32 command slots. Similar to other modern SSD controllers, the Marvell 88SS9174-BJP2 processor was built to support native TRIM and Secure Erase commands. Additionally, the Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (SMART) command set is also supported on the Crucial RealSSD-C300.
Bandwidth estimates for the Marvell 88SS9174-BJP2 SSD controller claim speeds up to 355 MB/s read-from and 215 MB/s write-to, however these are dependant on the flash-NAND and DRAM buffer used (the Crucial RealSSD-C300 CTFDDAC256MAG-1G1 is referenced here).
Since Crucial is a Micron brand, it's not surprising to see Micron NAND used in the RealSSD-C300 Solid State Drive. The flash NAND used on the CTFDDAC256MAG-1G1 (256GB) model are built with 34-nanometer technology and utilizes Micron's high-speed ONFI 2.1 NAND interface for 166 MT/s with 512-byte industry standard sector size. Each 32GB NLC NAND module requires 3.3V, and is marked as OAB12 NW172 (Micron part MT29F32G08CBABBWP-12).
The ONFI 2.1 specification pushes NAND performance levels into a new performance range: 166 MB/s to 200 MB/s. This new specification is the first NAND specification to specifically address the performance needs of solid-state drives to offer faster data transfer rates in combination with other new technologies like SATA 6Gb/s, USB 3.0 and PCI Express Gen2.
The 128MB Micron OAD12-D9LGQ DDR DRAM module offers decent cache performance for fast transaction buffering, which will become more important as SATA-III 6.0Gbps transfers are observed.
While the Marvell 88SS9174-BJP2 processor is an ambiguous component, we respect that our sample came inside the Crucial RealSSD-C300 series. Please continue on for details and performance results for this Solid State Drive...
SSD Testing Methodology
Solid State Drives have traveled a long winding course to finally get where they are today. Up to this point in technology, there have been several key differences separating Solid State Drives from magnetic rotational Hard Disk Drives. While the DRAM-based buffer size on desktop HDDs has recently reached 32 MB and is ever-increasing, there is still a hefty delay in the initial response time. This is one key area in which flash-based Solid State Drives continually dominates because they lack moving parts to "get up to speed".
However the benefits inherent to SSDs have traditionally fallen off once the throughput begins, even though data reads or writes are executed at a high constant rate whereas the HDD tapers off in performance. This makes the average transaction speed of a SSD comparable to the data burst rate mentioned in HDD tests, albeit usually lower than the HDD's speed.
Comparing a Solid State Disk to a standard Hard Disk Drives is always relative; even if you're comparing the fastest rotational spindle speeds. One is going to be many times faster in response (SSDs), while the other is usually going to have higher throughput bandwidth (HDDs). Additionally, there are certain factors which can affect the results of a test which we do our best to avoid.
EDITOR'S NOTE 04-May-2010: Crucial Technologies has released the first public firmware update (version 0002) for the C300 SSD series, available here.
SSD Testing Disclaimer
Early on in our SSD coverage, Benchmark Reviews published an article which detailed Solid State Drive Benchmark Performance Testing. The research and discussion that went into producing that article changed the way we now test SSD products. Our previous perceptions of this technology were lost on one particular difference: the wear leveling algorithm that makes data a moving target. Without conclusive linear bandwidth testing or some other method of total-capacity testing, our previous performance results were rough estimates at best.
Our test results were obtained after each SSD had been prepared using DISKPART or Sanitary Erase tools. As a word of caution, applications such as these offer immediate but temporary restoration of original 'pristine' performance levels. In our tests, we discovered that the maximum performance results (charted) would decay as subsequent tests were performed. SSDs attached to TRIM enabled Operating Systems will benefit from continuously refreshed performance, whereas older O/S's will require a garbage collection (GC) tool to avoid 'dirty NAND' performance degradation.
It's critically important to understand that no software for the Microsoft Windows platform can accurately measure SSD performance in a comparable fashion. Synthetic benchmark tools such as HD Tach and PCMark are helpful indicators, but should not be considered the ultimate determining factor. That factor should be measured in actual user experience of real-world applications. Benchmark Reviews includes both bandwidth benchmarks and application speed tests to present a conclusive measurement of product performance.
Test System
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System Memory: 6GB Triple-Channel DDR3 1600MHz CL6-6-6-18
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SATA 3Gb/s Storage HBA: Integrated Intel ICH10R Controller
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SATA 6Gb/s Storage HBA: Integrated Marvell SE9128 Controller
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Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Edition 64-Bit
Drive Hardware Tested
The following storage hardware has been used in our benchmark performance testing, and may be included in portions of this article:
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Hitachi Travelstar 5K160 2.5" 40GB SATA 5,400 RPM HDD HTS541640J9SA00 (8MB Cache Buffer)
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Hitachi Travelstar 7K100 2.5" 60GB SATA 7,200 RPM HDD HTS721060G9SA00 (8MB Cache Buffer)
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Intel X25-E Extreme SATA-II SLC SSD SSDSA2SH032G1GN
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Seagate Momentus 5400.6 320GB ST9320325AS 2.5" 5,400 RPM SATA-II Hard Disk Drive
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Western Digital VelociRaptor 300GB WD3000HLFS 10,000 RPM SATA Hard Disk Drive (16MB Cache Buffer)
Test Tools
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System Speed Test v4.78 by Vladimir Afanasiev: Accurately measures random access response time
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ATTO Disk Benchmark v2.34: Spot-tests static file size chunks for basic I/O bandwidth
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HD Tune Pro v3.5 by EFD Software: Measured random access IOPS and speed
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Iometer 2008.06.28 by Intel Corporation: Tests IOPS performance and I/O response time
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EVEREST Ultimate Edition v5.30.1900 by Lavalys: Disk Benchmark component tests linear read and write bandwidth speeds
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CrystalDiskMark v2.2 by Crystal Dew World: Sequential speed benchmark spot-tests various file size chunks
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HD Tach RW v3.0.4.0 by Simpli Software: Measures approximate buffered read and write bandwidth speeds
ATTO Disk Benchmark
The ATTO Disk Benchmark program is free, and offers a comprehensive set of test variables to work with. In terms of disk performance, it measures interface transfer rates at various intervals for a user-specified length and then reports read and write speeds for these spot-tests. There are some minor improvements made to the 2.34 version of the program, but the benchmark is still limited to non-linear samples up to 256MB. ATTO Disk Benchmark requires that an active partition be set on the drive being tested. Please consider the results displayed by this benchmark to be basic bandwidth speed performance indicators.
Our basic bandwidth speed tests begin with the Crucial RealSSD-C300 connected to the integrated HighPoint Rocket 620LF PCI-Express SATA-III 6.0 Gbps adapter, as the ATTO Disk Benchmark tools performs file transfers ranging from 0.5 KB to 8192 KB. The 256GB CTFDDAC256MAG-1G1 model reveals an impressive 383 MBps maximum read speed that plateaus from 256-8192 KB file chunks, while the 227 MBps peak write bandwidth plateaus from 32-8192 KB. These results surpass the stated 355/215 MBps maximum given by Micron.
Drive Hardware
In our next section, Benchmark Reviews compares random access IOPS performance among high-end storage devices using HD Tune Pro...
HD Tune Pro Benchmarks
The latest edition of HD Tune Pro allows random access read and write testing, a feature not available to other similar software benchmark tools. HD-Tune is a low-level test that will not operate on a drive which contains a partition, so Benchmark Reviews uses DISKPART to prepare hardware and remove any partitions before conducting these tests.
Random Access tests are divided into 512b, 4KB, 64KB, 1MB and random size test files sizes. The Random Access test measures the performance of random read or write operations. The amount of data which will be read varies from 512 bytes to 1 MB. Performance is reported in operations per second (IOPS), average access time, and average speed. Because it is our intent to compare one product against another, Benchmark Reviews has focused on 4KB and random transfer size IOPS performance.
Benchmark Reviews has tested the 256GB Crucial RealSSD-C300 against a collection of top-performing desktop storage drives for our IOPS benchmarks. The 4 KB random IOPS performance in HD-Tune measured 7941 for read IO, and 2451 for write. In comparison, the 4KB read IOPS was ahead of Corsair's X256 SSD which scored 7444, and the Vertex Turbo's 7272. Alternatively, both the Vertex Turbo (17358 4KB write IOPS) and Corsair X256 (16244) SSDs are well ahead of the CTFDDAC256MAG-1G1 in terms of IOPS write-to performance.
The tight range of IO is an indicator of operational bottlenecks. For example, the WD VelociRaptor WD3000HLFS SATA Hard Disk Drive indicates a total read-IOPS range of 10-150 whereas the average SSD might offer 200-1,000. As a direct result, in most cases SSDs will offer a much higher IO over their hard disk counterparts. The random read/write operations per second is charted below:
Our test results were obtained after each SSD had been prepared using the DISKPART program with the "clean all" command, and in the case of products using the Indilinx Barefoot controller they were further prepared with the Sanitary Erase application. In our tests we discovered that the maximum performance results (charted) would decay as subsequent tests were performed, even with TRIM available. As a word of caution, alignment and garbage collection applications offer immediate but temporary restoration of original 'pristine' performance levels.
Drive Hardware
Benchmark Reviews measures I/O Response Time and IOPS performance using the Iometer tool in our next section...
Iometer IOPS Performance
Iometer is an I/O subsystem measurement and characterization tool for single and clustered systems. Iometer does for a computer's I/O subsystem what a dynamometer does for an engine: it measures performance under a controlled load. Iometer was originally developed by the Intel Corporation and formerly known as "Galileo". Intel has discontinued work on Iometer, and has gifted it to the Open Source Development Lab (OSDL).
Iometer is both a workload generator (that is, it performs I/O operations in order to stress the system) and a measurement tool (that is, it examines and records the performance of its I/O operations and their impact on the system). It can be configured to emulate the disk or network I/O load of any program or benchmark, or can be used to generate entirely synthetic I/O loads. It can generate and measure loads on single or multiple (networked) systems.
Benchmark Reviews has resisted publishing Iometer results because there are hundreds of different configuration variables available, making it impossible to reproduce our tests without having our Iometer configuration file. To measure random I/O response time as well as total I/O's per second, Iometer is set to use 4KB file size chunks over a 100% random sequential distribution. The tests are given a 50% read and 50% write distribution. Our charts show the Read and Write IOPS performance as well as I/O response time (measured in ms). Iometer was configured to test for 120 seconds, and after five tests the average is displayed in our benchmark results. The first tests included random read and write IOPS performance, where a higher I/O is preferred.
In the Random IOPS performance tests the single layer cell (SLC) OCZ Agility EX (3982/3988), Intel X25-E Extreme (3543/3548), and OCZ Vertex EX (3106/3091) outperformed all other products by a wide margin. The OCZ Vertex Turbo SSD rendered 1774 read/1770 write I/O's, while the Corsair recorded 1769/1773, both of which are just slightly ahead of a single Vertex SSD that produced 1702 for read and write IOPS. Finishing out the second-tier IOPS performance is the OCZ Agility SSD with 1625/1618.
The SATA-III Crucial RealSSD-C300 produced 1070 read-IOPS with 1069 write, and creates a third-level tier of operational performance suitable for personal computer systems. Kingston's SSDNow V+ SNVP325 offered 826/829 IOPS. Every other product thereafter responded with low IOPS operational performance, and are not suggested for high input/output applications.
The Iometer random IOPS average response time test results were nearly an inverse order of the IOPS performance results. It's no surprise that SLC drives perform I/O processes far better than their MLC versions, but that gap is slowly closing as controller technology improves the differences and enhances cache buffer space. The Read/Write IOPS performance for the 64GB OCZ Agility-EX SLC SSD was 0.19/0.06 ms, with the Intel X25-E Extreme SSD measuring 0.22/0.06 ms, while the OCZ Vertex-EX achieved 0.26/0.06 ms. Both of these premium MLC products share a dramatic lead ahead of the other SSDs tested.
The Corsair X256 and OCZ Vertex Turbo SSD both scored 0.50/0.06ms, while the Vertex SSD offered 0.52/0.06ms. The mainstream Agility SSD produced 0.55/0.06ms, Crucial's 256GB RealSSD C300 responded in 0.87/0.06ms, and the second-generation Kingston SSDNow V+ SNVP325 responded to read requests in 0.27ms while write requests were a bit slower at 0.93ms. The Western Digital VelociRaptor did very well compared against SSD products, producing 6.59/0.82ms. These times were collectively the best available, as each product measured hereafter performed much slower.
Drive Hardware
In our next section, we test linear read and write bandwidth performance and compare its speed against several other top storage products using EVEREST Disk Benchmark. Benchmark Reviews feels that linear tests are excellent for rating SSDs, however HDDs are put at a disadvantage with these tests whenever capacity is high.
EVEREST Disk Benchmark
Many enthusiasts are familiar with the EVEREST benchmark suite by Lavalys, but very few are aware of the Disk Benchmark tool available inside the program. The EVEREST Disk Benchmark performs linear read and write bandwidth tests on each drive, and can be configured to use file chunk sizes up to 1MB (which speeds up testing and minimizes jitter in the waveform). Because of the full sector-by-sector nature of linear testing, Benchmark Reviews endorses this method for testing SSD products, as detailed in our Solid State Drive Benchmark Performance Testing article. However, Hard Disk Drive products suffer a lower average bandwidth as the capacity draws linear read/write speed down into the inner-portion of the disk platter. EVEREST Disk Benchmark does not require a partition to be present for testing, so all of our benchmarks are completed prior to drive formatting.
The high-performance storage products tested with EVEREST Disk Benchmark are connected to the HighPoint Rocket 620LF SATA-III 6.0 Gbps adapter installed into the third 8x PCI-Express slot on the Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P motherboard. Using the 1MB block size, read performance of the Crucial RealSSD-C300 measured an average 332.1 MBps with a similar maximum peak of 332.2 MBps. Linear write-to tests were next...
Linear disk benchmarks are superior tools in my opinion, because they scan from the first physical sector to the last. A side affect of many linear write-performance test tools is that the data is erased as it writes to every sector on the drive. Normally this isn't an issue, but it has been shown that partition table alignment will occasionally play a role in overall SSD performance (HDDs don't suffer this problem). The 128MB buffer and fast NAND flash memory on the 256GB C300 Solid State Drive helped improve results in our linear write testing, as shown in the waveform chart below.
The waveform chart below illustrates how the buffer fails to keep-up with transfers, and makes linear write performance appear unsteady. The results seen here are relatively consistent compared to most other SSD products we've tested in the past. The Crucial RealSSD-C300 recorded an average linear write-to speed of 214.8 MBps, with a maximum performance of 225.3 MBps. The buffer appears to falter as it switches between 32GB NAND modules, although the average is still better than Crucial's stated write-to performance.
The chart below shows the average linear read and write bandwidth for a cross-section of other SATA drives attached to the SATA-III 6.0Gbps HBA:
Linear bandwidth certainly benefits the Solid State Drive, since there's very little fluctuation in transfer speed. Hard Disk Drive products decline in performance as the spindle reaches the inner-most sectors on the magnetic platter. I personally consider linear tests to be the single most important comparison of storage drive products, although hard disk drive products decrease performance as they reach the edge of the spindle, SSD products operate at a relatively smooth speed from start to finish.
Drive Hardware
In the next section, Benchmark Reviews tests sequential performance using the CrystalDiskMark software tool...
CrystalDiskMark Tests
CrystalDiskMark is a very basic read and write benchmark tool by Crystal Dew World that offers performance speed results using sequential, 512KB random, and 4KB random samples. For our tests, sequential read and write performance was measured using a 1000MB file size, with 50, 100, and 500MB being the other available options. CrystalDiskMark requires that an active partition be set on the drive being tested, and all drives are formatted with NTFS.
Benchmark Reviews uses CrystalDiskMark to confirm manufacturer suggested bandwidth speeds. In addition to our other tests, the sequential read and write benchmarks allow us to determine if the maximum stated speed of any storage product is within reasonable specification. In the chart below illustrated below, our sequential read and write performance speeds are organized from highest to lowest based on total bandwidth.
The Crucial RealSSD-C300 enjoys a noticeable lead atop of our sequential performance chart, producing 363 MBps in read-from transfers and 226 MBps in write-to requests. Both the Intel X25-E Extreme (261/206 MBps) and the OCZ Vertex-EX Single-Layer Cell SSDs (256/182 MBps) and OCZ Agility-EX (258/172 MBps) offer the highest read and write bandwidth performance. Followed closely behind was the Kingston SSDNow V+ SNVP325 that produced 237/182 MBps, and the Corsair X256 which scored 255/156.
Not far behind the top leaders was the OCZ Vertex Turbo, which offered 248/145, which is slightly faster than the standard Vertex SSD performance of 230/138. The OCZ Agility followed closely behind the other Indilinx Barefoot SSDs and shared the same sequential write speed penalty. Although the remaining drives are all within a respectable range of speed, the high-performance VelociRaptor hard drive still keeps pace with a few SSDs. The WD VelociRaptor offers sequential read and write performance comparable to the Mtron MOBI 3500.
Drive Hardware
HD-Tach Benchmark Results
Although HD Tach (and also HD Tune or Crystal Disk Benchmark) are all excellent tools for measuring Hard Disk Drive products, they fail to offer the same precision with Solid State Drive products. These programs offer only an approximate estimate of bandwidth speed through their quick-result sample-testing mechanisms, as I have proven in the Solid State Drive (SSD) Benchmark Performance Testing article published not long ago. Nevertheless, HD Tach is still useful for offering an alternative perspective at performance, even if it isn't precisely correct when used with SSD architecture.
HD Tach is a software program for Microsoft Windows that tests the sequential read, random access and interface burst speeds of the attached storage device. For the record. every single product tested was brand new and never used. HD Tach allows write-bandwidth tests only if no partition is present. Additionally, each and every product was tested five times with the highest and lowest results removed before having the average result displayed here. The graphical user interface (GUI) of the Windows-based benchmark tool HD Tach is very convenient. and allows the test product to be compared against others collected on your system or those registered into the Simpli Software database. HD Tach will not test write performance if a partition is present, so all of our benchmarks are completed prior to drive formatting.
In the tests below, Benchmark Reviews utilizes the HD TachRW tool to compare the fastest collection of desktop hard drives and competing SSD's we can get our hands on. Using the Intel ICH10R SATA controller on the Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD4P, HD Tach was used to benchmark the test SSD five times with the best results displayed below. It's important to note that HD Tach's Burst Speed result should be ignored for Solid State Drives due to the cache methods inherent to each memory controller architecture. There are times where this number will be extremely high, which is a result of the optimized cache used for SSD's.
The important numbers used for comparison are the sustained read and write bandwidth speeds, which indicate an approximate performance level of the product. Our featured test item, the Crucial RealSSD-C300 model CTFDDAC256MAG-1G1 MLC SSD, performed at an average 319.4 MBps best sustained average read speed and a best average sustained write bandwidth of 213.9 MBps in HD-Tach. Read speeds peak at 330 MBps, while writes peaked at 225 MBps.
The chart below illustrates the collected averages for benchmark results using HD-Tach, with the read and write bandwidth results combined to determine rank placement. The first group is a collection of high-performance storage products.
Despite MLC construction, the Crucial RealSSD-C300 produced sustained transfer speeds (320/214) fast enough to beat some of the fastest SSDs Benchmark Reviews has ever tested. The SLC Vertex EX reported 232/220 and barely leads the Corsair X256 (233/205) and Intel X25-E Extreme (237/201) The OCZ Agility EX SSD places just ahead of the MLC Vertex Turbo and several other Indilinx Barefoot-based SSDs. (Crucial M225, OCZ Vertex, Patriot Torqx, Super Talent UltraDrive, and Agility). A set of Western Digital VelociRaptor hard drives paired into a RAID-0 stripe array come close, but just aren't enough to stave off SSD performance.
The ACARD ANS-9010 RAM-Disk, OCZ Summit SSD, OCZ Agility SSD, OCZ Apex SSD, Intel X25-M, and Kingston SSDNow V+ SSD all trail behind in overall performance and finish out the top five positions. Nearly every other storage product trails distantly behind these leaders, which all recorded a combined HD Tach bandwidth to over 300 MBps for each.
A single (non RAID-0) VelociRaptor and Seagate 7200.11 hard drive begin the next segment of upper midrange performers, offering nearly 200 MBps of combined bandwidth. Trailed by a closely-packed group consisting of the Patriot Warp v2 SSD, Silicon Power SP032GBSSD750S25, and G.Skill FM-25S2S-64GB, are SSDs generating between 168-172 MBps of combined average bandwidth.
The lower-midrange SSD products begin with the Western Digital Raptor, scoring a combined total bandwidth of 154 MBps delivering half the performance of the leaders. Yesterday's high-performance SSD is today's low-performance drive, and the Mtron MOBI 3500, OCZ OCZSSD2-1S32G SSD, Super Talent MasterDrive MX SSD and Mtron MOBI 3000 all comprise products with less combined performance than Hard Disk Drive alternatives (except in regard to response time).
Drive Hardware
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Intel X25-E Extreme SATA-II SLC SSD SSDSA2SH032G1GN
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OCZ Vertex-2 Pro 100GB MLC SSD (Engineering Sample)
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Seagate Momentus 5400.6 320GB ST9320325AS 2.5" 5,400 RPM SATA-II Hard Disk Drive
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Please continue on to the Final Thoughts sections, where the state of SSD testing and Data Storage market sector are put under analysis...
SSD vs Hard Disk Drive
The last days of old technology are always better than the first days of new technology. Never has this saying been more true than with the topic of storage technology, specifically in regard to the introduction of Solid State Drive technology a few years ago. The only things standing in the way of widespread Solid State Drive (SSD) adoption are high storage capacity and affordable price of Hard Disk Drive (HDD) devices. Because NAND flash-based SSD technology costs more per gigabyte of capacity than traditional magnetic hard drives, the benefits of immediate response time, transfer speeds, and operational input/output performance often get overlooked. Like most consumer products, it wasn't a question of how much improvement was evident in the new technology, it was price. I'll discuss product costs more in just a moment, but for now consider how each new series of SSD product employs greater performance than the one before it, convincing would-be consumers into waiting for the right time to buy.
There's also a gray area surrounding SSD performance benchmarks that has me concerned. You might not know this, but SSDs can be very temperamental towards the condition of their flash NAND. My experience testing dozens of Solid State Drives is that a freshly cleaned device (using an alignment tool) will always outperform the same device once it's been formatted and used. A perfect example is Indilinx Barefoot-based SSDs, which suffers severely degraded performance when writing to 'dirty' flash NAND. The reason that all of this will matters is simple: the performance results reported to consumers in product reviews (such as this one) often report the very best performance scores, and the process used to obtain these results is not applicable to real-world usage. This is where garbage collection techniques such as TRIM become important, so that end-users will experience the same performance levels as we do in our tests.
| Manufacturer |
Indilinx |
Intel |
JMicron |
Samsung |
Toshiba |
SandForce |
Marvell |
| Controller |
IDX110M00-FC |
PC29AS21AA0 |
JMF612 |
S3C29RBB01-YK40 |
T6UG1XBG |
SandForce SF-1200 |
88SS9174-BJP2 |
| Max Cache |
64MB |
16MB |
128KB+256MB |
128MB |
128MB |
Integrated |
128MB |
| Max Capacity |
256GB |
160GB |
256GB |
256GB |
512GB |
512GB |
256GB |
| Read/Write Speed |
230/170 MBps |
250/70 MBps |
250/200 MBps |
220/200 MBps |
230/180 MBps |
260/260 MBps |
355/215 MBps |
| Interface |
SATA-II 3-Gbps |
SATA-II 3-Gbps |
SATA-II 3-Gbps |
SATA-II 3-Gbps |
SATA-II 3-Gbps |
SATA-II 3-Gbps |
SATA-III 6-Gbps |
| Garbage Collection |
GC/TRIM |
None |
TRIM |
GC/TRIM |
GC/TRIM |
GC/TRIM |
GC/TRIM |
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Chart By:
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BmR |
Garbage Collection (GC) is the current solution for keeping flash NAND in 'clean' condition, while maintaining optimal performance. Windows 7 offers native TRIM support, and most retail SSDs also include this special GC function or at least offer a firmware update that brings the drive up-to-date. For anyone using an Operating System or SSD that does not offer Garbage Collection functionality, you'll be using 'dirty' flash NAND modules and suffering sub-optimal performance for each write-to request. A few SSD manufacturers offers free tools to help restore peak-level performance by scheduling GC to 'clean' used NAND sectors, but these tools add excessive wear to the NAND the same way disk defragmenting tools would. SLC flash modules may resist wear much better than MLC counterparts, but come at the expense of increased production cost. The best solution is a more durable NAND module that offers long-lasting SLC benefits at the cost of MLC construction. Adoption is further stalled because keen consumers aware of this dilemma further continue their delay into the SSD market.
Getting back to price, the changes in cost per gigabyte have come as often as changes to the technology itself. At their inception, high-performance models such the 32GB MemoRight GT cost $33 per gigabyte while the entry-level 32GB Mtron MOBI 3000 sold for $14 per gigabyte. While an enjoyable decline in NAND component costs forced consumer SSD prices down low in 2009, the price of SSD products has been on the rise during 2010. Nevertheless, Solid State Drives continue to fill store shelves despite price or capacity, and there are a few SSD products now costing only $2.03 per gigabyte. Although the performance may justify the price, which is getting dangerously close to the $1.00 per gigabyte WD VelociRaptor hard drive, costs may still close some buyers out of the market. Price notwithstanding, the future is in SSD technology and the day when HDDs are obsolete is nearing; but there are still a few bumps in the road to navigate.
Crucial RealSSD-C300 Conclusion
Benchmark Reviews begins our conclusion with a short summary for each of the areas that we rate. The first section is performance, which considers how effective the Crucial RealSSD-C300 SATA-III 6.0Gbps SSD performs in operations against direct competitor products. For reference, Micron specifies the model CTFDDAC256MAG-1G1 Solid State Drive offers a maximum 355 MBps read and 215 MBps write performance. In many of our benchmark tests, the 256GB C300 performed at or above this rating.
The Crucial RealSSD-C300 offered up to 383/227 MBps read and writes speeds in ATTO Disk Benchmark trailed by 363/226 MBps in Crystal DiskMark, while Everest reported a 332/215 MBps linear bandwidth speed. Input/Output performance was modest in Iometer and HD-Tune, indicating that the CTFDDAC256MAG-1G1 model would perform extremely well for enthusiast consumers but not offer the high operational functionality needed in the Enterprise server sector.
Solid State Drives are low-visibility products: you see them just long enough to install and then they're forgotten. Despite this, Crucial has taken the added step of upgrading the SSD enclosure from the standard black painted chassis used on nearly all other SSD products, and uses a textured metal finish. Because Solid State Drives, like their Hard Disk Drive counterparts, are meant to place function before fashion, anything above and beyond a simple metal shell is more than what's expected of the appearance. To this end I still wish manufacturers would return to using sealed plastic enclosures (such as the MOBI 3000) to prevent moisture or electrical shock damage, though the trend doesn't seem likely.
Construction is probably the strongest feature credited to the entire SSD product segment, and Crucial products have never been an exception. Solid State Drives are by nature immune to most abuses, but add to this a hard metal shell and you have to wonder what it would take to make this drive fail. If a Crucial RealSSD C300-series SSD product fails during the limited 5-year warranty period, end-users can contact Lexar/Crucial via the company website or SSD support forum. Fortunately, there's also a toll-free telephone number for support or customer service questions available at 800-336-8915. Tell them Benchmark Reviews.com sent you. :)
Benchmark Reviews has tested the Crucial RealSSD-C300 6.0-Gbps SSD, and the performance results were leading-edge. Based on our benchmark tests of this SATA-III Marvell-based storage product, the CTFDDAC256MAG-1G1 model delivers a noteworthy 0.16 ms response time which assures a nearly-instant reactions when called upon, and showed absolutely no sign of data-write stuttering during our tests (although Everest linear write tests shows some moments where the buffer transitioned). Based on the high-performance Marvell 88SS9174-BJP2 SSD processor, the Crucial RealSSD-C300 delivers native TRIM garbage collection and Sanitary Erase support with impressive transfer speeds deserving of the SATA 6Gb/s interface. Although a mini-USB port would have been a nice touch, Crucial includes a USB-to-SATA adapter cable to simplify the transition for hard drive users (see our Windows 7 System Image Disc Recovery guide).
As of March 2010 the Crucial RealSSD-C300 Solid State Drive is available in 256GB and 128GB sizes. Benchmark Reviews tested the 256GB Crucial RealSSD-C300 (CTFDDAC256MAG-1G1 model), which is sold directly from the Crucial website for $799 or from NewEgg for $759. Alternatively, there's a 128GB version of the RealSSD-C300 available (CTFDDAC128MAG-1G1) directly from Crucial for $499 or available at NewEgg for $479.
In conclusion, Micron deserves credit for bringing SATA 6Gb/s support to Solid State Drive products. The Crucial RealSSD-C300 is the first to offer ONFI 2.1 synchronous NAND flash, and makes good on delivering 355/215 MBps bandwidth performance. Offering 256GB of SSD storage capacity isn't going to be inexpensive, but is actually in-line with other non-SATA6G SSD products. Based on the performance tests, Crucial's RealSSD C300 series is going to set the bar for Solid State Drive performance in 2010. Delivering the best speeds and highest native functionality we've seen to-date, the Crucial RealSSD-C300 rightfully earns the Benchmark Reviews Golden Tachometer Award.
EDITOR'S NOTE 04-May-2010: Crucial Technologies has released the first public firmware update (version FW0002) for the RealSSD C300 SSD series, available here. Based on our experience, this update must use IDE-mode on a SATA-3GB/s controller. The drive will not be recognized if AHCI or RAID mode is used.
EDITOR'S NOTE 25-May-2010: Our initial test results with firmware FW0002 indicate that bandwidth speed and operational IOPS performance are both unchanged by the update.
Pros:
+ Impressive 383/227 MBps read/write speed with ATTO
+ Marvell 88SS9174-BJP2 controller supports SATA-III 6.0-Gbps
+ Native TRIM Garbage Collection, Sanitary Erase, and SMART
+ Good enthusiast-level operational I/O performance
+ Lightweight compact storage solution
+ Resistant to extreme shock impact
+ 128 or 256GB of SSD storage capacity
+ 5-Year Crucial limited product warranty
+ Low power consumption may extend battery life
+ Upgrade kit makes transitions easier for builders
Cons:
- Expensive enthusiast-level product
- Lacks integrated USB Mini-B data connection
Ratings:
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Performance: 9.75
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Appearance: 9.25
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Construction: 9.75
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Functionality: 9.50
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Value: 7.25
Final Score: 9.1 out of 10.
Excellence Achievement: Benchmark Reviews Golden Tachometer Award.
Questions? Comments? Benchmark Reviews really wants your feedback. We invite you to leave your remarks in our Discussion Forum.
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Comments
If I use the drive attached to the highpoint card is TRIM still going to work?
Marvell controller can not provide more than 450MB/s in 6G mode even in theory (and only halve of that in 3G), so, at least in reading, you tested SATA controller, not the SSD.
Also, you might want to read around... nobody actually uses the MegaRAID SAS 9260-4i for their personal computer... especially overclockers. Most have spent enough money on the SSD that they use what's available on the motherboard.
Are you interested in real data or in Marvell pseudo-SATA-6G based?
Yes, they do. Sometimes they even search Google for comments that help them decide which SSD they should buy.
##dramexchange.com/WeeklyResearch/Post/5/2304.html
so i do not understand the acard ans010 was in the test or not?
cause it showed only in one graph???
in the io meter graph that would kick ass was not.
so all drives were tested in the sata3 channel??
or only the crusial??? cause i wonder if acard ans010 can gain anything from the new bandwith of the sata3.
so the unit pusses the sata bus to the outmost limit
I'm used to the 'new tax' associated with the latest shiny technology for a time after it's release, but it's high time that the prices for these drives came down out of the Stratosphere. These prices turn the phrase "The Leading Edge" into The Bleeding Edge" for us PO-Folks.