Who is the strongest king? Entry-level 120GB SSD competition

We once predicted that SSD would replace HDD and become the mainstream of the storage market, but we never thought that this prediction would come true so soon. Since first-tier manufacturers entered the low-end market and adopted new technologies to significantly reduce the price of SSD, SSD has bid farewell to the era of being a mere filler, clearing the cognitive barriers for consumers to choose "the first SSD in life".

So, what should the performance of an SSD representing the low-end market be like? Today, we will select two popular entry-level 120GB SSDs from the market and bring a tit-for-tat evaluation. Every netizen will have his or her own ideas about the SSD brand he or she likes. In response to this phenomenon, we tend to look for entry-level 120GB SSDs from sales volume for comparison. After multiple screenings, we selected Samsung 750 EVO 120GB and SanDisk Advanced Edition 120GB. One is a well-known SSD brand and the other is a mainstay in the storage market. Both occupy a large sales volume in e-commerce sales and have become the only choice for most people with 120GB capacity.

Next, we will introduce the two contestants in detail.

Samsung 750 EVO 120GB:

Samsung 750 EVO is a new product launched at the end of 2015, which is Samsung's new attempt to enter the low-end market. Although it is positioned as low-end, its parameters are not low-end. Samsung's data for the 120GB version is: 540MB/s continuous read speed and 520MB/s continuous write speed, random read/write speed are 94000/88000 IOPS (queue depth 32), and random read/write speed is 10000/35000 IOPS under QD1.

The SSD model is MZ-750120, with a voltage of 5V, a current of 1.2A, and a working power of 6W. Although the 750EVO is positioned at the entry level, it still uses the sixth-generation MGX master control, which is especially optimized for the low-capacity version for random read and write performance, and has better power consumption performance, supports queue TRIM instructions, and supports AES-256-bit encryption. It is equipped with its own DDR3 cache with a cache capacity of 256MB.

In addition, the SATA interface version has two models: 120GB and 250GB, which is in line with the low-end positioning. Today we choose the 120GB version.

SanDisk Advanced 120GB:

The SanDisk Advanced Edition is an entry-level product in the SanDisk SSD family, but it uses SanDisk's own MLC particles, which instantly improves the favorability of those who support stability and performance.

In addition, the SanDisk Enhanced Edition 120GB has a built-in SM2246XT controller. Designed by Silicon Motion, it has no external DRAM cache, and the internal cache of the controller is 256KB SRAM x 2. Because there is no external large cache, the mapping table needs to be loaded frequently every time data is read, and there will be read amplification during random reading, so the 4KB performance is not as good as the SSD with external cache.

In other aspects, the SanDisk enhanced version 120GB model is SDSSDA-120G, the voltage is 5V, the current is 1.5A, and the power reaches 7.5W. It is still the familiar SATA III 6Gbps interface.

By comparison, we can see that Samsung 750 EVO 120GB uses Samsung NAND flash memory, while SanDisk enhanced version 120G uses MLC NAND. However, due to the master control relationship, there is a lack of cache, which leads to the theoretical performance of Samsung 750 EVO 120GB being better. Both have a three-year warranty, and as for the price of the two, SanDisk is cheaper. So how are the actual test results?

Project 1: CrystalDiskMark software performance test

In the CDM test, the Samsung 750 EVO 120GB has certain advantages in continuous read and write speed and 4K random read and write speed, while the SanDisk Advanced Edition 120GB is at a disadvantage. Although the SanDisk Advanced Edition 120GB has MLC specifications, the lack of optimization and cache makes the performance far inferior to the TLC Samsung 750 EVO.

Samsung 750 EVO 120GB

SanDisk Advanced 120GB

Project 2: AS SSD Benchmark performance test

In the AS SSD Benchmark test, at a high queue depth, the Samsung 750 EVO 120GB has an advantage in 4K random read speed, but the SanDisk enhanced version 120GB has a clear lead in write speed, forming a sharp contrast.

Samsung 750 EVO 120GB

SanDisk Advanced 120GB

Samsung 750 EVO 120GB

SanDisk Advanced 120GB

Project 3: Anvil's Storage Utilities performance test

Anvil's Storage Utilities is a software designed specifically for SSD testing. It is easy to operate and displays results in two ways: MB/s and IOPS. It also provides a test result summary and scoring function similar to AS SSD Benchmark. It can be seen that in the 4K random read and write test here, Samsung 750 EVO 120GB has a clear advantage over SanDisk Enhanced Edition 120GB, with write and read speeds very close, while the latter lags behind in 4K read speed.

Samsung 750 EVO 120GB

SanDisk Advanced 120GB

Project 4: TxBENCH performance test

In this test, Samsung 750 EVO 120GB still took the lead in all test items, proving that better optimization, more advanced master control and complete specifications are the standards of a good SSD.

Samsung 750 EVO 120GB

SanDisk Advanced 120GB

Project 5: PCMark 7 storage performance test

In the PCMark 7 storage sub-project performance test, as expected, the Samsung 750 EVO 120GB still leads SanDisk, with a score of 5382, close to the score of mainstream SSDs.

Samsung 750 EVO 120GB

SanDisk Advanced 120GB

Project 6: PCMark 8 storage performance test

In the PCMark 8 storage sub-project performance test, the scores of the two are quite close, but the Samsung 750 EVO 120GB still won.

Samsung 750 EVO 120GB

SanDisk Advanced 120GB

Conclusion: Are you still struggling with how to choose between these two entry-level SSDs? From this comparison test, we can see that although the price difference is only 20 yuan, the performance of the two big-name SSD products can be described as a thousand miles apart.

Although Samsung 750 EVO 120GB has reduced some special configurations such as 3D-NAND compared to its big brother products, it retains the most important main control, so the read and write speed is so strong. The price of 299 yuan is acceptable to most consumers. As for SanDisk enhanced version 120GB, although it uses MLC NAND with a better reputation, it lacks main control optimization and cache configuration, and its performance is far behind Samsung 750 EVO.

Necessary configuration and optimization, none of them can be missing, otherwise the performance will be out of the mainstream level, even if the price is cheap. It can be seen that the entry-level SSD is still very deep. If you want to buy an ultra-low-priced SSD, you have to do your homework in all aspects. The most important thing is to disassemble the SSD, so that you can see the whole SSD.

Parameter hardware is not the only criterion for judging a product. Only when the software and hardware are combined with each other can the product perform well.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.