The TeamGroup MP44 (begins at $74.99 for 1TB, $123.99 for the 2TB model we examined) proved its mettle at normal storage duties in our benchmarking assessments, though it lagged on our assessments of 4K write velocity. This DRAM-less inner SSD, geared up with a graphene warmth spreader, is without doubt one of the few accessible in capacities as much as a whopping 8TB, however you need to keep away from that prime capability until you’ve cash to burn or an overriding want for such voluminous storage. You get a a lot better deal per gigabyte with the 2TB or 4TB fashions.
Design: 8TB, if You Want It
The TeamGroup MP44 is a four-lane PCI Specific (PCIe) 4.0 NVMe inner SSD manufactured on an M.2 Kind-2280 (80mm lengthy) “gumstick” printed circuit board. It employs the NVMe protocol over the PCIe 4.0 bus, and options YMTC 232-layer TLC flash reminiscence and a Maxio MAP1602 controller. (Puzzled by any of this lingo? Take a look at our useful information to SSD terminology.)
The MP44 is considered one of a rising group of inner SSDs whose controllers lack its personal dynamic random entry reminiscence (DRAM), as a substitute counting on the pc’s reminiscence for caching. A standard concern with DRAM-less SSDs is that their structure might impression write speeds; our testing, on this case at the least, appears to bear that out, as you will see under.
To assist cool the drive, the MP44 is provided with a graphene heat-spreader sticker affixed to the highest. TeamGroup promotes this as an enhancement to the warmth dissipation of a motherboard’s heatsink. It isn’t a an alternative choice to a heatsink, although—in case your motherboard haven’t got a spare heatsink, it would be best to get a third-party mannequin. When geared up with a compact heatsink, it ought to match the spare M.2 slot in a Sony PlayStation 5—it meets Sony’s necessities for a PS5-friendly SSD. (Simply make sure that the drive with heatsink hooked up would not exceed the 11.25mm most peak to slot in the PS5’s case.)
Within the chart under, you will discover the pricing, sturdiness, and throughput velocity details about the MP44 in its accessible capacities, as much as a gargantuan 8TB. (TeamGroup additionally makes a 512GB model of the drive, however it’s not offered in the USA.)
The candy spot for each throughput speeds and price per gigabyte is within the 2TB and 4TB sticks. The MP44’s rated learn and write speeds tail off considerably if you make the leap to 8GB, and the associated fee per gigabyte between both the 2TB or 4TB and the 8TB mannequin almost doubles. In absolute phrases, 11 cents per gigabyte is not unhealthy, however it’s a steep value enhance between capacities, bringing the sticker value for 8TB as much as near $900.
The MP44’s sturdiness scores, expressed when it comes to lifetime write capability in whole terabytes written (TBW), are among the many finest we’ve got seen on an inner SSD. Among the many handful of at present accessible drives with greater sturdiness scores are the Corsair Power Sequence 600 (rated at 1,800TBW for 1TB and three,600TBW for 2TB) and the MSI Spatium M470 (rated at 1,600TBW for 1TB and three,300TBW for 2TB). On the different excessive, the Mushkin Delta, which makes use of less-durable QLC reminiscence, is rated at simply 200TBW for 1TB, 400TBW for 2TB, and 800TBW for 4TB. Extra typical are the 600TBW and 1,200TBW scores, for 1TB and 2TB, respectively, of the Essential T500, Essential P5 Plus, Samsung SSD 990 Professional, and WD Black SN850X.
(Credit score: Joseph Maldonado)The terabytes-written spec is a producer’s estimate of how a lot information could be written to a drive earlier than it begins to fail. TeamGroup warranties the MP44 for 5 years or till you hit the rated TBW determine in information writes, whichever comes first. You are unlikely to jot down sufficient information to exceed the exceptionally excessive TBW score, however it does give an added sense of safety.
Testing the TeamGroup MP44: Swift Sufficient, However Missing the Write Stuff
We take a look at PCIe 4.0 inner SSDs utilizing a desktop testbed with an MSI X570 motherboard and AMD Ryzen CPU, 16GB of Corsair Dominator DDR4 reminiscence clocked to three,600MHz, and a discrete Nvidia GeForce graphics card. We put the TeamGroup MP44 by means of our standard suite of solid-state drive benchmarks, comprising Crystal DiskMark 6.0, PCMark 10 Storage, and 3DMark Storage.
Crystal DiskMark’s sequential velocity assessments present a conventional measure of drive throughput, simulating best-case, straight-line transfers of enormous information. On these assessments, the MP44 successfully matched its rated learn velocity and fell about 5% wanting its write-speed score. That rating nonetheless places it within the decrease center amongst our comparability group of elite PCIe 4.0 speedsters that you just see within the tables under.
Crystal DiskMark’s 4K learn take a look at measures how lengthy it takes to entry a gaggle of information in 4K cluster sizes. Whereas the MP44’s learn rating on this take a look at was in the midst of our group of comparability drives, its 4K write rating was the bottom. Good 4K write efficiency is particularly necessary for an SSD used as a boot drive, although we take a look at them as secondary drives.
The PCMark 10 Total Storage take a look at measures a drive’s velocity in performing quite a lot of routine duties resembling launching Home windows, loading video games and inventive apps, and copying each small and enormous information. The MP44 did effectively, tying the Essential T500 on this benchmark, forward of a intently packed group of PCIe 4.0 speedsters.
We additionally embrace outcomes from PCMark 10’s hint testing, which evaluates a few of the particular person parts that go into the general rating. The MP44 usually did effectively within the traces, successfully tying the Addlink AddGame A93 for the Home windows boot excessive rating amongst our comparability SSDs. It did worst in our small-copy take a look at, narrowly dropping to a number of different drives for the low rating amongst our group.
Within the 3DMark Storage benchmark, which measures a drive’s proficiency in quite a lot of gaming-related duties, the MP44’s outcomes had been in the midst of a slim vary of scores wherein most of our elite PCIe 4.0 SSDs have landed.
Want Numerous Room? Be Ready to Pay
The DRAM-less TeamGroup MP44 inner SSD posted excessive throughput speeds and turned in a excessive mark among the many PCI Specific 4.0 speedsters we in contrast it with on the PCMark 10 Total benchmark, which measures an SSD’s aptitude at a spread of workaday storage duties. In particular person assessments its efficiency was combined; it posted a excessive Home windows boot rating however low marks within the 4K write and small-file copy assessments. The MP44 is without doubt one of the uncommon inner SSDs we’ve got encountered that’s offered in capacities as much as 8TB, however there’s a catch: Whereas the 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB fashions are all modestly priced, the associated fee per gigabyte of the 8TB model is almost twice that of the 2TB and 4TB sticks, placing it out of vary of most budget-conscious consumers—the 4TB model is on the blissful medium between storage quantity and value.
The TeamGroup MP44 is much like the Editors’ Alternative-winning Addlink AddGame A93, a DRAM-less finances drive that maxes out at 4TB. The A93 provides a full heatsink, did a lot better on our random 4K write testing, and may slot in a PS5. But when you could max out your capability and are keen to pay for it, the MP44 is the way in which to go.
