Gigabyte Expands SSD Storage Lineup With NVMe M.2 Solutions

[Raevenlord]

Gigabyte today announced they were expanding their SSD storage lineup (started with the UD PRO series SATA III SSDs) with M.2 solutions. The new SSDs transfer data under the NVMe protocol and carry the M.2 form factor, in 128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB sizes.

According to Gigabyte's own product pages, the 256 GB version has a sequential read and write speed of up to 1200 MB/s and 800 MB/s, while the 128 GB model cuts those speeds down to 1100 MB/s read and 500 MB/s write.





The new SSDs adopt 2280 mainstream specifications and operate by way of the PCIe Gen3 x2 M.2 transmission interface, removing the need for power and transmission cables that are used with traditional SATA SSDs. Installation of these M.2 devices are more straightforward and the lack of cables makes way for improved airflow and heat dissipation inside the casing, strengthening the overall performance of these devices. NVMe architecture allows for superior read/write speeds compared to SATA SSDs and with M.2 Thermal Guards on GIGABYTE motherboards, GIGABYTE M.2 devices offer much improved performance at an incredible value for those who want to upgrade from SATA SSDs to NVMe M.2 SSDs without breaking the bank.



To provide users with stable and standout storage performance, GIGABYTE tested these M.2 devices on GIGABYTE motherboards with various chipsets and high-loading software. The M.2 devices must undergo and clear extreme temperature and pressure stress tests to ensure their quality and durability.

"In comparison with traditional SATA drives, M.2 devices are more compact and offer better performance which makes them perfect for users seeking enhanced storage performance," stated Jackson Hsu, Deputy Director of the GIGABYTE Channel Solutions Product Development Division. "GIGABYTE M.2 SSDs continue to build on the success of the highly acclaimed UD PRO series and are a glowing example of GIGABYTE's dedication to excellence, satisfying the performance and durability demands of all users. With a selection of 128GB, 256GB, and 512GB capacity SSDs, GIGABYTE M.2 SSDs provide users with excellent performance, durability, and capacity flexibility."

GIGABYTE PCIe M.2 SSD comes with a 3 year warranty. 128GB and 256GB capacity drives have already shipped. 512GB is set to be shipped shortly.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[StrayKAT]

Geez.. is every company making every type of product now? We've got ASUS psu's and Gigabyte drives now.

Or maybe these have always existed? I admit I'm somewhat out of the loop.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Seemingly this garbage isn't even for sale in Taiwan...

 

[FreedomEclipse]

I wonder who the OEM is. Or at least who the chips are from.

 

[dirtyferret]

Geez.. is every company making every type of product now? We've got ASUS psu's and Gigabyte drives now.

Or maybe these have always existed? I admit I'm somewhat out of the loop.

they have both offered PSU for years but never really brought them to North America. Gigabyte has several lines from CWT, FSP, andyson, among others. I thought Asus got rid of their PSU?? but they used to use Delta as an oem for some of their lines!

Not sure who makes the chips or controller on the SSD sticks.

 

[mcraygsx]

Seemingly this garbage isn't even for sale in Taiwan...

That is okay, we have plenty of consumers here in states.

 

[bonehead123]

kinda fast for an SSD, but slow as molasses compared to even an older generation REAL m.2/nvme drive

1200/800....hell, I can almost walk faster than that, and I am a semi-OLD MAN !

 

[Easy Rhino]

Most of this crap is just rebadged nonsense from some OEM garage sale. Stay away!

 

[Deleted member 97545]

What's with all the DRAM-less garbage SSDs nowadays? DRAM cartel at it again?

 

[Prima.Vera]

Seriously, those have to be really cheap to be considered.
Especially if there are drives out there at least x3 times faster than those...

 

[CheapMeat]

I think the real use case for this is so they can sell it as a package with their servers. Which is what other companies do including SuperMicro, Dell and HP.

https://b2b.gigabyte.com/

 

[hat]

Makes me wonder what will become of SATA?

 

[Prima.Vera]

Makes me wonder what will become of SATA?

EXACTLY the same thing that happened to EIDE. The faster this happens, the better.

 

[TheLostSwede]

What's with all the DRAM-less garbage SSDs nowadays? DRAM cartel at it again?

No, it's so you can buy a cheaper, slower SSD, if you can't afford to spend $10 more on a decent one...

 

[sepheronx]

EXACTLY the same thing that happened to EIDE. The faster this happens, the better.

I prefer to have options thank you. Especially regarding with older setups. Add to that, at my workplace, we go through these NVME m.2 SSD's like I go through pairs of underwear. Scratch that, I wear the same underwear way more than these drives staying alive.

 

[Hood]

Great, we're reverting back to 2013. I paid way to much for my 2-lane Plextor M6e M.2 drive, back when it was the "fastest available". Was sorely disappointed to realize that it's 4K random IOPS was worse than my Samsung 850 Pro SATA drive.

 

[TheinsanegamerN]

I prefer to have options thank you. Especially regarding with older setups. Add to that, at my workplace, we go through these NVME m.2 SSD's like I go through pairs of underwear. Scratch that, I wear the same underwear way more than these drives staying alive.

Well, given older setups wont have SATA forcibly removed by magic, you will still be able to buy SATA drives to your hearts content. IDE hard drives are still available despite IDE being dead for years now.

How on earth are you going through M.2 drives? You know these are not meant to be used as hammers right? If you have a workload that kills SSDs, SATA vs NVMe isnt going to help you.

 

[bonehead123]

I prefer to have options thank you. Especially regarding with older setups. Add to that, at my workplace, we go through these NVME m.2 SSD's like I go through pairs of underwear. Scratch that, I wear the same underwear way more than these drives staying alive.

If your office is going thru that many drives, then either you work with a big bunch of idiots, who are using them in ways for which they were never designed....or you are buying bottom of the barrel crap units that were binned as such and sold for ways less than real drives....

 

[sepheronx]

If your office is going thru that many drives, then either you work with a big bunch of idiots, who are using them in ways for which they were never designed....or you are buying bottom of the barrel crap units that were binned as such and sold for ways less than real drives....

I work for one of the largest companies in the world. And we contract Dell for these laptops with these m.2 drives installed already so we are not handling them directly but replacing them when they fail. I can tell you, we go through far too many.

Well, given older setups wont have SATA forcibly removed by magic, you will still be able to buy SATA drives to your hearts content. IDE hard drives are still available despite IDE being dead for years now.

How on earth are you going through M.2 drives? You know these are not meant to be used as hammers right? If you have a workload that kills SSDs, SATA vs NVMe isnt going to help you.

We don't lose any regular sata SSD's.

It is a known issue of overheating and failing (key word, overheating):

https://photographylife.com/m-2-nvme-drive-overheating-failure

 

[Hood]

And we contract Dell for these laptops with these m.2 drives installed already so we are not handling them directly but replacing them when they fail. I can tell you, we go through far too many.

So I guess it is "bottom of the barrel crap units"

 

[sepheronx]

So I guess it is "bottom of the barrel crap units"

Could very well be. They barely have any heatspreaders so heat buildup, especially in laptops are a problem. But since I am not the only one reporting these issues, then I can safely say I am not wrong. But whatever floats your boat.

 

[Prima.Vera]

... at my workplace, we go through these NVME m.2 SSD's like I go through pairs of underwear. Scratch that, I wear the same underwear way more than these drives staying alive.

Interesting. What are those NVMe brands with such low life span please?

 

[sepheronx]

You can read the article. Not sure which brands. Simply put, I'll stick to my experience thank you

 

[hat]

I wonder why nobody seems to be able to cool electronics properly...

 

[sepheronx]

I wonder why nobody seems to be able to cool electronics properly...

Laptops are pretty bad on average for cooling, especially if they have beefier gpus.

If these M.2's are as great as mentioned in reliability, can anyone suggest a brand I can bring forward to the company that can handle relatively high heat?