Goodram IRDM PRO Gen.2 SSD Review: Speed and Stability

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A couple of months ago, we talked about the Goodram innovations that the company introduced at IFA 2019. Something

of these novelties is about to begin to be sold inUkraine. In case anyone does not know: Wilk Elektronik is a Polish company that produces a variety of drives and memory under the Goodram brand with a very attractive price-quality ratio. It is noteworthy that the production is located in Poland, not China, as is usually the case now. To the editors gg the new Goodram IRDM PRO Gen.2 SSD drive has arrived, which we will meet.

Why is Goodram IRDM PRO Gen.2 interesting?
What is included?
What does Goodram IRDM PRO Gen.2 look like?
How does Goodram IRDM PRO Gen.2 perform well?
What can proprietary software do?
In the dry residue

Why is Goodram IRDM PRO Gen.2 interesting?

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IRDM game line of devices of the manufacturer. Accordingly, the drive is positioned as a solution for gaming PCs, laptops or game consoles. Goodram IRDM PRO Gen.2 - 2.5-inch SSD with SATAIII interface, and therefore suitable for relatively inexpensive gaming systems, or as an additional storage in pair with some more sophisticated NVMe PCIe M.2. Moreover, IRDM PRO Gen.2 is available in volumes up to 2 TB. Compared to the first-generation Goodram IRDM PRO, not 3D MLC NAND is used, but 3D TLC NAND. And as a controller, the more recent and productive Phison PS3112-S12 is now installed instead of the Phison S10. The maximum read speed is 555 MB / s, and write - up to 540 MB / s.

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What is included?

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A sample of Goodram IRDM PRO Gen. came to us.2 is not for sale and it seems that the box is not from the new model, but from the predecessor of the first generation Goodram IRDM PRO. Although I don’t think there will be any differences in the configuration: in the box is the SSD itself and a plastic insert-thickness increase from 7 to 9.5 mm with an adhesive surface for installation in the corresponding slots.

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What does Goodram IRDM PRO Gen.2 look like?

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Any design differences between differentAn SSD in the 2.5-inch form factor as a whole cannot be. The Goodram IRDM PRO Gen.2 case is made of rough black metal, the dimensions are standard, the thickness is 7 mm, which is now the standard and is suitable for installation in computers, laptops and game consoles. In front is a black sticker with the model name, Gen.2 marking and the logo of the IRDM gaming line. At the back there are four standard holes for fixing screws and a sticker with technical information.

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SATA and power connectors are completely standard. There can be no other options, in fact:

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How does Goodram IRDM PRO Gen.2 perform well?

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As we wrote above, compared to GoodramFirst generation IRDM PRO, Goodram IRDM PRO Gen.2 uses 3D TLC NAND memory instead of MLC NAND. In fact, TLC also belongs to the type of MLC (Multi-level Cell), the difference is that in one cell, instead of 2 bits of information, 3 bits are stored. If we consider "in a vacuum", then the MLC memory has a higher speed, longer life and lower power consumption. But in the particular case, everything very much depends on the controller and other variables. In turn, TLC is significantly cheaper. Instead of the Phison S10, the new drive uses the new Phison PS3112-S12 controller with support for DRAM cache. The declared maximum read speed of up to 555 MB / s, and write - up to 540 MB / s, performance with random blocks - 92 000 and 86 000 IOPS to read / write. For comparison, the first generation announced: 560 and 530 MB / s for sequential read / write and 100,000 and 90,000 IOPS for read / write. The guaranteed data recording volumes (TBW) of the new drive are 870, MTBF is 1,500,000 hours, plus the manufacturer gives a 5-year guarantee. Data from the official website:

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The characteristics of our test bench can belook at the link. As you can see in the screenshots of the synthetic tests below, the actual drive performance is fully consistent with the stated. In different tests, a little more or a little less, within the margin of error:

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It was more interesting to deal with stability.work and speed. In this case, everything turned out to be quite good: yes, we have a slightly spasmodic graph of speed with sequential linear recording. But the speed does not fall below 465 MB / s, and the average is 485 MB / s. All terabytes of space were recorded in approximately 40 minutes. So even when recording large volumes in one go, the speed will not drop to low levels:

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Usually only NVMe PCIe are overheatedM.2 format drives, so you can not be afraid of the temperature of the Goodram IRDM PRO Gen.2. But, just in case, after the above procedure of sequential recording of the entire SSD, its temperature was 27 ° C:

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What can proprietary software do?

For work with drives Goodram there is a proprietaryOPTIMUM SSD Tool app. It is quite convenient and understandable: there is general monitoring of the drive, the ability to update firmware, speed test, total time, remaining resource, the ability to transfer data, and so on:

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In the dry residue

Goodram IRDM PRO Gen.2 - solid and balanced SSD-drive with high speed (of course, given the limitations of the SATAIII interface). It is perfect for both desktops, laptops, and game consoles. It works stably, without noticeable drawdowns in speed regardless of the amount of data, supports S.M.A.R.T., TRIM and ECC error correction. A nice bonus is a simple and functional proprietary software. The drive will go on sale in November, the price will be interesting. About 4300 UAH ($ 170) for the 1 TB version, which is significantly cheaper than the first generation Goodram IRDM PRO (the last price for 960 GB is almost 7000 UAH).

4 reasons to buy Goodram IRDM PRO Gen.2: