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


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A couple of months ago we talked about the new Goodram products that the company presented at IFA 2019. Something

of these new products is about to begin to be sold inUkraine. In case anyone doesn’t 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 production is located in Poland, and not China, as is usually the case now. To the editorggThe new SSD drive Goodram IRDM PRO Gen.2 has arrived, which we’ll get to know.

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

Why is Goodram IRDM PRO Gen.2 interesting?


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IRDM-gaming line of devices from the manufacturer.Accordingly, the drive is positioned as a solution for gaming PCs, laptops or game consoles. Goodram IRDM PRO Gen.2 is a 2.5-inch SSD with a SATAIII interface, and accordingly is suitable for relatively inexpensive gaming systems, or as additional storage in conjunction with some more sophisticated NVMe PCIe M.2. Moreover, IRDM PRO Gen.2 is available in capacities up to 2 TB. Compared to the first generation Goodram IRDM PRO, it uses 3D TLC NAND rather than MLC NAND. And the more recent and productive Phison PS3112-S12 is now installed as a controller instead of the Phison S10. The maximum read speed is 555 MB/s, and write speed is up to 540 MB/s.

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What is included?


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A sample of Goodram IRDM PRO Gen arrived to us.2 is not for sale and it seems that the box is not from the new model, but from the predecessor Goodram IRDM PRO of the first generation. Although I don’t think there will be any differences in the packaging: in the box there is the SSD itself and a plastic insert that increases the thickness from 7 to 9.5 mm with an adhesive surface for installation in the appropriate 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 GoodramIRDM PRO first generation, Goodram IRDM PRO Gen.2 uses 3D TLC NAND memory instead of MLC NAND. In fact, TLC also belongs to the MLC (Multi-level Cell) type, the difference is that instead of 2 bits of information, 3 bits are stored in one cell. Considered in a vacuum, MLC memory has faster operating speeds, longer lifespans, and lower power consumption. But in a 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 a new Phison PS3112-S12 controller with DRAM cache support. The stated maximum read speed is up to 555 MB/s, and write speed is up to 540 MB/s, performance with random blocks is 92,000 and 86,000 IOPS read/write. For comparison, the first generation stated: 560 and 530 MB/s for sequential read/write and 100,000 and 90,000 IOPS for read/write. The guaranteed data recording capacity (TBW) of the new drive is 870, the mean time between failures (MTBF) is 1,500,000 hours, plus the manufacturer provides a 5-year warranty. 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 understand stabilitywork and speed. In this case, everything turned out to be quite good: yes, we have a slightly jumpy speed graph during sequential linear recording. But the speed does not drop below 465 MB/s, and the average is 485 MB/s. The entire terabyte of space was 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 is susceptible to overheatingM.2 format drives, so you don’t have to worry about the temperature of the Goodram IRDM PRO Gen.2. But, just in case, after the above-mentioned procedure for 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 - a high-quality and balanced SSD drive with high operating speed (of course, taking into account the limitations of the SATAIII interface). It is perfect for desktop PCs, laptops, and game consoles. It works stably, without noticeable drops in speed, regardless of the volume of data, and supports S.M.A.R.T., TRIM and ECC error correction. A nice bonus is simple and functional proprietary software. The drive will go on sale in November, the price will be interesting. Near4300 UAH($170) for the 1 TB version, which is significantly cheaper than the first generation Goodram IRDM PRO (the latest price for 960 GB is almost 7,000 UAH).

4 reasons to buy Goodram IRDM PRO Gen.2:

  • High operating speed in the class of SATA drives;
  • stable work;
  • support S.M.A.R.T., TRIM and ECC error correction;
  • Simple and intuitive OPTIMUM SSD Tool software.

1 reason not to buy Goodram IRDM PRO Gen.2:

  • there are models of a similar volume on the market even cheaper.

Technical specifications Goodram IRDM PRO Gen.2

Form factor
2.5&#8221;

Interface
SATAIII

Volume
1 TB (also available in 250, 500 GB and 2 TB)

Memory type
3D TLC NAND

Controller
Phison PS3112-S12

Maximum read speed
555 MB/s

Maximum write speed
540 MB/s

Lifetime Warranty
870 TBW (Total Bytes Written), MTBF 1,500,000 hours (mean time between failures), 5 years

Dimensions, weight
100&#215;69.85&#215;7 mm


For those that want to know more:

  • Samsung SSD 860 QVO Review: Consumer SSD with QLC 3D V-NAND memory
  • 512GB ADATA XPG Gammix S5 Review: Mid-Range NVMe SSD
  • Samsung SSD 970 EVO Review: What NVMe M.2 SSDs Can Do
  • A Quick Review of the ADATA SP600 SSD