Gamma & Delta in the test: Praise and scolding for Mushkin's PCIe 4.0 SSDs

0
369

Despite the same interface, the test shows the great performance differences of the NVMe SSDs Mushkin Gamma and Delta. While the gamma is at the top, you rarely see with the Delta that PCIe 4.0 is available.

Table of contents

  1. 1 Praise and scolding for Mushkin's PCIe 4.0 SSDs
    1. Alpha is followed by Gamma and Delta with PCIe 4.0
    2. Equipment and prices at a glance
  2. 2 benchmarks, cache analysis and temperatures
    1. Test system and test methodology
    2. Cache analysis (SLC mode)
    3. Copy processes in Explorer

      4. < li> Consistency of performance in PCMark 10

    4. CrystalDiskMark
    5. Temperatures over time
  3. 3 Conclusion
    1. Differences such as day and night

Gamma and Delta follow Alpha with PCIe 4.0

In Mushkin's SSDs, alpha is not followed by beta, but gamma and delta. While the Alpha series is still based on PCIe 3.0, the faster PCIe 4.0 interface is used with Gamma and Delta.

Gamma and Delta are both designed in the popular M.2 form factor with a length of 80 mm and offer models with 1 TB, 2 TB or 4 TB of storage space. In terms of components, however, the SSDs differ fundamentally. Trimmed for high performance for enthusiasts, the Gamma series is equipped with the Phison E18 controller and 3D TLC NAND and achieves a maximum of 7,200 MB/s reading and 6,890 MB/s writing. The Delta series uses the older Phison E16 controller and slower 3D QLC NAND for a maximum of 4,975 MB/s reading and 3,975 MB/s writing.

Mushkin Gamma: Manufacturer information on performance in table (Image: Mushkin)

< figure> Mushkin Gamma: Manufacturer information on performance on flyer (Image: Mushkin)

Such “crooked” performance data are typical for Mushkin, but unfortunately the information is not always consistent. This is shown again, for example, on the product pages for Mushkin Gamma, on which a graphic shows completely different performance data.

Test samples and controllers in detail

The editor provided the Mushkin Gamma 2 TB and the Mushkin Delta 1 TB for the test. NAND flash from Micron is used in both – but it cannot be ruled out that this may change. When the two series were presented in March, Mushkin caused confusion with contradicting information about the storage type. Since the manufacturer was unable to clarify this even when the editorial team asked, there was initially no reporting on ComputerBase.

Key data of the test samples Mushkin Gamma 2 TB Mushkin Delta 1 TB Form factor M.2-2280 Interface (protocol) PCIe 4.0 x4 (NVMe 1.4) PCIe 4.0 x4 (NVMe 1.3) Controller Phison PS5018-E18 (8 Channel) Phison PS5016-E16 (8 Channel) NAND flash memory Micron 3D TLC 96 layer Micron 3D QLC DRAM cache 2 × 1 GB DDR4-2666 SK Hynix 2 × 512 MB DDR4-2400 SK Hynix SLC cache ✓ Seq. Read/write (max.) 7,175/6,800 MB/s 4,700/2,100 MB/s Optional read/write (max.) 640K/630K IOPS 195K/510K IOPS Guarantee period 5 years TBW 1,400 TB 200 TB Note: Detailed key data for each model of the series are in the comparison table below

Mushkin Gamma 2 TB (above) and Delta 1 TB (below)

The differences quickly become clear when you look under the sticker on the circuit boards that have no cooler and are populated on both sides. The Phison E16, which shaped SSDs of the first PCIe 4.0 generation, has a much larger chip housing (16 × 16 mm) than the Phison E18 (12 × 12 mm), which is manufactured using the more recent 12 nm process and enables far more performance.

PS5016-E16 PS5018-E18 PS5019-E19T Interface PCIe 4.0 x4 Protocol NVMe 1.3 NVMe 1.4 NVMe 1.3 Manufacturing 28 nm (TSMC) 12 nm (TSMC) 28 nm (TSMC) CPU cores 2 × ARM Cortex R5 3 × ARM Cortex R5 1 × ARM Cortex R5 NAND-Channel (CE) 8 (32) 4 (16) SSD capacity (max.) 8 TB 2 TB throughput/channel 800 MT/s 1,600 MT/s 1,200 MT/s DRAM DDR4 DDR4/LPDDR4 none (DRAM-less) ECC LDPC Seq. Read up to 5,000 MB/s 7,400 MB/s 3,750 MB/s Seq. Write ** up to 4,400 MB/s 7,000 MB/s 3,750 MB/s 4K Random Read up to 750,000 IOPS 1,000,000 IOPS 440,000 IOPS 4K Random Write ** up to 750,000 IOPS 1,000,000 IOPS 500,000 IOPS Power consumption 2.6 W 3.0 * W 1.6 * W * estimated
** in the SLC cache
all information according to Phison

Two DRAM modules from SK Hynix are used for both. The Gamma with 2 TB storage capacity has two 1 GB DDR4 for a total of 2 GB DRAM cache. With the Delta with 1 TB there are two times 512 MB for a total of 1 GB DRAM cache.

The number of NAND packets is eight with the Gamma (four per side ) and for the Delta there are four (two per side).

Equipment and prices at a glance

Equipped with the respective reference platform from Phison, it is clear that AES encryption with up to 256 bits is also supported. It is not surprising that the key data are similar to other SSDs with this platform. The Mushkin Gamma, for example, has parallels to the Corsair MP600 Pro (test), the Mushkin Delta in turn is reminiscent of the Corsair MP600 Core (test).

A direct comparison of the key data not only shows slight differences in the performance data, but also the lower durability guarantee (TBW) for the Delta series. The 1 TB, 2 TB and 4 TB models are specified as 200 TB, 400 TB and 800 TB TBW, according to Mushkin. With the Corsair MP600 Core, the TBW are slightly higher 225 TB, 450 TB and 900 TB.

The TBW of the Gamma series with 700 TB, 1,400 TB and 3,000 TB are again on the same level as the Corsair MP600 Pro. Alternatively, the maximum warranty period is the usual five years for NVMe SSDs, provided that the TBW is not exceeded by then.

The US manufacturer Mushkin sells Gamma and Delta in this country through the Online retailer Amazon. The prices including import costs from the USA are currently around 200 euros for the 1 TB version and 400 euros for the 2 TB version. The version with 4 TB is not yet available.

The 1 TB version of the Delta series is not yet available. The 2 TB version costs around 290 euros and the 4 TB version around 660 euros.

Mushkin Gamma Corsair MP600 Pro Mushkin Delta Corsair MP600 Core Controller: Phison PS5018-E18, 8 NAND-Channel Phison PS5016-E16, 8 NAND-Channel DRAM cache:? DDR4 version 2.048 MB DDR4 1.024 MB version 2.048 MB version available? 1,024 MB variant2,048 MB variant4,096 MB storage capacity: 1,000/2,000/4,000 GB memory chips:? ? ? TLC (3D) NAND,? ? ? ? QLC (3D) NAND,? Form factor: M.2 (80 mm) Interface: PCIe 4.0 x4 seq. Read: 7,150 MB/s variant7,175 MB/s variant7,200 MB/s 7,000 MB/s 4,700 MB/s variant4,975 MB/s 4,700 MB/s variant4. 950 MB/s sequential write: 5,600 MB/s variant6,800 MB/s variant6,890 MB/s 5,500 MB/s variant6,550 MB/s variant6,850 MB/s 2,100 MB/s variant3,750 MB/s variant3,975 MB/s 1,950 MB/s version3,700 MB/s version3,950 MB/s 4K random read: 360,000 IOPS version640,000 IOPS version660,000 IOPS 360,000 IOPS version660,000 IOPS version650,000 IOPS 195,000 IOPS version380,000 IOPS version700,000 IOPS version380,000 IOPS version380,000 IOPS version380,000 IOPS version380,000 IOPS version 4K Random Write: 645,000 IOPS variant630,000 IOPS variant 1,250,000 IOPS 780,000 IOPS variant800,000 IOPS variant700,000 IOPS 510,000 IOPS variant650,000 IOPS 480,000 IOPS variant580,000 IOPS Power consumption activity (typ.):? Power consumption activity (max.):? Power consumption idle:? Power consumption DevSleep:? Power consumption L1.2:? Functions: NVMe, NCQ, TRIM, SMART, Garbage Collection Encryption: AES 256 Total Bytes Written (TBW): 700 terabytes of variant 1,400 terabytes of variant 3,000 terabytes of 200 terabytes of variant 400 terabytes of variant 800 terabytes of 225 terabytes of variant 450 terabytes of variant 900 terabytes of guarantee: 5 years from € 155/price from 340 €/from 973 € – from 110 €/from 219 €/from 599 € Price per GB: – € 0.15/€ 0.17/€ 0.24 – € 0.11/€ 0.11/€ 0.15

On the next page: benchmarks, cache analysis and temperatures