HP FX900 Pro 2 TB in review: high-end SSD with graphene foam cooler

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3 years ago

The fastest SSD with the HP logo to date conquers the top field, which is dominated by SSDs with E18 controllers from Phison. The combination with Micron's 176-layer NAND also frees up more power for the IG5236 controller. However, the heavily advertised cooler is not as powerful as the soldered technology on the PCB.

Table of contents

1 High -End SSD with graphene foam cooler
1. Innogrit IG5236 meets Micron B47R
2. The test sample in detail
3. A “cooler” of a special kind
4. TBW in comparison
5. Prices and key data at a glance
2 benchmarks, cache analysis and temperatures
1. Test system and test methodology
2. Cache analysis (SLC mode)
3. Copy processes in Explorer
4. Performance consistency in PCMark 10
5. CrystalDiskMark
6. Additional test: Over 1 million IOPS!
7. Temperatures over time
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3 Conclusion
1. Performance on a Phison E18 level
2. The graph cooler is disappointing
3. Not yet available and expensive

With the FX900 Pro, HP has a successor to the HP EX950 that is twice as fast in many disciplines. The switch to PCIe 4.0 enables transfer rates of up to 7,400 MB/s for sequential read with the Innogrit controller and Micron's current TLC-NAND – that's practically the current limit. The sequential write speed of up to 6,700 MB/s in SLC mode is also very high.

While the transfer rates are comparable to those of SSDs with a Phison E18 controller and the same NAND flash, HP and licensee Biwin promise record-breaking IOPS values for random read/write in the data sheet. Accordingly, the 4 TB model should read 1.35 million IOPS and write 1.15 million IOPS. The 2 TB model that the editors are testing at this point is hardly slower.

The SK Hynix Platinum P41 has a little more IOPS with a maximum of 1.4 million IOPS or 1.3 million IOPS specified for random reading/writing of 4K data.

The Chinese company Biwin holds the official license from HP to manufacture, market and sell HP's consumer storage and DRAM products. Even if the SSDs bear the logo of the US company HP, they actually come from China.

Innogrit IG5236 meets Micron B47R

The 8-channel controller IG5236 from Innogrit has been a guest in the editorial office several times and is used, for example, in the Adata Gammix S70 (Blade) or the Patriot Viper VP4300.

But the combination with Micron's 176-layer TLC-NAND aka B47R is new and, according to the key data, should offer even more performance. The performance values given by Innogrit for the IG5236 in the table below are to be regarded as outdated in view of SSDs such as the HP FX900 Pro.

Innogrit IG5236 Phison PS5018-E18 Interface PCIe 4.0 x4 Protocol NVMe 1.4 Manufacturing 12 nm (TSMC) CPU cores ? 3 × ARM Cortex R5 NAND Channel (CE) 8 (32) SSD Capacity (max.) 8 TB Throughput/Channel 1,200 MT/s 1,600 MT/s DRAM (LP)DDR3/4 (LP)DDR4 Error Correction LDPC, End -to-End Data Path Protection, SRAM ECC Seq. Read 7400MB/s 7400MB/s Seq. Write** 6,400 MB/s 7,000 MB/s 4K Random Read 1,000,000 IOPS 1,000,000 IOPS 4K Random Write** 800,000 IOPS 1,000,000 IOPS Power consumption maximum 3.0 W
PS3: 50 mW
PS4 : < 2 mW 3.0* W *estimated
**in the SLC cache
all information according to Innogrit and Phison

The test pattern in detail

The test sample with 2 TB storage volume is equipped on both sides with a total of four memory chips, each of which has eight dies with 512 gigabit storage volume each. Since Biwin manufactures the chips itself from the wafers purchased from the manufacturer (here Micron) (“chip packaging”), the built-in memory chips have a Biwin identifier. A dedicated DDR4 DRAM cache (Nanya, DDR4-2666) is available. In the case of the test sample, this holds 2 GB of data.

HP FX900 Pro form factor M.2-2280 interface (protocol) PCIe 4.0 x4 (NVMe 1.4) controller Innogrit IG5236 (Rainier Q) NAND flash -Memory 3D TLC (Micron B47R, 176 layers, 512 Gbit) DRAM cache ✓ SLC cache ✓ Storage space 512 GB
1 TB
2 TB
4TB Seq. Read/Write (max.) 7,400/6,700 MB/s Warranty period Five years TBW 300/600/1200/2400 cooler Graphene foam pad Dimensions 80 × 22 × 3.2 mm Note: Detailed key data for each model can be found in the comparison table below

A “cooler” of a special kind

The HP FX900 Pro comes with a glued-on “Graphene Thermal Pad” ex works, which is said to reduce the operating temperature by 18 °C thanks to its thermal conductivity. The manufacturer speaks of “Graphene Foam”, i.e. a foam made of graphene, a modified carbon that is also used by other SSD manufacturers for flat coolers.

The fact that the allegedly extremely efficient cooling solution was anything but convincing in the test can be read in the Temperatures over time section.

TBW in comparison

The write volume until the otherwise five-year warranty expires, which the manufacturer defines as “Total Bytes Written” or “TBW”, is on a normal level at 600 TB per TB. Samsung, for example, has set the same values for the 980 Pro or Western Digital for the WD Black SN850. Although the information has little to do with the actual durability of the NAND flash, it does limit the guarantee.

Seagate continues to be particularly generous in the consumer upper class with more than twice as high TBW limits for the FireCuda 530 and is therefore attractive for frequent writers.

TBW comparison of some NVMe -SSDs Model 5xxGB 1TB 2TB 4TB Kioxia Exceria Pro – 400TB 800TB – HP FX900 Pro 300TB 600TB 1,200TB 2,400TB Samsung 980 Pro 300TB 600TB 1,200TB – WD Black SN850 300TB 600TB 1200TB – Adata Legend 840 325TB 650TB – – Corsair MP600 Pro XT 350TB 700TB 1400TB 3000TB Seagate FireCuda 530 640TB 1275TB 2550TB 5100TB

Prices and key data at a glance

Biwin does not make any non-binding price recommendations for the HP FX900 Pro and cites constant price fluctuations as the cause. In the US, the FX900 Pro costs around $85 (512GB), $125 (1TB), or $250 (2TB).

So far, the SSD has only been found sporadically in local online shops with prices currently at 108 euros (512 GB), 187 euros (1 TB) and 367 euros (2 TB). The announced 4 TB model is not yet available.

HP FX900 Pro Corsair MP600 Pro XT Western Digital WD Black SN850 Controller: Innogrit IG5236, 8 NAND channel Phison PS5018-E18, 8 NAND channel WD Black G2, 8 NAND channel DRAM cache: 1,024 MB DDR4 variant 2,048 MB DDR4 variant 4. 096 MB DDR4 1,024 MB available Variant 2,048 MB DDR4 variant 4,096 MB available 512 MB available Variant 1,024 MB available Variant 2,048 MB available Storage capacity: 512/1,024/2,048/4,096 GB 1,000/2,000/4,000 GB 500/1,000/2,000 GB Memory chips: ? ? TLC (3D, 176 layers) NAND, 512 Gbit Micron ? ? TLC (3D, 176 layers) NAND, ? Western Digital? ? TLC (3D, 96 layers) NAND, ? Form factor: M.2 (80 mm) Interface: PCIe 4.0 x4 seq. Read: 7,000 MB/s variant 7,400 MB/s 7,100 MB/s 7,000 MB/s seq. Write: 3,800 MB/s variant 6,400 MB/s variant 6,700 MB/s Variant6,300 MB/s 5,800 MB/s Variant6,800 MB/s 4,100 MB/s Variant5,300 MB/s Variant5,100 MB/s 4K Random Read: 540,000 IOPS Variant1,014,000 IOPS Variant1,344,000 IOPS Variant1,350,000 IOPS 900,000 IOPS.01.00 IOPS Variant IOPS 800,000 IOPS Variant1,000,000 IOPS 4K Random Write: 938,000 IOPS Variant1,079,000 IOPS Variant1,122,000 IOPS Variant1,150,000 IOPS 1,200,000 IOPS 570,000 IOPS Variant720,000 IOPS Variant710,000): Power consumption (typ.IOPS Variant710,000): Power consumption activity (max.): ? Power consumption idle: ? Power consumption DevSleep: ? Power consumption L1.2: ? Functions: NVMe, NCQ, TRIM, SMART, Garbage Collection Encryption: no AES 256 no Total Bytes Written (TBW): 300 terabyte variant600 terabyte variant1,200 terabyte variant2,400 terabyte 700 terabyte variant1,400 terabyte variant3,000 terabyte 300 terabyte variant600 terabyte variant1,200 terabyte Warranty: 5 years Price: from €108/from €187/from €367/– from €143/from €260/from €689 from €87/from €120/from €253 Price per GB: €0.21/€0 .18/€0.18/– €0.14/€0.13/€0.17 €0.17/€0.12/€0.13 Page 1/3 Next page
Benchmarks, cache analysis and temperatures