US manufacturer Mushkin is expanding its SSD portfolio with its fastest model to date. The Mushkin Vortex is said to achieve over 7,400 MB/s reading, 6,800 MB/s writing and up to 1.5 million IOPS in random writing. The M.2 SSD with PCIe 4.0 x4 uses an InnoGrit controller.
The 80 mm long, black M.2 module appears simple and inconspicuous, and its sticker shows the Vortex logo crowns. Mushkin has said goodbye to the Greek alphabet with this model, since the manufacturer's first PCIe 4.0 SSDs were still called Delta and Gamma (test).
Top performance still above the Mushkin Gamma
Compared to the already very fast Gamma, the Vortex is a step ahead, at least according to the key data. The Gamma with Phison E18 controller is specified with a maximum of 7,175 MB/s, with the Vortex it is now 7,415 MB/s. This is achieved by switching to the Innogrit IG5236 as the controller, which is ahead in sequential reading, at least in synthetic benchmarks such as CrystalDiskMark. The Patriot Viper VP4300 (test) with the same chip therefore leads ComputerBase's SSD ranking in this discipline. At up to 6,800 MB/s sequential writing is on par with the models with the Phison E18.
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Mushkin Vortex SSD (Image: Mushkin)
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Mushkin Vortex SSD (Image: Mushkin)
The fact that Mushkin speaks of up to 1.5 million IOPS in random writing is surprising, because the counterpart from Patriot delivers a maximum of 800,000 IOPS according to the manufacturer – Innogrit had also previously cited this value as the maximum for the IG5236.
No useful information about memory
The use of TLC-NAND is almost certain in this performance class , but Mushkin leaves the memory type or its origin completely open in the data sheet and only speaks of “High Reliability NAND Flash”. This creates flexibility in memory configuration as long as the promised performance values are achieved. An unspecified DRAM cache is present.
Mushkin gives the Total Bytes Written (TBW) with 250 TB, 500 TB and 1,000 TB for the three models with 512 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB of storage space. The 2 TB model delivers the highest performance, while the 1 TB model writes slightly slower and achieves almost half as many read IOPS. The 512 GB version is even slower with 6,750 MB/s and 200,000 IOPS when reading and 2,635 MB/s and 645,000 IOPS when writing.
Pricing and Availability
The Mushkin Vortex will be shipping in the US at comparatively low prices (pre-tax MSRP) of $125 (1 TB) and $78 (512 GB) to the Begin. In this country, exclusive distribution via Amazon is to be expected, as was the case with the predecessors. Prices for Germany or the 2 TB model are not yet available.
Update 08/14/2022 5:40 p.m.
Not at Amazon, but at Alternate, the Mushkin Vortex SSD now available for order with prompt delivery. The prices are around 71 euros* (512 GB), 116 euros* (1 TB) and 194 euros* (2 TB).
The editors would like to thank community member “Irrlicht_01” for pointing out the update.
(* ) The links marked with an asterisk are affiliate links. In the case of an order via such a link, ComputerBase participates in the sales proceeds without increasing the price for the customer.