SSD drives continue to become cheaper, and the time when it will be more profitable for a user to purchase an SSD instead of an HDD to get the maximum capacity for their money is getting closer. These days, however, have not yet arrived, but 1-2 terabyte drives are already available enough to allow you to provide yourself with high-speed storage for modern, storage-demanding games. And DirectStorage is already starting to make its way into games, which can already significantly reduce loading times in several projects. The pace of technology adaptation, of course, still leaves much to be desired.
Today I’m reviewing a 1 terabyte M.2 2280 TeamGroup MP44 SSD drive, but in the MP44 line there are models up to 8 terabytes, and the smallest is a 512 gigabyte SSD. All of them operate via the PCIe 4.0 x4 protocol and provide read/write speeds of 7200/4500 megabytes per second. It is worth noting that the only drive with a write speed of 4500 MB/s is the younger version, while for the rest this figure starts at 6000 MB/s. All this is due to the fact that all models do not have a DRAM cache, and this imposes certain restrictions on the operation of a model with 512 GB of memory. There is no need for read operations in the cache, and therefore the speed of all models is virtually the same. The characteristics of the full model range, by the way, are as follows.
You may also notice that the 2TB version is the fastest, while larger drives suffer in write speed. In this case, the cause of the “problem” is already the 4-band Maxio MAP1602 controller, which is simply difficult to work with such volumes.
You can also note the impressive declared survivability of the drives, which should definitely be enough for the vast majority of users for a very long time. In general, if the drive is not constantly heated to inadequate temperatures, then nothing should happen to it, and then there is the number of rewrite cycles of at least 750 per terabyte.
The TeamGroup MP44 comes in a standard box containing nothing but the drive itself.
There is also nothing unusual in the appearance of the SSD. My terabyte version has all the memory chips and the controller on one side and covered with a thin sticker with some graphene inside to dissipate heat. The sticker can be removed or left on the SSD. For more efficient cooling of the controller, of course, it is worth replacing it with a radiator.
Under the sticker we see the Maxio MAP1602 controller and two “banks” of 232-layer TLC memory, 512 GB each. The controller is good, no problems have been found with it at the moment and, in general, feedback about it is extremely positive. It is also one of the fastest and most efficient controllers without DRAM cache.
Moving on to the tests, it’s worth starting with a description of the test system:
- Processor: Intel Core i5-12600K.
- Motherboard: ASUS ROG STRIX B760-F GAMING WIFI.
- RAM: 32 GB DDR5-6000 CL38 TeamGroup T-Force Delta.
- SSD: TeamGroup MP44 1 TB.
The drive’s read/write speeds correspond to those stated, with minor deviations that obviously won’t make a difference. I suggest you read the results of synthetic tests below.
The performance for a drive with PCIe 4.0 is decent, but what about the temperatures? Under peak load while copying a large file, the SSD only reached 58 degrees under its base sticker without an additional heatsink. These are indeed modest figures, but they are quite logical if we take into account the consumption of the drive within the same operation, which was equal to 2.9 W. By the way, the drive will feel even better under the radiator.
Let’s summarize traditionally
TeamGroup MP44 is a worthy solution for expanding the amount of permanent memory in a modern personal computer for games that require storage speed and more. A wide selection of drive capacities in the line and relatively affordable prices for them make the MP44 an extremely interesting option to consider when purchasing. The final decision to purchase, of course, is yours, as always.
