Des références MEG Unify, MPG Edge, MAG Tomahawk et Torpedo, Pro.

Des modèles ASRock, Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, Biostar et NZXT, certaines prenant en charge la DDR5, d'autres la DDR4.

Tous armés d'une dalle IPS et offrant une fréquence de rafraîchissement d'au moins 144 Hz.

MSI annonce une nouvelle famille de Watercooling AIO haut de gamme, les MEG CORELIQUID S Series. L’un des faits marquants est la présence d’un écran IPS de 2.4 pouces.

The post AIO MEG CORELIQUID S Series, MSI annonce du 280 et 360 avec écran IPS de 2.4 pouces ! appeared first on GinjFo.

Des kits munis d'un écran IPS de 2,4 pouces et proposés en deux versions, l'une de 280 mm l'autre de 360 mm.

MSI propose au travers de son Optix MPG321UR-QD un moniteur gaming haut de gamme capable d’assurer du 4K en 144 Hz. Il s’équipe d’une dalle IPS de 32 pouces

The post Optix MPG321UR-QD, MSI propose du 4K à 144 Hz G-Sync et Display HDR600 appeared first on GinjFo.

MSI publie une longue liste de nouveaux BIOS pour ses cartes mères AMD X570, B550, A520, X470 et B450. Ils déploient l’AGESA 1.2.0.4 disponible depuis peu. MSI accélère la prise en charge de l’AGESA 1.2.0.4. Le micrologiciel est désormais proposé sur plus de 50 de ses cartes mères AMD. Elles appartiennent aux générations 400 et ...

The post Windows 11, MSI prépare ses cartes mères X570, B550, A520, X470 et B450, l’AGESA 1.2.0.1 se déploie appeared first on GinjFo.

HMI pour Human Machine Interface, ce qui implique tout simplement la présence d’un petit écran supplémentaire situé dans le coin inférieur gauche.

Proposés avec des Core i7 / i5 Rocket Lake-S ou des Core i3 / Pentium Comet Lake Refresh.

Un firmware AGESA 1.2.0.4 pour cinq cartes mères B550 et deux cartes mères B450.

Review of the MSI SPATIUM M480 PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD

There has been a remarkable deluge of PCIe NVMe M.2 SSDs hit the market in the middle of 2021 and for many users who have been looking at upgrading their high-performance gaming storage or post-production editing, this has come as something of a mixed blessing. The fact that the MSI Spatium M480 SSD arrives amidst a bunch of other alternative drives from brands like Seagate, Gigabyte and Sabrent gives buyers a great deal of choice right now, but when is too much choice a bad thing? The relative similarity of the MSI Spatium M480 in hardware architecture to the Corsair MP600 Pro, Gigabyte Aorus 7000S and Sabrent Rocket plus in the controller, NAND, price and availability has the potential for this new SSD release to arrive with a whiff of ‘old news’ about it. However, with the Spatium M480 arriving from one of the biggest and recognizable names in pro-PC builder architecture gives it a certain air of quality to its name and in today’s review of the MSI M480 SSD, I want to work out whether this new PCIe NVMe drive deserves your data, or if it is just a lot more of the same with a different label on top? Let’s go!

MSI SPATIUM M480 SSD Review – Quick Conclusion

The MSI Spatium M480 SSD is an SSD that, if it had been released even 4-5 months earlier, would have made a much bigger splash than it has. This is not MSI’s fault. The massive range of market damaging events that have plagued the storage market for good or bad in the last 24 months (ranging from the pandemic, semi-conductor shortages, changes in buying trends, US-China trade war, Chia and more) have led to a large number of releases that ordinarily would have been released in a more appropriate/spaced-out manner has led to a downpour of 7,000MB/s SSD releases to hit the market back to back within 3-4 months. Some brands were luckier than others to sneak limited available storage releases at the closing of 2020 and start of 2021 – Looking at you Samsung, WD and Sabrent) and a big result of this is that although the MSI Spatium IS a good SSD that provides EXACTLY what it promises, it does it whilst appearing near identical to about 6 other SSDs from fellow big brands that do the same thing – at a slightly lower price. The MSI Spatium IS a GOOD drive and if you are looking for an NVMe M.2 SSD that can push through more than enough data to largely saturate the potential 8,000MB/s of PCIe 4×4, then this can do it. It is just a little harder to pinpoint what makes this drive stand out from the crowd right now that have similar promises.

PROs of the MSI SPATIUM M480	CONs of the MSI SPATIUM M480
Genuinely Impressive Performance PS5 Compatibility Confirmed 96 Layer TLC 3D NAND Higher Durability than WD Black & Samsung 980 Pro More affordable than the Seagate Firecuda 530 Consistent 7,000MB/s on ALL Capacities	The heatsink isn’t included and run rather hot! IOPS figures are lower than many PCIe4 SSDs

MSI SPATIUM M480 SSD Review – Packaging

The packaging is pretty understated, with the drive arriving in a black carton hanging retail slider. The box is quick to highlight that this drive arrives from MSI, with their instantly recognizable logo appearing loud n proud at the top, alongside the promised 7,000MB/s Seq’ Read speed. This is one of the few M.2 PCIe SSD drives that I have reviewed in the last few months that actually downplays the text on the front, with most brands heavily hammering boastful text on the front. They mention the 7,000MB/s reported read – and that’s it.

Indeed they don’t even present it with a pile of caveats and exclusions. The read of the box details things more of course, but fair play to the brand for keeping it nice, clear and simple.

Opening up the retail kit provides suitably simple content. Anyone that has ever purchased an MSI hardware component that they have a huge body of online resources that is the preferred source for assistance and setup guidance, so this does not come as a massive surprise! Inside we find the drive in a sealed surrounding plastic shell and information on the 5 years inclusive warranty and light setup information. For today’s review, we are featuring the 1TB model, but not the 1st party heatsink version that is around $30-35 more.

The drive itself arrives with the fairly standard layout for a 1TB. Single-sided NAND/System processors, with a branded label over the top. I am a little sad that it is not a metallic label as you find on the Sabrent Rocket series or even a metal surround as found on the Gigabyte 7000s, but this is all fairly standard otherwise.

The m.2 connector o this NVMe 1.4 rev drive is nice and clear, without any overhand at the top of the drive. The controller is located right there at the top, so definitely make sure that heatsink and thermal padding you install on this drive when you install it is right up to the top!

The rear of this single-sided NVMe SSD is pretty standard, detailing the worldwide classifications and utility. Oddly, I noticed the mentioning of warranty support refusal if the label is removed. This is always a peculiar thing, given that many users remove these labels to ensure the connectivity of heatsinks and thermal panels (so they can see the key components are amply covered). This is largely irrelevant in the case of a single-sided 1TB, but I would be interested in how this is addressed and handled in larger versions.

So that is the physical design of the MSI SPATIUM M480 SSD. But what about the hardware components themselves? Does the MSI SPATIUM M480 cut the mustard in terms of current generation hardware and protocols? Let’s find out.

MSI SPATIUM M480 SSD Review – Hardware Specifications

As you might expect from an M.2 NVMe SSD that boldly promises performance of over 7,000MB/s sequential read (ie BIG data), the hardware specifications and architecture of the MSI SPATIUM M480 are quite modern. Indeed, for all the big talk of the Seagate Firecuda 530 hardware (still currently the ‘score to beat’ PCIE Gen4 m.2 NVMe right now) being top tier, the MSI SPATIUM M480 is pretty darn similar on the spec sheet! Below is how it looks:

MSI SPATIUM M480
PCIe Generation	PCIe Gen 4
NVMe Rev	NVMe 1.4
NAND	3D TLC Micron 96L
Max Capacity	2TB – Single Sided
Controller	Phison E18-PS5018
Warranty	5yr

I know a lot of the above will seem needlessly technical, so below we can bring the most important considerations into sharper focus.

Hardware Focus of the MSI SPATIUM M480 SSD Series

The first big, BIG thing to remember here is the controller, that Phison E18. An SSD is much like a microcosm version of a whole computer. The Controller is equivalent to the CPU, and Phison are one of the bigger 3rd party SSD controller manufacturers in the world! I say 3rd party, because some long-running storage brands like Samsung and WD have most of their development and hardware engineering ‘in-house’ and use their own branded controllers. Whereas some brands source some/all components for their SSDs from 3rd parties – which is not necessarily a bad thing for both them and the industry (there are pros and cons on either side). Phison has been at the cutting edge of this subject for years now and the E18 was first revealed last year in 2020, but due to the pandemic making storage trends unpredictable and semi-conductor shortages, most SSDs that utilized the Phison E18 eventually arrived in 2021. This controller is one of the biggest reasons that the MSI SPATIUM M480 can actually back up it’s promises about the 7,000MB/s+ Sequential Read (sequential data = big chunks of data). However, that is not the only reason.

The NAND on the MSI SPATIUM M480 is where the data lives! SSDs (as you no doubt know) do not use moving parts as found in traditional hard drives and instead uses cells that are charged and data is read/written to them in this process. The quality of the NAND and the layers used will make a big difference to the durability and performance of an SSD and although the MSI SPATIUM M480 does not provide the best SSD in the industry at this tier right now (that, once again, goes to the Seagate Firecuda 530 at 176 layer 3D TLC NAND), it is bigger than most, arriving at 96 Layers of 3D TLC NAND. Although the majority of modern PCIe M.2 SSD use 3D TLC NAND (avoid QLC NAND like the PLAGUE btw!), most are still at 64 layers or so, so this is a big jump up for the MSI SPATIUM M480 SSD.

Much like the Controller on the MSI SPATIUM M480 being the ‘CPU’, it also has an area of memory. The MSI SPATIUM M480 SSD uses 1GB DDR4 memory on board and this in conjunction with the SSD provides a massive body of data handling resources for getting your data moving through the SSD and out of the m.2 NVMe PCIe 4 interface. The amount of memory scales in conjunction with the 1TB or 2TB SSD you use, with 2GB of DDR4 at the on the 2TB tier, 1GB DDR4 on the 1TB, etc.

As mentioned, all available capacities of the MSI SPATIUM M480 arrive at 2280 in length. This is quite normal for the 1TB and 2TB versions, but the fact that the 2TB can arrive on single-sided SSD boards is very impressive. Physical storage NAND is distributed evenly in order to space out the storage and allow even cooling, NAND wear and performance. Finally, there is the M.2 NVMe connection. Not all m.2 SSDs are created equal and although M.2 SATA and M.2 NVMe look similar, they provide massively different performance and connectivity. However, the MSI SPATIUM M480 takes it one step further, by using a newer generation of PCIe Connectivity. In short, M.2 NVMe SSDs are connected to the host PC/Console system via PCIe protocol (think of those slots that you almost always use for your graphics cards, but a much, MUCH smaller connector). These allow much larger bandwidth (ie maximum speed) for the connected storage media, Much like regular PCIe slots, they have different versions (i.E PCIe Gen 1, 2, 3, 4, etc) and also a multiplying factor (x1, x2, x4, etc). Up until around 18 months ago, the best M.2 NVMes were M.2 PCIe Gen 3×4 (so a maximum 4,000MB/s possible). However, never generation SSD like the MSI SPATIUM M480 use PCIe Gen 4×4 (a potential 8,000MB/s possible) and it is only now that SSD controllers and NAND production has reached a point where it can catch up and fully saturate (i.e fill) this connection.

Overall, you really cannot fault the hardware inside/onboard the MSI SPATIUM M480, as it is still (2-3 months after release) higher performing in sequential Read and Write than many other M.2 NVMe PCIe 4 SSDs released in that time. Before we go into the full testing, however, it is worth taking a moment to look closely at the reported performance benchmarks of the MSI SPATIUM M480, as although the performance seems stellar, there are areas such as IOPS and endurance when compared with its main rivals that are worth taking into consideration.

MSI SPATIUM M480 SSD Review – Official Stats First

Before we conduct our own testing on this SSD, Let’s take a closer look at the reported specifications and benchmarks first. The MSI SPATIUM M480 SSD arrives in multiple capacities (below). The Prices currently are a little inconsistent (with each higher capacity tier actually having a higher price per GB – quite unusual) likely due to the hardware shortages, the Pandemic, Chia has affected SSD availability in the last 12 months and most recently the announcement that PS5 supports this SSD and it has increased the current price of both models around 20-30%!. Below is a breakdown of how each MSI SPATIUM M480 SSD compares:

Brand/Series	MSI SPATIUM M480 500GB – $169.99, 1TB – $249.99, 2TB – $549.99	Seagate Firecuda 530 500GB – $149.99, 1TB – $239.99, 2TB – $489.99, 4TB – $949.99	WD Black SN850 500GB – $169.99, 1TB – $249.99, 2TB – $549.99
PCIe Generation	PCIe Gen 4	PCIe Gen 4	PCIe Gen 4
NVMe Rev	NVMe 1.4	NVMe 1.4	NVMe 1.4
NAND	3D TLC Micron 96L	3D TLC Micron B47R 176L	BiCS4 96L TLC
Max Capacity	2TB – Single Sided	4TB – Double Sided	2TB
Controller	Phison E18-PS5018	Phison E18-PS5018	WD_BLACK G2
Warranty	5yr	5yr	5yr
500GB Model	M480-500G	ZP500GM3A013	WDS500G1X0E-00AFY0
Price in $ and $	$119 / £99	$139 / £119	$119 / £99
1TB Model	M480-1000G	ZP1000GM3A013	WDS100T1X0E-00AFY0
Price in $ and $	$225 / £185	$239 / £199	$249 / £169
2TB Model	M480-2000G	ZP2000GM3A013	WDS200T1X0E-00AFY0
Price in $ and $	$435 / £364	$419 / £379	$399 / £339
4TB Model	N/A	ZP4000GM3A013	N/A
Price in $ and $	N/A	$949 / £789	N/A
500GB Model	N/A	ZP500GM3A013	WDS500G1X0E-00AFY0
Total Terabytes Written (TBW)	N/A	640TB	300TB
Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF, hours)	N/A	1,800,000	1,750,000
DWPD	N/A	0.7DWPD	0.3DWPD
1TB Model	M480-1000G	ZP1000GM3A013	WDS100T1X0E-00AFY0
Total Terabytes Written (TBW)	700TB	1275TB	600TB
Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF, hours)	1,700,000	1,800,000	1,750,000
DWPD	0.38DWPD	0.7DWPD	0.3DWPD
2TB Model	M480-2000G	ZP2000GM3A013	WDS200T1X0E-00AFY0
Total Terabytes Written (TBW)	1400TB	2550TB	1200TB
Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF, hours)	1,700,000	1,800,000	1,750,000
DWPD	0.38DWPD	0.7DWPD	0.3DWPD
4TB Model	N/A	ZP4000GM3A013	N/A
Total Terabytes Written (TBW)	N/A	5100TB	N/A
Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF, hours)	N/A	1,800,000	N/A
DWPD	N/A	0.7DWPD	N/A

There are clear throughput improvements as you rise through the capacity tiers (not unusual), as does the rated 4K IOPS. Though one area worth focusing on a little is that TBW (terabytes Written) and DWPD (Drive writes per day), as this drive is rated a pinch higher than the Samsung 980 Pro and WD Black SN850 in terms of NAND lifespan on daily writes, likely down to that Micron 96 Layer 3D TLC NAND used, rather than t used by those used by competitors. This is an important point because the brand has significantly less pedigree in-home/business SSD media than the likes of Samsung, WD and Seagate and people will want to know they are going to get a product that lasts!

However, despite the use of the Phison E18 controller and 96 layer NAND, the reported IOPS on each capacity is actually a noticeable degree lower than those reported by their competitors. Indeed, the MSI SPATIUM M480 is one of the few E18 SSDs that does not cross into the reported 1 Million IOPS mark, maxing out at 700k. This is still very impressive anyway, but it does make me wonder where the disparity stems from. Indeed, when you look at the bulk of PCIe 4×4 M.2 NVMe 1.4 SSD, that feature the E18 controller and 96L (or higher) on board, it really only leaves about 4 other SSDs in the market today that this can be compared against. The Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus, the MSI Spatium M480, the ADATA Gammix S70 and (current leader) the Seagate Firecuda 530. Of those, the only one that seemingly ‘out specs’ the MSI SPATIUM M480 is the Seagate Firecuda 530. However, the MSI SPATIUM M480 SSD has been available in the market for almost 3-4 months longer and has certainly embedded itself in the market at that time a fraction more. Below is how these two drives compare:

Brand/Series	MSI SPATIUM M480 500GB – $169.99, 1TB – $249.99, 2TB – $549.99	Seagate Firecuda 530 500GB – $149.99, 1TB – $239.99, 2TB – $489.99, 4TB – $949.99	WD Black SN850 500GB – $169.99, 1TB – $249.99, 2TB – $549.99
500GB Model	N/A	ZP500GM3A013	WDS500G1X0E-00AFY0
Sequential Read (Max, MB/s), 128 KB	N/A	7000MB	7000MB
Sequential Write (Max, MB/s), 128 KB	N/A	3000MB	4100MB
1TB Model	M480-1000G	ZP1000GM3A013	WDS100T1X0E-00AFY0
Sequential Read (Max, MB/s), 128 KB	7000MB	7300MB	7000MB
Sequential Write (Max, MB/s), 128 KB	5500MB	6000MB	5300MB
2TB Model	MP600-2TB	ZP2000GM3A013	WDS200T1X0E-00AFY0
Sequential Read (Max, MB/s), 128 KB	7000MB	7300MB	7000MB
Sequential Write (Max, MB/s), 128 KB	6550MB	6900MB	5100MB
4TB Model	N/A	ZP4000GM3A013
Sequential Read (Max, MB/s), 128 KB	N/A	7300MB	N/A
Sequential Write (Max, MB/s), 128 KB	N/A	6900MB	N/A
Brand/Series	MSI SPATIUM M480	Seagate Firecuda 530	WD Black SN850
500GB Model	N/A	ZP500GM3A013	WDS500G1X0E-00AFY0
Random Read (Max, IOPS), 4 KB QD32	N/A	400,000	1,000,000
Random Write (Max, IOPS), 4 KB QD32	N/A	700,000	680,000
1TB Model	M480-1000G	ZP1000GM3A013	WDS100T1X0E-00AFY0
Random Read (Max, IOPS), 4 KB QD32	360000	800000	1,000,000
Random Write (Max, IOPS), 4 KB QD32	780000	1000000	720,000
2TB Model	M480-2000G	ZP2000GM3A013	WDS200T1X0E-00AFY0
Random Read (Max, IOPS), 4 KB QD32	660,000	1,000,000	1,000,000
Random Write (Max, IOPS), 4 KB QD32	800,000	1,000,000	710,000
4TB Model	N/A	ZP4000GM3A013
Random Read (Max, IOPS), 4 KB QD32	N/A	1,000,000	N/A
Random Write (Max, IOPS), 4 KB QD32	N/A	1,000,000	N/A

Yes, that is a LONG table, but you can immediately see that the Seagate Firecuda 530 raises the stakes on all of the key specifications. Although there are a number of micro reasons for this, the 176L NAND is the biggest factor here. Yes, that is why the Firecuda 530 commands the higher price tag. Additionally, the WD Black arriving at a better price point, higher IOPS in most tiers and the fact it does this whilst still hitting that 7,000MB/s certainly gives pause for thought. However, for many, the additional cost for higher durability they may never need, peak performance their core system will not reach and IOPS rating that their larger file handling will never utilize will mean that holding out for the Firecuda or WD Black SN850 is not in their interest. Both SSDs (on paper at this stage!) are fantastic examples of where consumer and prosumer SSDs are evolving towards. Let’s get the MSI SPATIUM M480 on the test machine!

Testing the MSI SPATIUM M480 m.2 PCIE4 NVMe SSD

The MSI SPATIUM M480 was selected for this test and it was tested using multiple benchmark tools, from a cold boot, in the 2nd storage slot (i.e not the OS drive). Each test was conducted three times (full details of this are shown in the YouTube Review of the MSI SPATIUM M480 over on NASCompares):

Test Machine:

• Windows 10 Pro Desktop System
• Intel i5 11400 Rocket Lake – 6-Core 2.6/4.4Ghz
• 16GB DDR4 2666MHz Memory
• Intel B560M mATX Motherboard
• OS Storage, Seagate Firecuda 120 SSD
• Test SSD connected to Secondary PCIe Gen 4 M.2 Slot

Using CrystalDisk, we got a good measure of the drive and verified that this PCIe Gen 4 x4 SSD was indeed using the 4×4 lane. Additionally, the temp averaged out around 43C between each test being conducted.

The first tests were conducted using the ATTO disk benchmark software. The first was a 256MB test file size and below is a breakdown of the transfer rates and IOPS. The 2nd Test was a 1GB test file and finally, the last test was with a 4GB test file. The system was given 1-minute cool downtime between tests, no screen recording software was used (remove overhead) and a heatsink was used throughout (no reboots)

ATTO Disk Benchmark Test #1

256MB File PEAK Read Throughput  = 6.31GB/s

256MB File PEAK Write Throughput = 5GB/s

 

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ATTO Disk Benchmark Test #2

1GB File PEAK Read Throughput  = 6.31GB/s

1GB File PEAK Write Throughput = 5GB/s

 

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ATTO Disk Benchmark Test #3

4GB File PEAK Read Throughput  = 6.30GB/s

4GB File PEAK Write Throughput = 5.03GB/s

 

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Next, although the ATTO tests were quite good, but not what I would have hoped from this SSD, so I moved on to the Crystal Disk Mark testing to see how well it would handle our lasts barrage of tests. The first test was the 1GB file testing, which measured both sequential and random, as well as the read and write IOPS. Test were conducted on a 1GB, 4GB and 16GB Test File. I also included a mixed 70/30 read and write task to give a little bit more of a realistic balanced workload. These tests were conducted with 1-minute cooling break in between

CRYSTALDISK MARK 1GB TEST

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CRYSTALDISK MARK 4GB TEST

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CRYSTALDISK MARK 16GB TEST

 

Next, I switched to AS SSD benchmark. A much more thorough test through, I used 1GB, 3GB and 5GB test files. Each test includes throughput benchmarks and IOPS that are respective to the larger file sizes (important, if you are reading this and trying to compare against the reported 4K IOPS from the manufacturer).

AS SSD Benchmark Test #1

 

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AS SSD Benchmark Test #2

 

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AS SSD Benchmark Test #3

 

Ordinarily, I would introduce tests like BlackMagic and AJA into the mix here, but even a short burst of testing on an NVMe like this would over saturate the cache memory on board. Nevertheless, in the short term we still could ascertain the reported performance on 1GB, 4GB and 16GB file testing was:

1GB AJA File Test Results (Peak) = 5356MB/s Read & 5855MB/s Write

4GB AJA File Test Results (Peak) = 5313MB/s Read & 5835MB/s Write

16GB AJA File Test Results (Peak) = 5383MB/s Read & 5855MB/s Write

Overall, the MSI SPATIUM M480 was certainly able to provide some solid performance, as well as potentially exceed the test figures here on a more powerful machine. Given the reported Read and Write statistics that the brand has stated publically, I think there is enough evidence here to back up those claims. IOPs were a little lower than I expected, but again, we were testing very large file types, so this would have to be taken in context.

MSI SPATIUM M480 SSD Review – Conclusion

The MSI Spatium M480 SSD is an SSD that, if it had been released even 4-5 months earlier, would have made a much bigger splash than it has. This is not MSI’s fault. The massive range of market damaging events that have plagued the storage market for good or bad in the last 24 months (ranging from the pandemic, semi-conductor shortages, changes in buying trends, US-China trade war, Chia and more) have led to a large number of releases that ordinarily would have been released in a more appropriate/spaced-out manner has led to a downpour of 7,000MB/s SSD releases to hit the market back to back within 3-4 months. Some brands were luckier than others to sneak limited available storage releases at the closing of 2020 and start of 2021 – Looking at you Samsung, WD and Sabrent) and a big result of this is that although the MSI Spatium IS a good SSD that provides EXACTLY what it promises, it does it whilst appearing near identical to about 6 other SSDs from fellow big brands that do the same thing – at a slightly lower price. The MSI Spatium IS a GOOD drive and if you are looking for an NVMe M.2 SSD that can push through more than enough data to largely saturate the potential 8,000MB/s of PCIe 4×4, then this can do it. It is just a little harder to pinpoint what makes this drive stand out from the crowd right now that have similar promises.

 

PROs of the MSI SPATIUM M480	CONs of the MSI SPATIUM M480
Genuinely Impressive Performance PS5 Compatibility Confirmed 96 Layer TLC 3D NAND Higher Durability than WD Black & Samsung 980 Pro More affordable than the Seagate Firecuda 530 Consistent 7,000MB/s on ALL Capacities	The heatsink isn’t included and run rather hot! IOPS figures are lower than many PCIe4 SSDs

 

PCIe 4 NVMe SSD Comparison – MSI Spatium M480 vs Seagate Firecuda 530

The PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSD market continues to grow into the accepted standard in 2021/2022 for performance – and the usual brands are rising to the challenge. If there is only one thing that you take from these comparisons on NVMe SSDs of late, it is that even in this relatively recent tier of Prosumer/Business storage, there is still plenty of choice. In fact, when Seagate revealed their industry beating Firecuda 530 last month, it was largely unchallenged for just a week, before MSI stepped up and formally revealed their new Spatium M480 series. What makes these two SSDs particularly interesting is that they are both based on an incredibly similar architecture and provide arguable comparable throughput too. Alongside this, professional and casual gaming consumers are having to make a choice here between Seagate (a big, BIG name in data storage) and MSI (a big, BIG name in gamer circles) – not as straightforward as you might think. So today I want to talk about these two brands, discuss what they offer in terms of performance, responsiveness, durability and endurance, and hopefully help you decide whether the Firecuda or Spatium M480 deserves your data.

 

Brand/Series	Seagate Firecuda 530	MSI SPATIUM M480
PCIe Generation	PCIe Gen 4	PCIe Gen 4
NVMe Rev	NVMe 1.4	NVMe 1.4
NAND	3D TLC Micron B47R 176L	B27 3D NAND 96L
Max Capacity	4TB – Double Sided	2TB
Controller	Phison E18-PS5018	Phison E18-PS5018
Warranty	5yr	5yr

A quick look at the architecture of each SSDs does NOT show a huge amount of disparity between them at first. Both arrive with PCIe 4.0 M.2 bandwidth (a potential maximum 8,000MB/s), the latest NVMe 1.4 revision and utilizing the cutting edge E18 Phison controller, resulting in over 7,000MB/s performance. However, one key difference we CAN see is in the choice of NAND being used by either NVMe SSD. Though both the Seagate and MSI SSD both use 3D TLC NAND, the M480 USES 96 layer NAND, whereas the Firecuda 530 arrives with an impressive 176 layer NAND – a significant advantage in a number of areas like IOPS and Throughput in the usage of the drive (even affecting endurance). This may seem like a minor point, but the impact of this choice will bear fruit later on. Let’s compare how each drive is priced.

MSI Spatium M480 vs Seagate Firecuda 530 – Price & Capacity

The price tag of the Firecuda 530 and Spatium M480 respectively are both based on the most recently available pricing at the time of writing, though the MSI NVMes might change. Nonetheless, the pricing on each PCIe 4×4 SSD is actually quite comparable and the differences that appear between each capacity model and even in the currency conversion is not too bad. It should also be noted that the prices below are based o nthe M480 and FC530 without a heatsink, though both brands supply a high-quality heatsink kit version at a smaller increased cost. Overall, I would say that the MSI M480 has a lower Price per GB/TB than the Seagate drive, but that is not quite the end of the story, as both brands have providing slightly different series capacity options:

Brand/Series	Seagate Firecuda 530	MSI SPATIUM M480
500GB Model	ZP500GM3A013	M480-500GB
Price in $ and $	$139 / £119	$119 / £105 (TBC)
1TB Model	ZP1000GM3A013	M480-1000GB
Price in $ and $	$239 / £199	$239 / £189 (TBC)
2TB Model	ZP2000GM3A013	M480-2000GB
Price in $ and $	$419 / £379	$399 / £369 (TBC)
4TB Model	ZP4000GM3A013	N/A
Price in $ and $	$949 / £769

Both brands have supplied the 500GB tier (i.e smaller scale gamers, caching, 2+ 4K projects for editing), 1TB (i.e professional gamers, rackmount caching/tiering, 4K/8K editing) and 2TB (i.e Pro Gamers and Streamers, Professional 4K/8K Post Production and enterprise) available in their ranges, but the Seagate Firecuda 530 is one of only around 2-3 brands that supply a 4TB PCIe Gen 4×4 m.2 4TB drive at 2280 length. This is particularly ambitious of the brand, especially when you look a the potential 4 figure price tag. However professional buyers who only want to make a purchase like this once every 5 years at least are going to be attracted to this option. Additionally, because the highest tiers of storage in NVMe are where you find the best performance (with the MASSIVE exception of when a brand uses QLC NAND of course), Seagate has clearly decided to put ALOT of backing on these drives in 2021/2022 to facilitate the biggest budget buyers. The MSI M480 is the winner here in terms of price per GB/TB, but Seagate win on Capacity and potentially on value – but let’s not get too ahead of ourselves yet.

 

MSI Spatium M480 vs Seagate Firecuda 530 – Reported Read & Write Speed

The throughout that the MSI M480 and Firecuda 530 can provide in sequential read and write are close, but on paper, Seagate win. Obviously, these are slightly more idealised benchmarks from the brands themselves and are maximums reported by their tech teams respectively, but even then you can see that the FC 530 provides a heck of a lot! Even in the Seagate Firecuda 530’s weakest tier (the 500GB model) it still outpaces the M480 noticeably. Once again, though both drives feature similar memory/SD, it is that higher-quality NAND that the Seagate features that gives it that edge. Below is a breakdown of the performance of each capacity tier on each NVMe:

Brand/Series	Seagate Firecuda 530	MSI SPATIUM M480
500GB Model	ZP500GM3A013	M480-500GB
Sequential Read (Max, MB/s), 128 KB	7000MB	6500MB
Sequential Write (Max, MB/s), 128 KB	3000MB	2850MB
1TB Model	ZP1000GM3A013	M480-1000GB
Sequential Read (Max, MB/s), 128 KB	7300MB	7000MB
Sequential Write (Max, MB/s), 128 KB	6000MB	5500MB
2TB Model	ZP2000GM3A013	M480-2000GB
Sequential Read (Max, MB/s), 128 KB	7300MB	7000MB
Sequential Write (Max, MB/s), 128 KB	6900MB	6850MB
4TB Model	ZP4000GM3A013	N/A
Sequential Read (Max, MB/s), 128 KB	7300MB
Sequential Write (Max, MB/s), 128 KB	6900MB

Fair play to the MSI for still providing some genuinely impressive performance, eclipsing a number of other 96 layer 3D NAND drives previously compared here. Although neither brand is using an in-house built controller, choosing to use the Phison E18-PS5018 chip, so the fact that they can both hit 7,000MB/s is not too surprising, the fact the FC530 can hit higher in 3 of its 4 available capacities at 7,3000MB/s is the clincher here. Remember, the PCIe 4.0 x4 bandwidth that this drive utilises max’s out at 8,000MB/s, which is getting increasingly close to saturation here! The Seagate Firecuda 530 clearly wins here. Next, we can look at the reported IOPS of these two drives, as this is one of the Achilles heels of the MSI M480 sadly.

 

MSI Spatium M480 vs Seagate Firecuda 530 – Reported IOPS

The IOPs ratings of each of these drives, despite their relatively similar architecture, is significantly different. IOPs, along with the endurance and durability which we will touch on later, is one of the key areas that Seagate say they focused on with the Firecuda 530 and compared with the MSI M480, it shows. Performing twice the random read IOPS at the 500GB and 1TB tiers, they soon break the 1,000,000 IOPS barrier in both random read and write in the higher tiers. Although IOPS are generally a much more business/enterprise metric, they still hold court with professional gamers and in data centre-class AI operations. The 170K random read IOPS on the Spatium M480 is especially low (given the rest of the hardware on that m.2 PCB!) and it eventually maxes out at 650/700K random read/write at the highest tiers. Here is a breakdown:

Brand/Series	Seagate Firecuda 530	MSI SPATIUM M480
500GB Model	ZP500GM3A013	M480-500GB
Random Read (Max, IOPS), 4 KB QD32	400,000	170,000
Random Write (Max, IOPS), 4 KB QD32	700,000	600,000
1TB Model	ZP1000GM3A013	M480-1000GB
Random Read (Max, IOPS), 4 KB QD32	800000	350,000
Random Write (Max, IOPS), 4 KB QD32	1000000	700,000
2TB Model	ZP2000GM3A013	M480-2000GB
Random Read (Max, IOPS), 4 KB QD32	1,000,000	650,000
Random Write (Max, IOPS), 4 KB QD32	1,000,000	700,000
4TB Model	ZP4000GM3A013	N/A
Random Read (Max, IOPS), 4 KB QD32	1,000,000
Random Write (Max, IOPS), 4 KB QD32	1,000,000

Overall, it is hard to claim this as anything else but a definitive win for the Seagate Firecuda 530 over the MSI M480 in terms of IOPS. Later in 2021, we will be running extended performance testing on these drives to see how well these stats hold up over extended periods, but in all likelihood, these stats will still be comparatively distance between each drive.

 

MSI Spatium M480 vs Seagate Firecuda 530 – Endurance & Durability

Next up, we need to discuss how well these two drives can endure consistent write/rewrites in their predicted 5 year lifespan (i.e in their 5 year warranty period and based on the drives being in constant use). The Endurance and Durability of an SSD is an area that is overlooked often enough that I wanted to take a moment to focus a little more on this – you can thank you years from now! The importance of SSD durability and endurance in 2021/2022 is actually pretty massive. Now that the devices we use all feature incredibly powerful processors, often cloud/network hybrid AI processes and graphical handling that will be instantly bottlenecked by traditional hard drives, SSDs are no longer just the ‘boot’ drive for our OS and are now the day to day working drive. This combined with SSD being used as caching and larger SSD capacities allowing suitable substitution for HDDs entirely means that the CONSTANT concern about SSDs lifespan and the durability of those NAND cells is now quite paramount. SSDs wear out – it’s as simple as that. The more you write, the more wear those individual NAND cells suffer – degrading performance over the years and inevitably leading to drive failure. Likewise, the smaller the drive, the greater likelihood that you will be writing, then rewriting, then rewriting, time and time again. The Seagate Firecuda 530 and MSI Spatium M480 are no exception and alongside massive research and development in better controllers and interfaces to improve performance, the way NAND is improved has led to SSDs lasting lover than ever before. However, SSDs and NAND are not built equally and there is actually quite a large difference in durability between the MSI Spatium M480 and the Seagate Firecuda 530. The Storage industry typically measures the predicted durability and endurance of an SSD as TBW, DWPD and MTBF. They are:

TBW = Terabytes Written, rated as the total number of terabytes that this SSD can have written to it in its warranty covered lifespan. So if the TBW was 300TB and the warranty is 5 years of coverage, that would mean that the drive can receive on average (with deleting/overwriting data each repeatedly) 60 Terabytes per year (or 5TB a month). After this point, the manufacturer highlights that durability, endurance and performance will decline. Often highlighted as an alternative to warranty length when gauging the predicted lifespan of a SSD.

DWPD = Drive Writes Per Day / Data Writes Per Day, this is a decimalized figure that represents what proportion of the capacity of an SSD (where 1.0 = 100% capacity) can be filled, erased and/or rewritten on a daily basis. This is provided using the warranty period and TBW figure. So, for example, if a 500GB drive has a 0.3DWPD rating, that is approx 150GB of data per day

MTBF = Mean Time Between Failure, which is the interval between one failure of an SSD and the next. MTBF is expressed in hours and most industrial SSDs are rated in the Millions of Hours. MTBF and MTTF (Mean Time to Failure) have largely become overlooked in recent years in favour of TBW and DWPD in SSDs, but are still stated on most Data Sheets.

So, now you know what those large Terbyte stats, hours and decimal point details are on the average SSD datasheet. So where do the Seagate Firecuda 530 and MSI Spatium M480 stand on this:

Brand/Series	Seagate Firecuda 530	MSI SPATIUM M480
500GB Model	ZP500GM3A013	M480-500GB
Total Terabytes Written (TBW)	640TB	350TB
Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF, hours)	1,800,000	1,600,000
DWPD	0.7DWPD	0.38DWPD
1TB Model	ZP1000GM3A013	M480-1000GB
Total Terabytes Written (TBW)	1275TB	700TB
Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF, hours)	1,800,000	1,600,000
DWPD	0.7DWPD	0.38DWPD
2TB Model	ZP2000GM3A013	M480-2000GB
Total Terabytes Written (TBW)	2550TB	1400TB
Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF, hours)	1,800,000	1,600,000
DWPD	0.7DWPD	0.38DWPD
4TB Model	ZP4000GM3A013	N/A
Total Terabytes Written (TBW)	5100TB
Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF, hours)	1,800,000
DWPD	0.7DWPD

Although many users might well dismiss the TBW/DWPD of an SSD, as they do not feel they are going to refresh the data on the drive at that extreme frequency per day, it should be noted that this should also be used as a suitable benchmark for the lifespan of the NAND itself. In other words, jsut because a drive has a 5-year warranty, doesn’t mean you necessarily want to replace it in 5 years! More enduring NAND means both that the SSD will have a longer lifespan AND that it should be able to maintain it’s advertised performance for longer! High DPWD ratings are something that Seagate have been hugely supporting in their ranges for a number of years (they introduced several 1.0 and higher ratings into their Ironwolf and Nytro SSDs of late too). Again, another big win for the Seagate Firecuda 530 over the MSI Spatium M480 –  particularly when you factor in that the FC530 ALSO arrives with 3 years of data recovery services (forensic level) alongside the 5yr warranty too, in their Rescue Recovery services.

 

MSI Spatium M480 vs Seagate Firecuda 530 – Conclusion

It will not come as a huge shock that in comparing the Firecuda 530 and Spatium M480, that the Seagate drive is still largely dominating this comparison and potentially the entire PCIe Gen 4 m.2 market so far. The M480 from MSI is a very good drive that has clearly been geared towards providing gamers and PC professionals some high tier throughput, and it is coming from a brand they already know and trust. However, it is impossible the ignore the comparatively mature decision by Seagate to focus a great deal on endurance and sustained performance and this plays out substantially throughout how these two drives compare and how they will support you later in their lifespan. Yes, the Firecuda 530 arrives at a higher price point, but you get more for your money and the money you save on day 1 with the M480 might end up costing you more in terms of an extra few minutes here or there, every day, week, month and year. If you are on a tighter budget and your NVMe SSD storage requirements are not considered Pro, Business or Enterprise, the M480 will serve you well – but for everyone else, the FC 530 has you covered in spades.

Brand/Series	Seagate Firecuda 530	MSI SPATIUM M480
Best Performance	✓
Best Endurance/Durability	✓
Best Price for TB		✓
Best Extras	✓
Best Value	✓
Where To Buy

 

 

MSI SPATIUM M480 – New PCIe 4×4 7,000MB/s SSD for 2021

Good news for anyone who has been keeping an eye on the latest releases in SSDs in 2021/2022, with the reveal of ANOTHER PCIe Gen 4×4 SSD entering the market – the MSI M480 M.2 SSD. What makes this one stand out is that it is reported to be utilizing the new Phison E18 controller that is featured in the Seagate Firecuda 530 NVMe SSD that was revealed last week. In fact, this new MSI SPATIUM M480 SSD is actually one of THREE new SSDs that that brand has revealed and each drive is pretty much the top-end performance of what each tier of the current generation NVMe M.2 SSD have to offer right now (a fraction less so in the M370 though it has to be said. So let’s take a look at these three new PCIe SSDs and see whether they deserve your gamer or video editing data!

MSI SPATIUM M480, M470 and M370 SSD Specifications

Below is everything that was revealed on these three new SSDs, starting with the highest performing SPATIUM M480 SSD – which is likely to be another drive tipped for PS5 SSD Compatibility once Sony enables this function.

MSI SPATIUM M480 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2

Optimized for the PCIe Gen4 interface, SPATIUM M480 SSD reaches read/write speeds up to 7000/6850 MB/s, allowing for rapid data transfer and shortened game load times.

Available in 500GB, 1TB, 2TB – Price: $TBC PCIe Gen 4×4 NVMe 1.4 Phison E18 Controller Max Sequential Read/Write 128KB – 7,000MB/s – 6,850MB/s Max Random Read/Write IOPS – 650,000 – 700,000 350/700/1400 TBW Respectively 1.6Million Hours MTBF 5yr Warranty

Additional Features TRIM (Performance Optimization, OS support required) SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) LDPC (Low-Density Parity Check) ECC Algorithm End to End Data Path Protection APST (Autonomous Power State Transition) AES256/TCG OPAL2.0/Pyrite (Encryption, Data Security)

 

MSI SPATIUM M470 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2

Optimized for the PCIe Gen4 interface, SPATIUM M470 SSD reaches read/write speeds up to 5000/4400 MB/s, allowing for rapid data transfer and shortened game load times.

Available in 1TB, 2TB – Price: $TBC PCIe Gen 4×4 NVMe 1.3 Phison E16 Controller Max Sequential Read/Write 128KB – 5,000MB/s – 4,400MB/s Max Random Read/Write IOPS – 600,000 1600 / 3300 TBW Respectively 1.7Million Hours MTBF 5yr Warranty

Additional Features TRIM (Performance Optimization, OS support required) SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) ECC Algorithm End to End Data Path Protection APST (Autonomous Power State Transition)

 

MSI SPATIUM M370 PCIe 3.0 NVMe M.2

Optimized for the PCIe Gen3 interface, SPATIUM M370 SSD reaches read/write speeds up to 2400/1850 MB/s, allowing for rapid data transfer and shortened game load times.

Available in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB – Price: $TBC PCIe Gen 3×4 NVMe 1.3 Max Sequential Read/Write 128KB – 2,400MB/s – 1,850MB/s Max Random Read/Write IOPS – 220,000 330,000 200, 400, 800, 1600 TBW Respectively 1.5Million Hours MTBF 5yr Warranty

Additional Features TRIM (Performance Optimization, OS support required) SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis and Reporting Technology) LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) ECC Algorithm End to End Data Path Protection APST (Autonomous Power State Transition) AES256/TCG OPAL2.0/Pyrite (Encryption, Data Security)

 

When Will the MSI Spatium M480, M470 and M370 SSD Be Released?

There is still no confirmation on price or availability worldwide on these drives, though they were first revealed tentatively at the start of the year at CES 2021 when MSI formally announced they have in-house SSDs in the works (with other potential series and devices in the works). Additionally, the official pages are now up on the MSI worldwide sites with links to the usual global buy pages, however, at the time of writing, these still do not link to existing retailers that can supply! Expect these to land soon (Chia aside!!!) and though obviously, the MSI Spatium M480 will command the highest price, the growing competitor units such as the Firecuda 530 from Seagate and the older Samsung 980 Pro are both drives that promote 7,000MB/s+ too – so MSI may well err on the side of competitive pricing. Once again, keep an eye on this drive if you are a protective PS5 Storage Upgrade buyer in Summer/Autumn 2021, as it is rumoured that the long-awaited upgrade option for Playstation 5 owners internal SSD will be available in a soon-to-come update. Stay tuned!

 

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