Price range-friendly Gen5 DRAM SSD at 10GB/s – GamingPH.com

The TeamGroup T-Drive GA Professional SSD is a PCIe Gen5 x4 NVMe drive aimed toward customers seeking to entry next-generation storage speeds at a comparatively cheaper price level. Rated for sequential learn speeds of as much as 10,000MB/s and write speeds as much as 8,500MB/s, it makes use of the InnoGrit IG5666 controller, features a DRAM cache, and options 4K LDPC error correction to help efficiency and knowledge integrity. The drive is provided with a graphene-based warmth spreader, which supplies passive thermal administration with out the necessity for a built-in heatsink.

Within the US, the T-Drive GA Professional is priced at round $89 for the 1TB variant (PHP 5,012 in Philippine foreign money), positioning it among the many extra inexpensive PCIe Gen5 SSDs at the moment accessible. This makes it an interesting choice for players, content material creators, and PC customers searching for greater switch speeds with out getting into premium territory.

As with many Gen5 SSDs, thermal efficiency throughout sustained workloads stays a degree of consideration. The drive includes a graphene-based warmth spreader, however whether or not that’s enough for constant high-speed operation is determined by real-world utilization. To judge this, we put the T-Drive GA Professional 1TB by means of a spread of benchmarks and sensible assessments to evaluate how nicely it delivers on its efficiency claims and total worth.

Packaging

The entrance of the packaging showcases a clear and trendy design typical of TeamGroup’s T-Drive branding. With its use of daring pink accents and angular graphics, the format highlights key product options akin to PCIe Gen5 help, NVMe 2.0 compatibility, and the 1TB capability. A product picture of the SSD can be featured, together with its rated 10,000MB/s sequential learn velocity.

The again of the field gives extra technical data and product specs. It contains multilingual descriptions that spotlight the SSD’s help for NVMe 2.0, its high-speed efficiency capabilities, and a 5-year restricted guarantee.

The T-Drive GA Professional SSD

The entrance view of the T-Drive GA Professional 1TB reveals a minimalist and practical design. A matte black graphene warmth spreader covers a lot of the PCB, with the T-FORCE and GA PRO logos printed in metallic gold for visible distinction.

From the aspect profile, the T-Drive GA Professional maintains a slim and normal M.2 2280 kind issue, making it appropriate with most motherboards, together with these with built-in warmth shields or compact clearances. The graphene layer used for passive cooling is notably skinny, and there’s no pre-installed heatsink.

On the again of the SSD, a typical product label shows important technical data. This contains the TeamGroup emblem, serial and mannequin numbers, PCIe and NVMe certification icons, and a transparent indication of the 1TB capability together with a 5-year guarantee discover. Though this aspect is usually hidden as soon as the drive is put in, the labeling is clear and well-organized, similar design peg with different Teamgroup’s SSD.

The {Hardware}

Underneath the graphene heatspreader, the T-Drive GA Professional 1TB exposes a neatly organized PCB format, that includes a mix of performance-oriented elements and cost-conscious design decisions aimed toward delivering Gen5-level speeds with out extreme manufacturing overhead.

On the core of the T-Drive GA Professional is the InnoGrit IG5666FAA controller, a PCIe 5.0 x4 NVMe resolution constructed on InnoGrit’s Tacoma structure. Fabricated utilizing a 16nm course of, this controller helps NVMe 2.0, gives low energy operation, and is rated for theoretical speeds of as much as 14 GB/s learn and 11 GB/s write beneath excellent circumstances. It additionally accommodates as much as 16TB of NAND flash and helps high-speed NAND interfaces as much as 2400 MT/s. Whereas the GA Professional doesn’t absolutely make the most of the controller’s most capabilities, the IG5666FAA gives a strong platform for dependable Gen5-level efficiency and long-term scalability.

Paired with the controller is a SK Hynix H5AN8G6NOJ DDR4 SDRAM chip, functioning because the drive’s devoted DRAM cache. This 8Gb (1GB) module runs at 1.2V and helps a knowledge fee of 3200 MT/s, aiding in sooner FTL (Flash Translation Layer) mapping and serving to to maintain efficiency throughout write-heavy or multitasking eventualities. The inclusion of a discrete DRAM cache enhances total responsiveness and consistency, providing a notable benefit over DRAM-less Gen5 SSDs by way of stability beneath load.

For NAND storage, the GA Professional is provided with TeamGroup’s proprietary FQBH02T 3D TLC NAND flash. Whereas detailed specs usually are not publicly accessible, chip markings and configuration recommend a 512GB per bundle design, with the 1TB variant using two modules. This NAND is paired with 4K LDPC (Low-Density Parity-Verify) error correction. In response to TeamGroup’s specs, the 1TB mannequin is rated for 600TBW (terabytes written), aligning with typical endurance figures on this class.

Benchmark

To judge the real-world efficiency of the T-Drive GA Professional 1TB, we ran a collection of artificial and real-world benchmarks beneath a typical mid-range gaming and productiveness setup:

Take a look at System Specs:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7900

Motherboard: Gigabyte X670 Gaming X AX (PCIe 5.0 succesful)

GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060

RAM: 16GB ADATA XPG Lancer RGB DDR5-6000MT/s

OS Drive: Teamgroup T-Drive GA Professional 1TB (Home windows 11 Professional)

Cooling: Graphene Heatsink and T-Drive Darkish Airflow 1 SSD Cooler

Earlier than beginning any efficiency assessments, we checked the drive’s standing by way of CrystalDiskInfo, which confirmed the SSD was in wholesome situation (100%). When relying solely on the included graphene heatspreader, idle temperatures shortly climbed to 67°C and shoots as much as 79°C after working benchmark, a standard trait amongst Gen5 SSDs. These drives are likely to generate important warmth, notably in instances with out devoted airflow or energetic cooling.

Some customers have reported thermal-related efficiency drops in comparable setups, and we had been capable of replicate these circumstances throughout our early assessments. Nonetheless, after reinstalling the motherboard’s built-in M.2 heatsink on prime of the graphene layer and making certain correct case air flow, the drive operated inside extra acceptable thermal ranges beneath load. It’s necessary to notice that the graphene layer capabilities primarily as a warmth switch floor, it helps unfold the warmth however requires exterior heatsinks and sufficient airflow to successfully dissipate it.

With the cooling correctly configured, we proceeded to run a full suite of benchmarks to guage how nicely the GA Professional performs beneath each typical and intensive workloads. Right here’s now the SSD temperature:

CrystalDiskMark Benchmark

In CrystalDiskMark 9.0.1, the T-Drive GA Professional 1TB delivered spectacular Gen5-level efficiency that intently aligns with its marketed specs.

Sequential learn speeds peaked at 10,472 MB/s, whereas write speeds reached 8,989 MB/s, showcasing the drive’s potential to deal with high-bandwidth duties like sport loading, massive file transfers, and content material creation workflows with ease. Random efficiency was equally strong, with 4K Q32T16 learn speeds at 4,622 MB/s and write speeds hitting 2,861 MB/s—wonderful outcomes for multitasking and small file operations. Even single-threaded 4K efficiency got here in respectably at 62.54 MB/s learn and 327.99 MB/s write.

AS SSD Benchmark

Within the AS SSD Benchmark, the T-Drive GA Professional 1TB continued to show strong real-world efficiency throughout the board.

In AS SSD, the T-Drive GA Professional 1TB achieved 8,180 MB/s learn and eight,247 MB/s write in sequential assessments, barely decrease than CrystalDiskMark however nonetheless sturdy for a Gen5 drive. 4K random efficiency reached 54.17 MB/s learn and 268.71 MB/s write, with high-threaded 4K-64 assessments scaling as much as 2,456 MB/s learn and 4,142 MB/s write. Entry occasions remained low at 0.016 ms learn and 0.014 ms write, and the drive earned an total rating of 10,260. Whereas extra conservative, these outcomes mirror the drive’s strong sustained efficiency beneath reasonable circumstances.

HD Tune Professional Benchmark

We additionally examined the T-Drive GA Professional 1TB utilizing HD Tune Professional 5.75 to watch efficiency over a protracted steady learn workload throughout all the 1TB capability. The drive delivered a mean switch fee of two,721.6 MB/s, with peaks reaching 2,890.2 MB/s and a minimal dip to 917.0 MB/s. Regardless of some preliminary fluctuation, the efficiency shortly stabilized and remained constant all through the remainder of the check. Entry time was measured at 0.025 ms, and burst fee hit 1,569.4 MB/s, with minimal CPU utilization at simply 1.3%.

This check confirms that whereas the drive is able to sustained throughput, and primarily based from the graph, there aren’t any drops in velocity.

3DMark Storage Benchmark

Within the 3DMark Storage Benchmark, the T-Drive GA Professional 1TB scored 3,214 factors, considerably above the common of two,261. This check simulates frequent gaming storage duties like sport loading, set up, and saving.

The drive achieved a mean bandwidth of 551.67 MB/s and a mean entry time of 56 microseconds. Particular outcomes embrace:

Load Battlefield V: 1041.04 MB/s

Load Name of Obligation: Black Ops 4: 776.96 MB/s

Load Overwatch: 386.79 MB/s

Transfer sport: 3804.18 MB/s

Set up sport: 252.67 MB/s

Save sport: 244.32 MB/s

Actual-World File Switch Velocity

To check real-world efficiency, we carried out a big file switch utilizing the Home windows file explorer. In the course of the copy course of, the T-Drive GA Professional 1TB achieved a sustained switch velocity of two.32 GB/s whereas copying a 20GB file.

Whereas that is considerably decrease than artificial benchmark outcomes, it’s typical for real-use eventualities the place components like caching, thermal circumstances, and file kind come into play. Nonetheless, it’s a powerful end result that displays dependable day-to-day efficiency when dealing with massive recordsdata.

PCMark 10 Full System Drive Benchmark

Within the PCMark 10 Full System Drive Benchmark, the T-Drive GA Professional 1TB scored 2,716 factors, reflecting strong real-world system efficiency for on a regular basis computing duties. The check measured an total bandwidth of 429.3 MB/s and a mean entry time of 61 microseconds, each of that are aggressive for a Gen5 SSD in a consumer-grade setup.

This benchmark simulates full-system drive utilization, together with app launches, file operations, and background duties—offering a sensible view of how the SSD performs in each day use eventualities past simply peak switch speeds.

Mac Mini M4 Benchmark (Exterior SSD)

We additionally examined the T-Drive GA Professional 1TB utilizing a PCIe Gen4 exterior SSD adapter linked to the brand new Mac Mini M4, to see the way it performs as a transportable high-speed storage resolution on macOS.

AmorphousDiskMark

Within the benchmark, the GA Professional reached as much as 1,866 MB/s learn and 1,858 MB/s write, which is a strong end result contemplating the bandwidth limitations of most exterior enclosures. Efficiency stayed persistently above 1,600 MB/s throughout a number of assessments, with decrease speeds showing in random or smaller file operations—as anticipated from any SSD used over USB or Thunderbolt interfaces.

For comparability, the built-in Macintosh HD on the Mac Mini M4 delivered considerably sooner outcomes, scoring 3,513.78 MB/s learn and three,589.65 MB/s write, because of Apple’s tightly built-in storage structure and full PCIe Gen4 x4 bandwidth internally. Whereas the GA Professional can’t match the inner SSD’s efficiency on Mac, it nonetheless supplies a powerful exterior storage choice for big file transfers, backups, or increasing storage with out utilizing the system as foremost storage.

BlackMagic Disk Velocity Take a look at

Within the Blackmagic Disk Velocity Take a look at, the T-Drive GA Professional 1TB, linked by way of a PCIe Gen4 exterior SSD adapter, reached write speeds of 1,774.5 MB/s and skim speeds of 1,712.0 MB/s when used with the Mac Mini M4. Whereas that is strong efficiency for an exterior SSD—enough for 4K and a few 8K workflows

For comparability, it nonetheless falls quick in comparison with the built-in Macintosh HD, which delivered 3,423.9 MB/s write and a couple of,991.8 MB/s learn. The numerous velocity benefit of the inner SSD is predicted, because it leverages Apple’s high-speed storage controller and tightly built-in structure. Nonetheless, the GA Professional stays a reliable and sensible exterior choice for creators needing quick and dependable storage on the go.

Conclusion

The T-Drive GA Professional 1TB delivers strong PCIe Gen5 efficiency at a worth level that’s arduous to disregard. Priced round $89, it gives sequential speeds that match its marketed specs, topping 10,000 MB/s learn and eight,900 MB/s write in CrystalDiskMark, and scoring over 10,000 factors in AS SSD. Even beneath prolonged workloads, akin to our full-capacity HD Tune Professional check, the drive maintained constant efficiency with solely minor fluctuations, confirming its potential to deal with sustained operations reliably.

Thermally, the drive does run heat. We recorded idle or light-use temperatures round 67°C when utilizing solely the included graphene warmth spreader. Whereas this didn’t lead to thermal throttling throughout our assessments, it’s clear that energetic airflow or pairing the graphene with the motherboard’s heatsink is really useful for optimum efficiency in extended use. As soon as correctly cooled, the GA Professional confirmed no indicators of instability or efficiency loss.

For customers constructing a next-gen system or upgrading to Gen5 with out overspending, the T-Drive GA Professional strikes a compelling stability between worth, efficiency, and reliability. Simply be certain your system has the cooling to match its velocity.

Professionals

Wonderful Sequential Efficiency: Reaches as much as 10,472 MB/s learn and eight,900 MB/s write speeds (CrystalDiskMark).

Reasonably priced Gen5 Choice: Aggressive pricing at round $89 for 1TB.

DRAM Cache Included: Improves responsiveness and sustained write efficiency over DRAM-less fashions.

Secure Underneath Load: Performs persistently even throughout lengthy, full-capacity operations.

NVMe 2.0 & Gen5 Prepared: Affords future-proof compatibility with trendy platforms.

Cons

Runs Sizzling: Idle temps reached 67°C with solely the graphene heatspreader.

Requires Correct Cooling: Greatest paired with a motherboard heatsink and good case airflow to keep away from thermal buildup.

No Pre-installed Heatsink: Customers should depend on current motherboard options or buy an aftermarket cooler.

Efficiency Drops With out Ample Air flow: Some throttling threat beneath sustained heavy use if airflow is poor.