Article HP EX950 NVMe announcement (updated with review)

[UsandThem]

https://www.anandtech.com/show/13818/hp-announces-ex950-m2-nvme-ssd

The EX950 uses the same Intel/Micron 64-layer 3D TLC NAND as the EX920, so all of the performance improvements are the result of controller and firmware optimization. The most significant claimed improvements are to write speeds, with the 1TB model specced for over 60% improved sequential writes and almost 50% faster random writes.

HP has not yet announced when the EX950 is due to hit the shelves or what the pricing will be like, but our review samples have already arrived so the EX950 should be available for purchase soon. ADATA's SX8200 Pro based on the same SM2262EN hit the market in time for Black Friday and its prices have dropped a bit since release, so the EX950 will be facing very direct competition when it arrives.

Just a minor update (new controller), but since this drive's predecessor was probably the best $/performance NVMe drive over the last 12 months, this new version should settle into that place once the initial launch price stabilizes. This also would be a good product to watch when Ebay offers its regular 10 - 20% one-day coupon codes, as Newegg sold the previous HP on its Ebay storefront.

Update to add review link:

https://www.tweaktown.com/articles/8870/hp-ex950-ssd-review-want-fastest/index.html

 

[kensiko30]

Pretty much the same as the Adata XPG SX8200 Pro which you can already buy. The performance is amazing but it gets really too slow when filled.

 

[UsandThem]

Pretty much the same as the Adata XPG SX8200 Pro which you can already buy. The performance is amazing but it gets really too slow when filled.

Yes, as quoted in my OP, this drive is nearly identical to the Adata SX8200 PRO.

However, I'm not sure what review you read about it's performance getting slow, as it the 2nd fastest drive tested (only behind the 970 PRO) in a sustained 100GB write over 15 minutes. If you're talking about filling a SSD 100% full, then just about every SSD out there (depending on the amount of their factory OP) will suffer in performance.

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AData/SX8200_Pro_1_TB/15.html

https://www.tweaktown.com/articles/...-ssd-review-sm2262en-64-layer-tlc/index4.html

 

[kensiko30]

I'm talking about the Anandtech test on a test sample, https://www.anandtech.com/show/13131/the-silicon-motion-sm2262en-ssd-controller-preview/3

 

[kensiko30]

https://www.tweaktown.com/image.php...vme-ssd-review-sm2262en-64-layer-tlc_full.png

You can see there that the performance is amazing until a certain point where it drops at a lower level than the SX8200

 

[UsandThem]

That is a preview article from August 2018, when the actual retail drives weren't launched until late 2018.

I guess the key is not to fill any SSD 100% full, which I doubt anybody does outside of testers.

You can see there that the performance is amazing until a certain point where it drops at a lower level than the SX8200

All drives have their strengths and weaknesses, but even the conclusion of that Tweaktown article states:

If I were buying a 1TB SSD today there are only two models I would consider. On the lower-end of the budget comes the MyDigitalSSD BPX Pro (and Corsair Force MP510 if you can find it), and the drive we tested today. If you can space the extra $25 go for the SX8200 Pro with class-leading random read performance and an impressive notebook battery life score that may become useful over the time you own the drive.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Wow, this is great news, I love competition in this space. I picked up a 512GB EX920 HP drive myself around BF. Still haven't put it into a box yet. Waiting for the ASRock DeskMini A300 mini-STX barebones PCs to ship, will likely put the HP EX920 in there.

 

[UsandThem]

Wow, this is great news, I love competition in this space. I picked up a 512GB EX920 HP drive myself around BF. Still haven't put it into a box yet. Waiting for the ASRock DeskMini A300 mini-STX barebones PCs to ship, will likely put the HP EX920 in there.

It definitely has been a banner year for SSDs, as the long talked about price drops finally happened with the 64-layer NAND.
I bought my 500 GB 960 EVO 18 months ago for $200 on sale, I believe. And this year, the same sized 970 EVO was around $119 at one point. Good quality 1TB SATA drives can easily be had around $100 on sale.

Not too shabby in my opinion compared to where we were not that long ago.

 

[aigomorla]

However, I'm not sure what review you read about it's performance getting slow, as it the 2nd fastest drive tested (only behind the 970 PRO) in a sustained 100GB write over 15 minutes

I have a ex920, while its a great drive for sustained, its very short of meeting toe to toe to my 960 PRO in burst.

But when i got it purely for gaming, i throw all my games which have loading, onto it while its actively being played before i move them over to my 10TB He as archive.

The only reason why i got it, is because it was and probably still is the cheapest $$$/GB in Nvme, where i am pretty much gaurentee'd an RMA if i should need it, and do not need to mail the stupid thing to china or korea.

 

[UsandThem]

Review is up if you can stomach the insane amount of ads: https://www.tweaktown.com/articles/8870/hp-ex950-ssd-review-want-fastest/index.html

On paper and in the synthetic tests the new HP 1TB EX950 looks slower than the new ADATA 1TB SX8200 Pro. In our application tests, the 1TB EX950 outperformed every other consumer NVMe SSD on the market, including the SX8200 Pro. This is, by a little bit, the fastest non-Optane class SSD we've tested.

This looks like the best value/performance drive in the immediate future, and possibly the rest of the year.

 

[WT]

Ordered one this weekend, as I piece together a Ryzen upgrade. It appears to be the best bang for the buck NVMe out now, and for $77 I couldn't pass it up. Not sure whether I want to incorporate my Samsung Evo 850 into the build or not, as it seems redundant, unless I want to keep my Steam library on the Sammy and leave the EX920 as my OS drive.

 

[killster1]

That is a preview article from August 2018, when the actual retail drives weren't launched until late 2018.

I guess the key is not to fill any SSD 100% full, which I doubt anybody does outside of testers.



All drives have their strengths and weaknesses, but even the conclusion of that Tweaktown article states:

damn i guess im a nobody i fill my drives to 100% then copy them over to a spinner. I am going to purchase a few of these drives tho i am a samsung ssd lover i guess i can grab a ex950 hp if the savings is there.