INTRODUCTION

   There's a wide range of available NAND flash controllers when it comes to PCIe NVMe SSDs, most of which are actually not manufactured by the same SSD manufacturers. Yes, we do have Intel, Samsung, Crucial and even WD all of which have SSD models that utilize their very own NAND flash controllers but for the most part those are manufactured by companies like Marvell, Phison, Silicon Motion, JMicron, Innogrit and Realtek. In regards to PCIe 4.0 Gen 4 M.2 NVMe SSDs Phison and Innogrit are probably outperforming all the other 3rd party manufacturers and having already reviewed many models based on the former i was somewhat surprised to see that the latest Redline Vortex line by Mushkin uses the latter.

   For over 25 years, Mushkin has been dedicated to helping Gamers, digital artists, IT managers and professionals alike enhance their computing experience by providing reliable, high-performance products. Mushkin’s products include a complete selection of USB, SSD and Memory Module upgrades for both the consumer and enterprise industries. Since the company’s founding in 1994, Mushkin has received numerous awards and commendations for quality, reliability and technical excellence.

   Currently Mushkin makes their latest Redline Vortex line of PCIe 4.0 Gen 4 M.2 NVMe SSDs available in 3 different capacities (512GB/1TB/2TB) all of which are based on the Rainier IG5236 eight-channel NVMe v1.4 NAND flash controller by Innogrit together with DDR4L DRAM flash by SK Hynix (512MB for the 512GB version, 1GB for the 1TB version and 2GB for the 2TB version) and 176-layer 3D TLC NAND flash by Micron. As mentioned in past reviews the Rainier IG5236 controller sports just about every technology you'd expect by a top-of-the-line consumer model by Innogrit including end-to-end data protection, LDPC (low-density parity check) error-correction with SRAM ECC, programmable RAID, smart cache, AES encryption, SHA, RSA, ONFI 4.1 and Toggle 4.0. Finally, Mushkin covers the entire line with a 5-year limited warranty, reports an MTBF of 1.5 million hours for all 3 models and as for endurance numbers they give 250TBW for the 512GB model, 500TBW for the 1TB model and 1000TBW for the 2TB model.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

THE REDLINE VORTEX 2TB

Typically, Mushkin uses a blister package to ship their Redline Vortex line of SSDs.

Just the drive and a company sticker are included in the box.

The top sticker that has the model name is actually made by graphene to help with heat dissipation (better than nothing but don't expect miracles).

Under the top sticker we find the Innogrit Rainier IG5236 NAND flash controller, 1GB DDR4L DRAM flash module by SK Hynix and two NAND flash modules by Micron.

On the other side of the PCB, we find two stickers with the model serial numbers and barcodes, one more 1GB DDR4L DRAM flash module by SK Hynix and two more NAND flash modules by Micron.

With their Redline Vortex Mushkin was kind enough to also send their Redline Screwdriver Kit (which I’ll obviously be using quite a lot in the lab).

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Not long after I first started testing SSDs back in 2008, I concluded that it's almost impossible for any single benchmark suite to accurately measure their performance and that's why in certain benchmark suites we see amazing read/write performance numbers with some drives while in others things are quite different. The reason behind this is that some benchmarking suites are configured to read and write random chunks of data while others read and write constant (sequential) ones. So that's why i always use a very wide selection of benchmarking suites including AIDA64, HD Tach RW, HD Tune Pro, Crystal Disk Mark, Sisoftware Sandra Pro, AS SSD, IOmeter and ATTO. To get the most accurate results each test gets repeated a total of 6 times with the average performance numbers recorded into the charts*/****. Also, as of February 25th 2015 our results will also include the Storage Networking Industry Association’s (SNIA) IOMeter tests. These tests include a 12 Hour write test used to “simulate” performance degradation over time and a mixed workload test which basically shows what you can expect when using an SSD continuously for roughly two hours. Unfortunately, due to the time required for these tests they get repeated a total of 3 times and not 6 as the above.

   Many people have made inquiries about our charts in the past so once again please do keep in mind that the Charts have the average performance numbers of each drive recorded and not the peak (highest) ones. Also, although every single one of these programs can help potential buyers choose the right drive for their needs you should also remember that from any kind of benchmark up to real world usage the gap is not small (and usually most differences will go unnoticed by most people). All tests were performed in a fresh Windows 10 Pro x64 installation complete with every update up to the date of this review.

* Since November 2018 the SSD comparison charts have been divided to 2.5” and M.2 models to reduce their growing size.
** Unless stated otherwise the Ryzen 9 3950x based Test Rig used for M.2 Gen 4 SSD reviews is not located in the lab.
*** As of January 2021 for Gen 3x4 models I’ll be using the Core i9-7980XE test rig (after numerous tests the up to 6% difference in read & write performance compared to the i7-6700 system simply wasn’t enough to justify having an extra test rig around).
**** Since February 2022 M.2 NVMe Gen3 and Gen4 SSD drives are placed in different charts.

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA PRO / CRYSTAL DISK MARK

TEST RESULTS - AS SSD / IOMETER

TEST RESULTS - IOMETER SNIA

CONCLUSION

   Once again Mushkin has released a product which has nothing to be jealous of its competition and that’s always a good thing for consumers. The Redline Vortex is not only among the fastest M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 Gen SSDs to ever arrive in the lab but it also exchanges blows with the Acer (BIWIN) GM7000 which is obviously also based on the same Innogrit Rainier IG5236 NAND flash controller (both also use graphene based top stickers – pad for the GM7000). Strangely enough Mushkin reports endurance numbers for their Vortex line which are a step down from those Acer reports for their GM7000 line but that could be both due to the graphene pad of the latter and due to different firmware tweaks.

   So just how much does Mushkin ask for their Redline Vortex 2TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 Gen 4 SSD? Good news here for interested parties since currently you can get your very own for just USD239.99 inside the USA (Newegg.com) a price which is actually very balanced for such a drive. Overall, I don’t think anyone can go wrong with the Vortex line by Mushkin and as for the 2TB model in particular, well it clearly deserves the Golden Award.

PROS

- Excellent Performance Levels
- Endurance (1000TBW / 1.5 Million Hours MTBF)
- 5 Year Limited Warranty
- Graphene Sticker
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Thermal Throttling (During SNIA Tests)
- EU Availability