O-Sense
INTRODUCTION
Even though gaming handhelds were never my thing there's quite a significant percentage of gamers all over the world that does and for them a new dilemma has appeared, what M.2 2230 SSD to choose. The lack of space is a double edged sword since on one hand choosing a 2230 sized M.2 is a lot easier (limited number so far) while on the other such drives simply can't compete with 2280 M.2 ones, both in terms of performance and capacities. Roughly a full year ago Acer (BIWIN) released their very own 2230 M.2 SSD called the MA200 and today I'll be testing the 1TB capacity model.
Acer branded storage products are designed and manufactured by BIWIN Storage Technology company, a leading maker of quality flash memory, DRAM memory and solid-state drives (SSD storage devices). Founded in 2010, BIWIN focuses on providing global customers with high-quality storage products and specializes in the research, development, manufacturing and sales of memory chip application products.
The MA200 is available in two capacities (512GB/1TB) and is based on the quad-channel DRAM-less SM2269XTF PCIe 4.0 Gen 4 (NVMe v1.4) NAND flash controller by Silicon Motion which BIWIN has paired with Micron's 176-Layer 3D TLC (B47R) NAND flash (up to 5200MB/s reads - 4700MB/s writes for the 1TB model). The Silicon Motion SM2269XTF DRAM-less controller has been used many times in the past and features technologies like 4K LDPC error-correction (ECC), RAID, TRIM, SMART, device sleep (power management), garbage collection and real-time AES-128/256bit encryption (TCG Opal 2.0 compliant). Moving to endurance numbers BIWIN reports an MTBF (meantime between failures) of 1.5 million hours for both drives, 300TBW for the 512GB model, 600TBW for the 1TB model and as for warranty both are covered with 5-year limited one.
SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES
PACKAGING AND CONTENTS
The MA200 is shipped inside a regular box the front of which is taken by a product picture, main features. capacity and the Acer logo.
A disclaimer, product specifications and a cut-out from where you can see the sticker at the rear of the drive are on the other side.
Inside the box you'll find the MA200 M.2 2230 SSD, screw and the quick start guide.
THE MA200 1TB
The MA200 is a 2230 size drive aimed towards use with handhelds (22mm in width and 30mm in length).
This is a single side drive so at the top BIWIN has placed a very thin sticker (graphene) under which we find the SM2269XTF PCIe 4.0 Gen 4 (NVMe v1.4) DRAM-less NAND flash controller and a single 1TB 176-Layer 3D TLC (B47R) NAND flash module.
On the opposite side we just find the sticker with the drive information (the one visible from the rear of the box).
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 other 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.
* As of January 2025, Gen4 SSDs will be tested on the 13900K/Z790 system while Gen5 SSDs will be tested on the 285K/Z890 system.
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
The MA200 1TB SSD by Acer is the 3rd M.2 2230 model to have arrived in the lab and well, it more or less trades blows with the other two (overall however, the UD90 by Silicon Power comes on top). Yes, the MA200 may not be the fastest of the three (or in general) but speed is just as important as capacity when it comes to gaming handhelds and simply put 1TB may not be nearly enough to cover the needs of some people. Endurance levels are very good and as for warranty 5 years should be plenty for any SSD.
Right now, the MA200 1TB M.2 2230 SSD retails for around USD110 (limited availability however) inside the USA and for 93.78Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) and so it’s priced properly. At the end of the day my main concern regarding the MA200 is capacity since I don’t believe that 1TB is quite enough to cover the needs of everyone who owns a gaming handheld out there. Still if 1TB is more than enough for you I strongly suggest giving the MA200 a chance, especially since it comes highly recommended.
PROS
- Very Good Overall Performance
- M.2 2230 Form Factor (Gaming Handhelds)
- 5 Year Limited Warranty
- Price (For Some)
CONS
- 1TB Maximum Capacity (Currently)
- USA Availability
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