28 - 03 - 2024
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INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sp s70 240gba

   Although we see new products get launched all the time that doesn't mean that we have to discard old ones and the best possible example i can come up with are cars since i bet there's at least 1 really old car that each and every single one of us likes. So cars like the Pontiac Trans-Am (1982 model) which made its debut appearance in the Knight Rider as K.I.T.T, the Lamborghini Diablo (1991 model), the Ferrari Testarossa (1985 model) or even the Dodge Viper RT/10 (1994 model) which started in another series (called Viper, surprised?) may not have the assortment of electronics and comforts most cars now come with in their standard versions but these are cars that many people would give everything they have to own. Well the same partially applies to electronics and PC hardware as well and so although we've tested many of the latest SSD models to hit the market we decided to take one step backwards and test the Slim S70 240GB SSD model launched by Silicon Power roughly two years ago.

 

   Silicon Power Computer & Communications Inc., founded in 2003 by a group of enthusiastic specialists of flash data storage industry. Well dedicated in brand image and product quality, SP has been recognized and well accepted by millions of end-users in more than 100 countries, becomes the world’s leading manufacturer of flash memory cards, USB flash drives, card readers, DRAM modules, solid state disks, and portable hard drives in less than a decade. Headquartered in Taipei, we continuously established various branches throughout the world including Netherlands, Japan, Russia, Mainland China and other emerging market. With superior quality and innovative design, our products stood out in several competitions and awarded Taiwan Excellence and COMPUTEX Design & Innovation Award in 2009 and 2010. Winning trust of global consumers SP holds a record of successive double-digit revenue growth for last seven years. For SP, the product we introduced is not only a digital storage device but also a real promise to create and preserve your most valuable memory in every moment.

 

   The reason we decided to test the S70 240GB two years after its official announcement is because it was actually released along with the S60 but since availability was very low back then we were unable to get both samples here. We did however just recently and so much like the Slim S60 and the HyperX Fury model which we had here with us last week the Slim S70 is also based on the LSI/SandForce (Avago now) SF-2281 NAND flash controller that features several technologies such as NCQ (Native Command Queuing), RAISE (error correction, RAID like protection and recovery), DuraClass (advanced wear leveling and monitoring algorithms) and DuraWrite (up to 20x or more the flash endurance compared to other controllers) along with TRIM and intelligent garbage collection. The difference between the Slim S60 and the Slim S70 is located with the NAND flash modules used since unlike the first the second uses Synchronous Toggle MLC ones which should use less power and offer equal and even better performance. Whether or not the use of Toggle MLC NAND flash modules will make a difference or not is something we are about to find out in this review.

 


 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

featspecs

 


 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sp s70 240gb 01t

At the front of the box we see two product pictures, several logos representing its main features, the company logo and model capacity.

 

 

sp s70 240gb 02t

The performance of the Slim S70 is showcased at the rear above the features list printed in 14 languages, several certification logos and company contact information.

 

 

sp s70 240gb 03t

Inside the box you will find the Slim S70 SSD, 4 mounting screws and the installation guide.

 


 

THE SLIM S70 240GB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sp s70 240gb 04t

Just like the Slim S55 and S60 models the S70 model is also a 7mm thin SSD housed inside a 2.5" aluminum housing that has both the company logo and model capacity printed at the top.

 

 

sp s70 240gb 05t

Once again we see several certification logos at the bottom along with the warranty sticker (if you decide to open the housing you are voiding your warranty).

 

 

sp s70 240gb 06t

Naturally the usual SATA power and data connectors are present at the rear.

 

 

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As we've mentioned in past reviews accessing the interior of the SSD is very easy since Silicon Power uses standard Philips screws to secure it.

 

 

sp s70 240gb 08t

The rear side of the PCB is empty but the 8 spots are obviously there for use with the highest capacity model of the S70 line (480GB).

 

 

sp s70 240gb 09tsp s70 240gb 10t
On the opposite side we see 8 SanDisk 24nm Toggle MLC NAND flash memory modules each 32GB in capacity (this results to 256GB but 16GB are used by the SandForce controller for its firmware and overprovisioning needs).

 

 

sp s70 240gb 11t

The SandForce SF-2281 NAND flash controller is also present here.

 


 

TEST BED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

cpuz3930ksystem

 

TESTING METHODOLOGY

 

   After roughly 6 years of testing sold state drives i have 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 our charts.

 

   Many people made inquiries about the charts ever since the last comparison 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 7 Ultimate x64 installation with every update installed up to August 22nd 2014.

 


 

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

aida64atto

 


 

TEST RESULTS - HD TUNE PRO / HD TACH RW

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

hdtuneprohdtachrw

 


 

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA PRO / CRYSTAL DISK MARK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sandraprocrystal

 


 

TEST RESULTS - AS SSD / IOMETER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

asssdiometer

 


 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sp s70 240gbb

   When first introduced a few years ago toggle MLC (multilevel cell) NAND flash was welcomed by everyone in the industry with open arms not only because it used less power compared to regular MLC NAND flash (thus also lower temperatures) but also because according to its specs it also performed slightly better. Today with most of the latest SSD models wearing toggle MLC NAND flash it's not easy to spot the performance differences between that and its predecessor so placing the Slim S60 (25nm synchronous Intel MLC NAND flash) right next to the S70 (24nm synchronous SanDisk MLC NAND flash) looked like a good idea to all of us. Granted as you all know we never check to see just how much power internal drives use (besides differences in power usage between SSDs are very small especially for commercial use) so we can't really comment on that difference between synchronous and synchronous toggle NAND flash. Performance however is something we do test thoroughly and through our charts it's quite clear that the Slim S60 and Slim S70 models are trading blows so there's really no clear winner here (although the S70 is slightly ahead). Of course no one can deny that Toggle NAND Flash is better but if you can't "notice" the gains of the S70 compared for example to the S60 then the one thing that remains before you can make your choice is the price.

 

   Unfortunately since the Slim S70 is already two years old the prices currently online are set very high and so we will ask our friends over at Silicon Power to see if something can be done about that (expect an update in the pricing department soon). That aside the Slim S70 240GB SSD by Silicon Power offers very good performance levels (especially for its age) but as expected not on par with what we see today from some of the highest end current generation models. The LSI/SandForce SF-2281 NAND flash controller may get to be called a legend in the storage industry because of the vast number of models wearing it but the truth of the matter is that it's not what it used to be roughly two years ago. In the end however what "forbids" us from finishing our conclusion is the lack of a current price tag so until we hear back from Silicon Power regarding this we can't have a valid price/performance ratio although the 5 years warranty offered by them is a great start. 

 

PROS

- Build Quality (SandForce SF-2281 Controller / SanDisk Synchronous Toggle NAND flash)
- Very Good Overall Performance (Especially In IOmeter)
- 5 Years Warranty

 

CONS

- SF-2281 Age