Acer Predator GM7000 2TB PCIe4 NVMe SSD Benchmarked
Acer is launching its high-end 2 TB PCIe4 x4 NVMe SSD this week under the Predator GM7000 family. These 3D TLC drives each use an Innogrid Rainier IG5236 controller designed specifically for the PCIe x4 inteface fo sequential read and write speeds of up to 7.4 GB/s and 6.4 GB/s, respectively, which is exactly what the 2 TB GM7000 can offer.
Additional specifications on the GM7000 series can be found on its official product page here.
| Performance | 512 GB (P/N: BL.9BWWR.104) | 1 TB (P/N: BL.9BWWR.105) | 2 TB (P/N: BL.9BWWR.106) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4K Read (Maximum) | 200K | 400K | 700K |
| 4K Write (Maximum) | 700K | 1000K | 700K |
| Sequential Read (Maximum) | 7400 MB/s | 7400 MB/s | 7400 MB/s |
| Sequential Write (Maximum) | 3400 MB/s | 6400 MB/s | 6700 MB/s |
| Latency Read (Typical) | 0.014 ms | 0.013 ms | 0.016 ms |
| Latency Write (Typical) | 0.045 ms | 0.028 ms | 0.019 ms |
| Warranty (TBW) | 300 TB 2,000,000 hr MTBF | 600 TB 2,000,000 hr MTBF | 1200 TB 2,000,000 MTBF |
| MSRP | $119 USD | $179 USD | $349 USD |
Test System
Our host PC is the Intel NUC11PAQi7 mini PC which fully supports PCIe4 x4 SSDs like our GM7000. Acer has also provided for us an aluminum heat sink which is currently sold separately from the drive, but it may come as a bundle in the future. The drive itself has a built-in graphene foam pad with adhesive on top for applying the heat sink.
AS SSD & CrystalDiskMark
CrystalDiskMark shows a top read rate of about 6700 MB/s against the advertised 7400 MB/s. Write rates in particular are more disappointing at only 4000 MB/s. Reading and writing of very small 4K block sizes are slower than expected as well with results that are significantly slower than what we've seen from other PCIe4 SSDs like the Samsung PM9A1.
| Acer Predator GM7000-2TB Acer Predator SSD GM7000 2TB | MSI GS76 Stealth 11UH Samsung PM9A1 MZVL22T0HBLB | Medion Erazer Beast X20 Phison E12S-2TB-Phison-SSD-BICS4 | SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Rocket Lake Samsung SSD 980 Pro 2TB MZ-V8P2T0 | SCHENKER XMG Ultra 17 Comet Lake Samsung SSD 970 EVO Plus 2TB | Walmart EVOO Gaming 17 HP SSD EX950 HP SSD EX950 PCIe x4 NVMe 2TB 5MS24AA#ABC | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AS SSD | 116% | 24% | 104% | 69% | -2% | |
| Seq Read | 4645 | 5408 16% | 2849 -39% | 5010 8% | 2980 -36% | 987 -79% |
| Seq Write | 4218 | 3863 -8% | 2831 -33% | 3974 -6% | 2585 -39% | 2085 -51% |
| 4K Read | 41.17 | 52.7 28% | 51.3 25% | 51.9 26% | 52.7 28% | 47.99 17% |
| 4K Write | 67.1 | 153.1 128% | 106.3 58% | 156.8 134% | 163.1 143% | 121.2 81% |
| 4K-64 Read | 1125 | 2692 139% | 1763 57% | 2611 132% | 1954 74% | 1279 14% |
| 4K-64 Write | 660 | 3414 417% | 2010 205% | 3859 485% | 2347 256% | 826 25% |
| Access Time Read * | 0.037 | 0.046 -24% | 0.093 -151% | 0.072 -95% | 0.039 -5% | 0.025 32% |
| Access Time Write * | 0.181 | 0.027 85% | 0.035 81% | 0.026 86% | 0.023 87% | 0.088 51% |
| Score Read | 1631 | 3285 101% | 2099 29% | 3164 94% | 2304 41% | 1426 -13% |
| Score Write | 1148 | 3953 244% | 2399 109% | 4414 284% | 2768 141% | 1156 1% |
| Score Total | 3594 | 8830 146% | 5573 55% | 9134 154% | 6232 73% | 3373 -6% |
| Copy ISO MB/s | 2348 | 1601 -32% | 3424 46% | 1772 -25% | ||
| Copy Program MB/s | 678 | 645 -5% | 1091 61% | 147.2 -78% | ||
| Copy Game MB/s | 1628 | 1328 -18% | 2365 45% | 1587 -3% | ||
| CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6 | 56% | -12% | 60% | 3% | -26% | |
| Write 4K | 184.3 | 230.7 25% | 155.5 -16% | 240 30% | 172 -7% | 109 -41% |
| Read 4K | 45.77 | 87.9 92% | 47.96 5% | 87.8 92% | 47.3 3% | 52.7 15% |
| Write Seq | 2388 | 4300 80% | 1591 -33% | 4281 79% | 2980 25% | 1922 -20% |
| Read Seq | 2195 | 4392 100% | 1371 -38% | 4228 93% | 2790 27% | 850 -61% |
| Write 4K Q32T1 | 550 | 582 6% | 532 -3% | 696 27% | 481.8 -12% | 425.3 -23% |
| Read 4K Q32T1 | 439 | 730 66% | 627 43% | 778 77% | 565 29% | 488.5 11% |
| Write Seq Q32T1 | 3492 | 5152 48% | 3017 -14% | 5195 49% | 3295 -6% | 2689 -23% |
| Read Seq Q32T1 | 5420 | 7094 31% | 3440 -37% | 7099 31% | 3550 -35% | 1907 -65% |
| Total Average (Program / Settings) | 86% /
91% | 6% /
11% | 82% /
88% | 36% /
41% | -14% /
-11% |
* ... smaller is better
Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8
ATTO
ATTO results confirm the relatively slow performance at very small I/O sizes. At 1 KB, its performance is only about half that of the PCIe3 Asura Genesis Xtreme or HP EX950. Users aren't getting the full performance of the drive until reaching at least 4 MB.
Data Compression
Temperature
We ran the DiskSpeed read loop test continuously to check for maximum temperature with the heat sink installed. At its peak, the drive would reach 85 C which is just 10 C shy from the critical temperature threshold of the model. Most users will not be transferring large files for such long periods, however, but a well-ventilated chassis is definitely recommended to keep temperatures in check.
The heat sink itself can become very hot at over 65 C when the drive is under load. We suspect that removing the graphene foam pad and replacing it with double-sided sticky thermal pads may actually improve the effectiveness of the heat sink even though this would be against the printed instructions.
Verdict
Though transfer rates on the Predator GM7000 are faster than any PCIe3 SSD when dealing with larger file sizes, performance can be slower when dealing with smaller 4K or 4K-64 clusters. The Samsung PM9A1 is still the faster PCIe4 drive assuming you can find one available. At $349 USD for our 2 TB option, the Acer drive does come a bit cheaper than the 2 TB Samsung 980 Pro or 2 TB Seagate FireCuda 530 at the moment albeit it will entail somewhat slower performance.
Price and availability
Availability is currently limited through major retailers like Amazon at the time of writing. The 512 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB capacities have an MSRP of $119, $179, and $349 USD, respectively, without the heat sink.
Price comparison
