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Acer Predator GM7000 2TB PCIe4 NVMe SSD Benchmarked

The SSD apex predator. This $349 USD PCIe4 x4 NVMe SSD is compatible with the Playstation 5 and it's also slightly cheaper than competing drives from Samsung or Seagate. For very small file sizes, however, performance can be a bit slower than expected.
(Image source: Amazon)
(Image source: Amazon)

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.

Performance512 GB (P/N: BL.9BWWR.104)1 TB (P/N: BL.9BWWR.105)2 TB (P/N: BL.9BWWR.106)
4K Read (Maximum)200K400K700K
4K Write (Maximum)700K1000K700K
Sequential Read (Maximum)7400 MB/s7400 MB/s7400 MB/s
Sequential Write (Maximum)3400 MB/s6400 MB/s6700 MB/s
Latency Read (Typical)0.014 ms0.013 ms0.016 ms
Latency Write (Typical)0.045 ms0.028 ms0.019 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


Acer Predator GM7000-2TB (Predator Series)
Storage
Note: The manufacturer may use components from different suppliers including display panels, drives or memory sticks with similar specifications.

 

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.

Intel NUC11PAQi7 with Predator drive and heat sink installed
Intel NUC11PAQi7 with Predator drive and heat sink installed
Make sure there is enough space to install the heat sink in your PC
Make sure there is enough space to install the heat sink in your PC
Critical temperature threshold of 95 C according to HWiNFO
Critical temperature threshold of 95 C according to HWiNFO
Packaging includes instructions and a small screw if needed for securing the drive to the M.2 slot
Packaging includes instructions and a small screw if needed for securing the drive to the M.2 slot
The drive itself should be compatible with the PS5, but the heat sink is unfortunately slightly too large
The drive itself should be compatible with the PS5, but the heat sink is unfortunately slightly too large
Aluminum Heat sink is approximately 1.2 x 7.3 x 2.3 cm
Aluminum Heat sink is approximately 1.2 x 7.3 x 2.3 cm
The Predator labeling on top of the drive can be peeled off to reveal the adhesive
The Predator labeling on top of the drive can be peeled off to reveal the adhesive
Drive with adhesive exposed
Drive with adhesive exposed

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.

AS SSD
AS SSD
CDM 8
CDM 8
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

Acer Predator SSD GM7000 2TB
CDM 5/6 Read Seq Q32T1: 5420 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Write Seq Q32T1: 3492 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Read 4K Q32T1: 439 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Write 4K Q32T1: 550 MB/s
CDM 5 Read Seq: 2195 MB/s
CDM 5 Write Seq: 2388 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Read 4K: 45.77 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Write 4K: 184.3 MB/s

Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8

No graph data

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.

Acer Predator GM7000 2 TB
Acer Predator GM7000 2 TB
Asura Genesis Xtreme
Asura Genesis Xtreme
SK Hynix Gold P31
SK Hynix Gold P31
HP EX950
HP EX950

Data Compression

Acer Predator GM7000 2 TB
Acer Predator GM7000 2 TB
SK Hynix Gold P31
SK Hynix Gold P31
Western Digital SN500
Western Digital SN500
HP EX950
HP EX950

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.

System vitals when running DiskSpeed in a loop
System vitals when running DiskSpeed in a loop

Verdict

In review: 2 TB Acer Predator GM7000. Test unit provided by Acer Storage
In review: 2 TB Acer Predator GM7000. Test unit provided by Acer Storage

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.

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> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > Reviews > Acer Predator GM7000 2TB PCIe4 NVMe SSD Benchmarked
Allen Ngo, 2021-09-27 (Update: 2021-10-23)