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HP EX900 Pro 1 TB NVMe SSD Benchmarked

Medium performance for a lower price. The mid-range HP EX900 Pro isn't bad by any means, but it's a little late to the party now that the faster and cheaper SK Hynix Gold P31 has already hit the market.

Unlike the higher-end HP EX950, the EX900 is a budget-friendly NVMe SSD with transfer rates in the ~2000 MB/s range instead of the usual ~3000 MB/s we see on pricier models. The HP drive can be found on Newegg and Amazon in 120 GB, 256 GB, 512 GB, and 1 TB capacities for $35 to $150, respectively

(November 17, 2020 update: The HP EX900 Pro is now down to $109.99 USD on Amazon to make it a much better deal than it was when it initially launched.)

HP EX900 Pro 1 TBSK Hynix Gold P31 1 TBSamsung PM981 1 TBKingston A2000 1 TB
NAND Flash--128-layer 4D NAND64-layer V-NAND96-layer TLC Flash
ControllerSM2263EN SK Hynix CepheusPhoenixSMI SM2263EN
Sequential Read2100 MB/s3500 MB/s3200 MB/s2200 MB/s
Sequential Write1950 MB/s3200 MB/s2400 MB/s2000 MB/s
Warranty5 years5 years--5 years
TBW650750--600
Price (USD)$150$135$260$120


HP EX900 specifications sheet
HP EX900 specifications sheet
(Source: BIWINTech)
(Source: BIWINTech)

Test System

Eluktronics Matrix RP-17
Eluktronics Matrix RP-17

Our test system is the 17.3-inch Eluktronics RP-17 gaming laptop equipped with two PCIe x4 M.2 slots and even a 2.5-inch SATA III bay. The system is easy to service which makes it a perfect host system for testing drives.

More information on the laptop can be found on our full review of the unit here.

HP EX900 installed as a secondary drive next to the primary drive
HP EX900 installed as a secondary drive next to the primary drive
Packaging includes only a screw with no data transferring software
Packaging includes only a screw with no data transferring software

AS SSD & CrystalDiskMark

CDM and DiskSpd confirm the ~2000 MB/s maximum transfer rates. Speeds are slower than the pricier Samsung PM981 and the recently released SK Hynix Gold P31 as expected.

CrystalDiskMark 7
CrystalDiskMark 7
CrystalDiskMark 5.5
CrystalDiskMark 5.5
AS SSD
AS SSD
Eluktronics RP-17 HP EX900 Pro SSD
HP EX900 Pro 1 TB
Eluktronics SK Hynix Gold P31
SK Hynix Gold P31 1TB SHGP31-1000GM-2
Intel NUC8i7BEH Asura NVMe SSD
Asura Genesis Xtreme NVMe M.2 SSD 1 TB
Asus Zephyrus S17 GX701LXS
Samsung PM981a MZVLB1T0HBLR
Kingston A2000
Kingston SA2000M81000G
AS SSD
65%
19%
10%
4%
Seq Read
1486
2211
49%
2288
54%
2744
85%
1622
9%
Seq Write
1768
2953
67%
1908
8%
1351
-24%
1936
10%
4K Read
63.3
66.7
5%
51.9
-18%
47.24
-25%
61
-4%
4K Write
175.1
178.2
2%
173.3
-1%
109.1
-38%
150.6
-14%
4K-64 Read
1095
1991
82%
1222
12%
1118
2%
1098
0%
4K-64 Write
988
2878
191%
1829
85%
1926
95%
1041
5%
Access Time Read *
0.026
0.02
23%
0.031
-19%
0.064
-146%
0.024
8%
Access Time Write *
0.088
0.064
27%
0.083
6%
0.034
61%
0.075
15%
Score Read
1306
2279
75%
1502
15%
1439
10%
1321
1%
Score Write
1340
3352
150%
2193
64%
2170
62%
1385
3%
Score Total
3345
6841
105%
4454
33%
4283
28%
3413
2%
Copy ISO MB/s
1792
1787
0%
1542
-14%
1612
-10%
Copy Program MB/s
607
1199
98%
747
23%
703
16%
Copy Game MB/s
1290
1725
34%
1577
22%
1425
10%
CrystalDiskMark 5.2 / 6
34%
37%
5%
18%
Write 4K
126.1
209.9
66%
272.4
116%
120
-5%
193.7
54%
Read 4K
58.3
60.5
4%
57.1
-2%
45.24
-22%
71
22%
Write Seq
1978
3072
55%
2019
2%
2090
6%
2044
3%
Read Seq
1941
2716
40%
1701
-12%
2246
16%
1992
3%
Write 4K Q32T1
470.1
453.3
-4%
844
80%
392.5
-17%
623
33%
Read 4K Q32T1
557
523
-6%
884
59%
348.4
-37%
704
26%
Write Seq Q32T1
2117
3405
61%
2110
0%
3015
42%
2173
3%
Read Seq Q32T1
2253
3461
54%
3463
54%
3445
53%
2279
1%
Write 4K Q8T8
1072
Read 4K Q8T8
1167
Total Average (Program / Settings)
50% / 54%
28% / 26%
8% / 8%
11% / 9%

* ... smaller is better

HP EX900 Pro 1 TB
CDM 5/6 Read Seq Q32T1: 2253 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Write Seq Q32T1: 2117 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Read 4K Q32T1: 557 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Write 4K Q32T1: 470.1 MB/s
CDM 5 Read Seq: 1941 MB/s
CDM 5 Write Seq: 1978 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Read 4K: 58.3 MB/s
CDM 5/6 Write 4K: 126.1 MB/s

Disk Throttling: DiskSpd Read Loop, Queue Depth 8

No graph data

ATTO

ATTO shows the EX900 not reaching its maximum transfer rate potential until block sizes are at least 64 KB or larger similar to many other NVMe SSDs. Performance when handling very small blocks of under 4 KB is faster than what we recorded on both the WD SN550 and SK Hynix Gold P31.

HP EX900 Pro 1 TB
HP EX900 Pro 1 TB
Western Digital SN550 1 TB
Western Digital SN550 1 TB
SK Hynix P31 Gold 1 TB
SK Hynix P31 Gold 1 TB
Lexar NM610 1 TB
Lexar NM610 1 TB
Eluktronics RP-17 HP EX900 Pro SSD
, , HP EX900 Pro 1 TB
Eluktronics SK Hynix Gold P31
, , SK Hynix Gold P31 1TB SHGP31-1000GM-2
Intel NUC8i7BEH Asura NVMe SSD
Iris Plus Graphics 655, i7-8559U, Asura Genesis Xtreme NVMe M.2 SSD 1 TB
Kingston A2000
, , Kingston SA2000M81000G
Walmart EVOO Gaming 17 Lexar NM610
, , Lexar NM610 1TB
ATTO Disk Benchmark
56%
15%
-1%
-18%
8192KB write
1970000
3260000
65%
1960000
-1%
2000000
2%
1570000
-20%
4096KB write
1980000
3260000
65%
1960000
-1%
2000000
1%
1580000
-20%
2048KB write
1970000
3260000
65%
1970000
0%
1860000
-6%
1580000
-20%
1024KB write
1970000
3260000
65%
1960000
-1%
1760000
-11%
1610000
-18%
512KB write
1970000
3260000
65%
1960000
-1%
1940000
-2%
1600000
-19%
256KB write
1970000
3250000
65%
1920000
-3%
2000000
2%
1470000
-25%
128KB write
1620000
3240000
100%
1940000
20%
2000000
23%
1580000
-2%
64KB write
1980000
3240000
64%
1870000
-6%
1920000
-3%
1550000
-22%
32KB write
1900000
3080000
62%
1620000
-15%
1760000
-7%
1510000
-21%
16KB write
1640000
1760000
7%
1160000
-29%
1410000
-14%
1150000
-30%
8192KB read
2080000
3360000
62%
2970000
43%
2030000
-2%
1910000
-8%
4096KB read
2080000
3360000
62%
2960000
42%
2060000
-1%
1930000
-7%
2048KB read
2090000
3270000
56%
2920000
40%
1990000
-5%
1940000
-7%
1024KB read
2090000
3170000
52%
2860000
37%
1870000
-11%
1940000
-7%
512KB read
2100000
3050000
45%
2820000
34%
2060000
-2%
1860000
-11%
256KB read
2100000
2890000
38%
3080000
47%
2080000
-1%
1870000
-11%
128KB read
2100000
3020000
44%
2670000
27%
2070000
-1%
1700000
-19%
64KB read
1840000
3000000
63%
2550000
39%
2030000
10%
1480000
-20%
32KB read
1620000
2780000
72%
2190000
35%
1730000
7%
1210000
-25%
16KB read
1550000
1600000
3%
1440000
-7%
1450000
-6%
799250
-48%

Data Compression

HP EX900 Pro 1 TB
HP EX900 Pro 1 TB
SK Hynix Gold P31 1 TB
SK Hynix Gold P31 1 TB
Western Digital SN550 1 TB
Western Digital SN550 1 TB
Kingston KC2500 1 TB
Kingston KC2500 1 TB

Temperature

Drive temperature tops out at 46 C when running CDM in a loop
Drive temperature tops out at 46 C when running CDM in a loop

Verdict

In review: HP EX900 Pro NVMe SSD. Test unit provided by BIWINTech
In review: HP EX900 Pro NVMe SSD. Test unit provided by BIWINTech

The HP EX900 is launching at almost the same time as the SK Hynix Gold P31 which is able to offer much faster speeds at around the same price. It does, however, excel at handling very small blocks which may appeal to users who frequently work with large datasets comprised of extremely small files. Even so, the EX900 is a hard recommendation over the aforementioned SK Hynix Unless if prices can drop further.

The popular WD SN550 remains the cheaper drive of the three but with even slower performance when dealing with smaller files.

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Allen Ngo, 2020-09-20 (Update: 2021-04-26)