Review ADATA SP900 - 256 GB SSD

Test setup

As with other SSD reviews, we use a desktop PC, which in this case includes an Intel Core i7-3770K, a Gigabyte Z77-based mainboard, 16 GB of 1600 MHz RAM and an AMD Radeon 7850 graphics card. Please note that this test setup is different from our previous SSD reviews, but not in a way that should significantly impact the results. The SSD is installed in the first SATA 3.0 6Gbps port (port 0) and the operating system is Windows 8 Pro.

AS SSD in particular is known for delivering different results on subsequent runs, but the lower-than-average write speeds persist. It is well known by now that all SSDs based on SandForce circuitry are highly dependent on compression; so lower speeds with already compressed data can be expected. This is also reflected in a comparison to the (also SandForce-based) Intel 520, which is nevertheless faster in most cases thanks to its synchronous NAND chips.

4k performance benchmarks also turned out lower than expected values. Although the 45K write IOPS in AS SSD leaves many older SSDs behind in the dust, it is only half of the specified maximum of 90K IOPS for the 256 GB model. Access times for the SP900 are also somewhat high compared to other recent SSDs.

The SP900 also comes in behind the TLC NAND-equipped (non-Pro) Samsung SSD 840 in terms of write speeds, although it is far ahead in the more practically oriented copy test. 

As for the subjective user experience, it is really hard to tell one high-end SSD from another these days. One explanation is that the SATA 6 Gbps interface is largely saturated by most modern SSDs.  Moving from an exact clone of the previously tested Vertex 450 did not result in a different subjective experience, or actual boot times. In turn, neither did moving to the Vertex from the previous Intel drive (and so on). 

Standardized benchmarks have a somewhat more nuanced story to tell. As seen above, A-Data’s SP900 does a good job of copying files in AS SSD, but it also performs as well as expected in PCMark Vantage – another test that attempts, quite successfully, to mimic real-world use. Unfortunately, due to our different test setups we cannot rely too much on these figures other than the System Storage scores. On the other hand those are what’s important.  

There’s only a very small difference between the different SSDs, something that would change considerably if we were to add any mechanical hard drive.

Other practical aspects like starting applications, games or booting into Windows are also areas where the difference between SSDs tends to be quite microscopic. For example, different BIOS POST procedures will have a much greater effect on boot times than swapping one SSD for another. Most recent drives including the SP900 reaches the Windows 8 desktop in less than 10 seconds.

Similarly, our standardized Battlefield 3 startup routine clocks in at less than 20 seconds with the SP900, as it does with other SSDs. A more interesting comparison is to the mechanical Toshiba MK6461GSYN, a 640 GB 7200 rpm notebook hard drive that requires 72 seconds to perform the same task.