Today, we have Gigabyte’s Aorus Gen4 7000s in the lab for review with cooling that is fit for an SSD that can gulp down over 8.5 watts of power. With an extremely well-crafted heatsink that is decked out with tons of fins, it’s ready for the harshest of workloads and will add some bling to a high-end gaming build. Designed to compete with the best SSDs, the Aorus Gen4 7000s dishes out up to 7 GBps and surprisingly, from testing, shows improvement over earlier Phison E18 NVMe SSD samples we’ve come across.
We’ve had our hands on many Phison PS5018-E18-based SSDs in the past few months and they all deliver very high performance. But with such high speed, these SSDs also have high power consumption in comparison to other SSDs such as Samsung’s 980 Pro and WD’s Black SN850, and concurrently, this results in high heat output in heavy usage, especially for the higher capacity models like Sabrent’s 4TB Rocket 4 Plus.
As awesome as Sabrent’s recently reviewed 4TB Rocket 4 Plus is, when relying solely on the thin heat spreader to keep it cool, it is still susceptible to throttling under massive write workloads. Because of this, many of these new Phison 18-powered SSDs are rolling out, equipped with heatsinks to ensure throttle-free, (or at least hopefully throttle-free), operation.
Corsair went as far as to develop both a heatsinked MP600 Pro as well as an MP600 Pro Hydro X edition for those with custom water-cooled rigs who demand completely throttle-free operation. In our hands, we now have Gigabyte’s Aorus Gen4 7000s, an interesting alternative that hasn’t gone to such drastic measures. Coming with a surface area maximized heatsink, the Aorus Gen4 7000s utilizes a more traditional design approach to tackle the minor heat problem, but what’s not so traditional is that it also incorporates a nanocarbon coating that is stated to reduce temperatures by 20%.
Specifications
| Product | Gen4 7000s 1TB | Gen4 7000s 2TB |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $209.99 | $389.99 |
| Capacity (User / Raw) | 1000GB / 1024GB | 2000GB / 2048GB |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 |
| Interface / Protocol | PCIe 4.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4 |
| Controller | Phison PS5018-E18 | Phison PS5018-E18 |
| DRAM | DDR4 | DDR4 |
| Memory | Micron 96L TLC | Micron 96L TLC |
| Sequential Read | 7,000 MBps | 7,000 MBps |
| Sequential Write | 5,500 MBps | 6,850 MBps |
| Random Read | 350,000 IOPS | 650,000 IOPS |
| Random Write | 700,000 IOPS | 700,000 IOPS |
| Security | AES 256-bit encryption | AES 256-bit encryption |
| Endurance (TBW) | 700 TB | 1,400 TB |
| Part Number | GP-AG70S1TB | GP-AG70S2TB |
| Warranty | 5-Years | 5-Years |
The Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 7000s is available in two capacities, 1TB and 2TB, priced at $210 and $390, respectively. Gigabyte rates each capacity to hit 7,000 MBps read, but the 1TB is rated to deliver 5,500 MBps write while the 2TB model can hit 6,850 MBps write. In terms of peak random performance, the SSD is rated capable of up to 650,000 / 700,000 random read/write IOPS at the highest capacity.
Gigabyte backs the Aorus Gen4 7000s with a 5-year warranty and each comes with respectable write endurance ratings - up to 700TB per 1TB in capacity. Such high endurance is thanks to Phison’s fourth-generation LDPC and RAID ECC, wear leveling, a bit of over-provisioning. Also, like Corsair’s MP600 Pro, the SSD supports AES 256-bit hardware encryption, perfect for those on the go who need to meet security compliance standards when handling sensitive data.
Software and Accessories
Gigabyte provides a basic SSD Toolbox that can read the SSD’s health, S.M.A.R.T. data, as well as secure erase it (assuming it’s a secondary drive).
A Closer Look
Gigabyte’s Aorus Gen4 7000s comes in an M.2 2280 double-sided form factor. The included aluminum heatsink measures 11.5 x 23.5 x 76 mm and the black and silver two-tone looks fantastic, too. We’re not too sure how much the nanocarbon coating helps by itself, but based on the way this heatsink is designed, we're fairly confident that there is plenty of surface area to dissipate all the heat it needs to without it. The SSD is sandwiched between two thick thermal pads that transfer heat from the PCB to the heatsink and baseplate.
As mentioned, Gigabyte’s Aorus Gen4 7000s is powered by Phison’s second-generation PCIe 4.0 x4 SSD controller, the PS5018-E18. It leverages DRAM and features a triple-core architecture that is paired with the company’s CoXProcessor 2.0 technology (an extra two R5 CPU cores) for fast and consistent response. The main CPU cores are Arm Cortex R5’s clocked at 1 GHz, up from 733MHz on its predecessor, the PS5016-E16, while the CoXProcessor 2.0 cores are clocked slower for better efficiency.
Our 2TB sample comes with 2GB of DDR4 from SK hynix, split amongst two DRAM ICs, one on each side of the PCB. These chips interface with the controller at speeds clocking 1,600 MHz and consume 1.2V. Additionally, there are eight NAND flash emplacements in total for storage, each containing 256GB of Micron’s 512Gb 96L TLC flash (32 dies in total). This NAND operates at fast speeds of up to 1,200 MTps and features a quad-plane architecture for fast, responsive performance.
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Comparison Products
The Aorus Gen4 7000s has some tough competition. . We are comparing it against Samsung’s 980 Pro, WD’s Black SN850, and the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus as well as the Patriot Viper VP4300. For some cheaper competition, we included a Silicon Power US70, Adata XPG Gammix S50 Lite, and Crucial P5.
Game Scene Loading - Final Fantasy XIV
Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers is a free real-world game benchmark that easily and accurately compares game load times without the inaccuracy of using a stopwatch.
Gigabyte’s Aorus Gen4 7000s scores top marks in this game load test, surpassing even that of Adata's XPG Gammix S50 Lite. At a total time of 9.23 seconds, it outpaces Samsung’s 980 Pro and WD’s SN850 by roughly 7 percent.
Transfer Rates – DiskBench
We use the DiskBench storage benchmarking tool to test file transfer performance with a custom dataset. We copy a 50GB dataset including 31,227 files of various types, like pictures, PDFs, and videos to a new folder and then follow up with a reading test of a newly-written 6.5GB zip file.
In copying the dataset, the Aorus Gen4 7000s scored very fast results. Not only did it manage to copy it nearly as fast as the Samsung 980 Pro, but it also read back the large zip file over 100MBps faster, scoring first place in the read test on top.
Trace Testing – PCMark 10 Storage Test
PCMark 10 is a trace-based benchmark that uses a wide-ranging set of real-world traces from popular applications and everyday tasks to measure the performance of storage devices. The quick benchmark is more relatable to those who use their PCs for leisure or basic office work, while the full benchmark relates more to power users.
When benchmarked in PCMark 10, the Gigabyte Aorus delivered respectable scores, outperforming the Patriot Viper VP4300 and Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus in the Full System Drive benchmark, but it trailed both the Samsung and WD.
Synthetic Testing - ATTO / iometer
iometer is an advanced and highly-configurable storage benchmarking tool while ATTO is a simple and free application that SSD vendors commonly use to assign sequential performance specifications to their products. Both of these tools give us insight into how the device handles different file sizes.
Sequential read/write performance is very good across all block sizes based on the Arous Gen4 7000s ATTO results. At a QD of 1 and 1MB block size, the Gen4 7000s reads much faster than the InnoGrit-powered Viper VP4300, but lags behind the Samsung and WD. When writing, however, it scores top marks, writing at roughly 5,850 MBps. In terms of its random responsiveness, the Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 7000s is just as fast as the Rocket 4 Plus, but not quite up to snuff when compared to the Samsung, WD, or even the Adata at a QD of 1.
Sustained Write Performance and Cache Recovery
Official write specifications are only part of the performance picture. Most SSDs implement a write cache, which is a fast area of (usually) pseudo-SLC programmed flash that absorbs incoming data. Sustained write speeds can suffer tremendously once the workload spills outside of the cache and into the "native" TLC or QLC flash.
We use iometer to hammer the SSD with sequential writes for 15 minutes to measure both the size of the write cache and performance after the cache is saturated. We also monitor cache recovery via multiple idle rounds.
Gigabyte’s Aorus Gen4 7000s is one of the fastest filling SSD’s we’ve had our hands-on. While it doesn’t show a full disk dynamic cache, its seemingly more conservative behavior enables fast performance. When tested, the SSD wrote 464GB of data at a speed of 6.9 GBps before degrading to 1.8GBps for another 1.18TB before again degrading to a final 1,150 MBps average for the remainder of the test. SLC cache recovers at a rate of roughly 88GB per 5 minutes.
Power Consumption and Temperature
We use the Quarch HD Programmable Power Module to gain a deeper understanding of power characteristics. Idle power consumption is an important aspect to consider, especially if you're looking for a laptop upgrade. Some SSDs can consume watts of power at idle while better-suited ones sip just milliwatts.
Average workload power consumption and max consumption are two other aspects of power consumption, but performance-per-watt is more important. A drive might consume more power during any given workload, but accomplishing a task faster allows the drive to drop into an idle state more quickly, ultimately saving energy.
We also monitor the drive’s temperature via the S.M.A.R.T. data and an IR thermometer to see when (or if) thermal throttling kicks in and how it impacts performance. Bear in mind that results will vary based on the workload and ambient air temperature.
Gigabyte’s Aorus Gen4 7000s runs more efficiently than the Rocket 4 Plus, but trails the Samsung, WD, and Patriot Viper’s scores due to it gulping down the most power on average, with peak power consumption pegging 8.5 watts. At idle, power consumption is well regulated at 800mW, second-lowest to the Samsung 980 Pro.
At idle the SSD measures 40C with no airflow and operating as our operating system drive. After filling the Aorus Gen4 7000s to half its capacity, the surface temperature measured 78C with no thermal throttling taking place.
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Gigabyte’s Aorus Gen4 7000s is smoking fast with performance that trades blows with the best SSDs on the market. We’re not quite sure what to attribute the minor performance improvements versus the Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus, whether it's the thermal headroom provided by the heatsink or if it's just due to their special firmware mix, but regardless, it's working well.
This Gen4 7000s has got style with that very slick heatsink, too. Not only is it one of the best-looking heatsinks that we’ve come across, but it’s also very effective at keeping the Aorus Gen4 7000s cool with that nanocarbon coating. Thermal throttling shouldn’t be much of a worry when you hit the SSD with heavy transfers and great news for content creators and the like. Not to mention, Gigabyte’s Aorus Gen4 7000s is priced competitively for what it brings to the table. While still costly overall, at 2TB, Gigabyte is currently a little cheaper than the Samsung 980 Pro and Sabrent’s Rocket 4 Plus and on par with the WD’s Black SN850 while also providing AES 256-bit encryption support.
Plus, it also comes with a solid 5-year warranty that you don’t need to register for, no tricks or strings attached other than the endurance rating shackling it down. But, even so, most consumers and prosumers will never come near to wearing out the Gen4 7000s with its endurance rating tipping the scales at 1.4PB at 2TB. For those on the lookout for a heatsinked SSD that can keep up with and even trade blows with the best, Gigabyte’s Aorus Gen4 7000s is a solid offering. It comes with all the features you could ask for from a high-end enthusiast-grade NVMe SSD and is reasonably priced as such.
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