KitGuru KitGuru.net – Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards
Seagate's FireCuda gaming range of SSDs comprises a pair of M.2 drives, the FireCuda 510 (reviewed here), the PCIe Gen 4 FireCuda 520 (reviewed here) and the latest addition to the range, the SATA 6Gb/s FireCuda 120.
Four capacities make up the FireCuda 120 range; 500GB, 1TB, 2TB (the drive Seagate kindly supplied for review) and the flagship 4TB model.
The FireCuda 120 uses a combination of a re-branded 8-channel Phison PS3112-S12 controller and 96-layer BiCS4 3D TLC NAND. Seagate rates the FireCuda 120 Sequential performance for all four drives as up to 560MB/s read and 540MB/s write while 4K random read/writes as quoted as up to 100,000 IOPS and 90,000 IOPS respectively, again these figures are for all models.
We could confirm those Sequential performance figures using the ATTO benchmark, with the review drive producing reads of 561MB/s and writes at 542MB/s. Using our standard 4K test we couldn't quite hit the official maximum ratings of 100,000 IOPS for reads and 90.000 IOPS for writes, the drive producing test result figures of 93,310 IOPS for reads and 83,236 IOPS for writes. We got closer with version 7 of the CrystalDiskBenchmark with 99,458 IOPS for reads and 90,821 IOPS for writes.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about the FireCuda 120 range is the endurance Seagate has given it. The 2TB FireCuda 120 is rated at 2,800TB TBW which is 400TB more than Samsung quotes for the 2TB version of the mighty 860 PRO.
We found the 2TB Seagate FireCuda for £279.95 (inc VAT) on Overclockers UK HERE.
Pros
- Overall performance.
- Endurance.
Cons
- Pricey.
KitGuru says: Seagate's FireCuda 120 offers an enticing combination of good overall performance and class leasing endurance with the added bonus of a five-year warranty.
