I directly copied over my O.S. (Operating system) from a mechanical Hard drive (HD) to the SSD using Macrium Reflect. The boot time of Windows 10 / 64-bit is never "speedy" {even with the SSD - about 20-25 seconds from BIOS logo to windows login}.
The noticeable speed difference will come when you launch bulky applications like: Photoshop, games, photos, etc. Boot time will vary depending on different factors.
The Silicon SDD speeds are the same as the Samsun 860 EVO 1TB (Up to 550/520MB/s seq read/write speeds). My tests are showing A55-1TB Silicone SSD with 550/440MB/s (screenshot posted with this review). My speeds are not tested with an "Empty" drive the A55/SSD was tested with a fully functioning OS on it (20% of the drive filled during testing). This is a fast drive at a reasonable price.
IF, anything should occur with the hard drive over a period of time I will return to update this review (if possible). I am using three different variants of the Silicone SSD: 1TB, 480GB, and 256GB. (desktop, laptop, desktop) All three SSD drives are meeting or exceeding their competition's speeds.
A note to all Windows users, please change your advance settings / hard disk timeout in your control panel unless you don't care about very noticeable lag spikes when you open or launch applications/documents. This is under "control panel", top right search box type "power", left window "Edit power plan". "Change advanced power settings", Expand "Hard disk" by clicking on the + symbol to the left of it. Click on the + symbol to the left of "turn off hard disk after", click on "Setting" change to 0 minutes. (do this for M.2/NVME/SSD) otherwise you will wonder why your highspeed drive is acting "slow".
UPDATE: I have now purchased about 5 Silicon SSD (2.5) drives. ALL 5 are still working very well 5 months in. I have done speed tests on a few of them every month (I have multiple sizes: 256, 512, 480, 1TB) The speeds are stable. Meaning you will get a slight variation (either faster or slow) in the speed test numbers but nothing dramatic. If you are concerned about data loss, get a second hard drive (mechanical if you wish). Go get Macrium Reflect, home edition, and you can make a direct copy of your OS boot drive into an image file. Macrium is a UK based software company that has powerful free (home edition) software. YouTube has wonderful videos on how to do this, very simple. Remember to buy a USB stick (2GB more than enough) to make a media boot for recovery purposes.
So.. here it is... i was a little leary... this is at time of purchase around $50ish lower than other 1TB ssds. So i was expecting it to be slower than a typical ssd. It is a little slower. Still faster than a HDD. So far so good... people in the reviews say it failed for them after around 2 months or so. So far mine hasn't failed. I wouldn't call it the best SSD but so far it is working well for me.
This SP A55 SSD 1TB comes in a blister pack. When I got it, I connected it to the computer that I intended to install it in by a USB adapter and used Clonezilla to clone the original mechanical HDD. This process didn't take all that long, maybe 20 minutes total. Once that was done, the hardest part was taking the laptop apart to remove the old HDD and put in the new SSD. Got it in and all back together, booted and re-setup the BIOS. This upgrade made a remarkable difference in the laptop boot time. It boots within 5-10 seconds. Running applications is just as quick and almost instantaneous. I ran a few benchmarks and all were very close to advertised performance. If you are on a budget, I would recommend this drive. But this is my first one, so I can't speak for longevity of its life span.
I wanted to purchase a secondary drive for my laptop as I like to keep a backup drive in every PC I own.
My laptop is Lenovo ThinkPad E480 20KN0061IV, and comes with M.2 drive installed with an option to add 2.5" 7mm drive.
After thinking a bit I've come to the conclusion that I shouldn't put a HDD because of the noise that it might bring.
My laptop is very quiet, so it's important to me that it stays that way.
Then I stumbled upon this product. Seeing that it comes at a reasonable price, I opted for it.
I mean, why not? I don't intend to use it for an OS.
Overall it's a smart purchase, saved myself 35$.
BTW, the A55 would have been a better choice as it seems it has better performance at the same price.
Update: Removing one star as it has a fake temperature sensor! Always show 40 °C (104 °F)
Checked even with their SP Toolbox. Which means they might have other fake SMART data.
I'm done with Samsung. They refused to warranty my 960 Pro 1TB over a sticker. No worries though, we have a contender. The Silicon Power A80 1TB NVME is faster and has a 5-year warranty! I've used their SSD's in customer computers for years and with over 100 installs only 2 early models have ever failed. Silicon Power RMA'd both drives without a hitch.
Don't just take my word for it. Check them out in the Anandtech GIGABYTE Aorus RGB M.2 SSD review where this drive is killing everything but Intel's Optane!
BONUSES!
It has an extra 22GB over the 970 Evo Plus and it's $100 less!
Feature Product
- 3D NAND flash are applied to deliver high transfer speeds
- Remarkable transfer speeds that enable faster bootup and improved overall system performance. The advanced SLC Cache Technology allows performance boost and longer lifespan
- 7mm slim design suitable for Ultrabooks and Ultra-slim notebooks.
- Supports TRIM command, Garbage Collection technology, RAID, and ECC (Error Checking & Correction) to provide the optimized performance and enhanced reliability.
- 3-year limited warranty. (Please register your product via SP official website to get the complete manufacturer warranty services, product support and more.)
Description
High Transfer Speeds for Fast Start Up
Powered by high quality controller and original synchronous NAND flash, Ace A55 delivers incredibly high transfer speeds that enable short boot time, fast application loading and quick file processing.
SLC Cache Technology for Performance Boost and Longer Lifespan
The A55 especially applies the ”SLC Cache technology” that allows all data to be written in the SLC portion first and leads to higher peak writing performance. In addition, the technology can reduce write amplification and thus offer better endurance and longer lifespan of the SSD.
Free-download SSD Health Monitor Tool - SP Toolbox Software
The A55 comes with a free-download SSD health monitor tool - SP Toolbox Software, which is especially designed for you to easily monitor the current health status of a SSD. By such, you can run a performance test, get an overall health evaluation and check detailed information about your SSD, including used space on device, device temperature, total bytes written, S.M.A.R.T. status, erase count status and block numbers.
*Please download the software at SP Official Website.
Absolutely Reliable with Bad Block Management
The A55 is built with Bad Block Management, which can continually monitor and replace bad blocks to keep your system in good condition with prolonged lifespan of a SSD.
Multiple Techniques Supported
The A55 is one of the lightest and thinnest SSD of its kind yet it is shock- and vibration-proof since it contains no moving parts. Furthermore, S.M.A.R.T. monitoring system and ECC technology are equipped to promise higher data transmission safety.
3-year Warranty
The Ace A55 is backed by 3-year warranty.
*Please register your product via SP official website to get the complete manufacturer warranty services, product support and more.
Box Contains
1 x Silicon Power Ace A55 Solid State Drive
I was in the market for an NVMe SSD, and I saw this at $169.99 for the 1TB version, with 3,200 Read/3,000 Write speeds. A Samsung 970 Evo 1TB is about $250, and has similar advertised speeds. It seemed too good to pass up, so I jumped on it. What I got instead is a drive that performs at about 2,000 Read/1,600 Write. Under sustained loads, write speeds drop to around 1,000 MB/s. While this is by no means horrible, it is not at advertised speeds, or even close for that matter. With the Samsung 970 Evo, it advertises 3,400MB/s read, which real world it gets pretty close to. In this price point, however, it does perform extremely well, and I can't really complain...
Installed in my HO ENVY 360. Needless to say, it starts up in 5 seconds. Super quick, ran on arrival, and works great. I’ve always been a fan of SP; you get what you pay for in electronics! I’ve had a external hard drive from this manufacturer for over 4 years; it’s durable and still running!
Amazing seq R/W, but the random 4k is only performing average.
Installed in an PCIe adapter (Sintech).
The price for this NVME from SP is the cheapest among all the other brand which can perform above 3000MB/s.
I think the people are classifying these >3000MB/s as higher end NVME, eg 970, BPX, SX8200, S70, SN750, 760P etc,
While for those perform ~2000MB/s as lower end NVME, eg P1, EX900 etc.
Don't misunderstand me, all these higher/lower-end NVME are in my Amazon wish list. I am reading all the reviews for comparison purpose.
Btw, i have ordered the P1 and it is on the way. If P1 can perform better random 4k, i may swap out this SP.
UPDATE 17 Apr 2019:
After tried the crucial P1, yes the random 4K is better (~10MB/s more). However the heat from P1 make me feel uncomfortable)
Idle: SP only 22 degree but P1 is already 30+ degree
Heavy load: SP highest is about 44 degree but P1 come to Red zone, 58 degree.
All these temperatures are read from Crystaldisk.
Both SP and P1 are install at the same adapter with heat sink (from Sintech).
So in the end, I remain at SP.
The 1st photo attached earlier is CDM reading without BitLocker.
2nd photo is CDM reading with BitLocker, and can see the Temperature behind also.
Too early to tell about longevity but it works flawlessly in a Dell XPS 15 i7-9570 clean install. Upgrade from the Toshiba 500gb m.2 as I needed more space and the price point for this ssd drive is affordable and speed is on par with the specs provided by Silicon Power. I would of purchased a Samsung Evo but I just couldn't see paying around $240 for it. This SP 1tb m.2 nvme is just $119+5yr warranty and Silicon Power (SP) has been around for a long time even though this is my first to purchase there brand. Hopefully I will never have to use the warranty anytime soon, failure is not an option.
This bracket was easy to install and is holding my new Samsung 860 EVO SSD snugly in one of the standard case drive bays of my computer. It comes with 4 screws to mount the drive to the bracket and 4 more to mount the bracket in the drive bay. No need to scrounge around looking for the right screws. The bracket is lightweight metal and well made for a perfect fit. All the holes lined up perfectly which made installation a breeze. My Amazon order was filled quickly with the bracket arriving safely 4 days after I hit the order button. I would highly recommend the Silicon Power SSD Mounting Bracket Kit.
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