Page 11 - Conclusion
I think generic products are popular because they combine a good price with a similar experience and performance compared to the branded option. However, there are times where I am happy to pay a bit more to get a better experience, because even though the generic product is similar, there can be compromises found in the quality of the product. The Gigabyte M.2 PCIe SSD shares this story. On paper, the Gigabyte NVMe entry has the specs to fit the generic brand stereotype. Boasting decent speeds, a lengthy write endurance, and a retail price of $70 USD, the M.2 PCIe SSD seems like a great option. Even when we get into the testing numbers, the results start in a good place. The sequential speeds match what is advertised, making it stay competitive with our other NVMe drives. However, when we move to our random access benchmarks, we start seeing the budget nature of the drive. Furthermore, the lack of onboard memory does not help here, affecting the performance in longer and more taxing tests. The included warranty is also a shorter three years, compared to the standard five I am used to seeing even for budget drives. It is not all bad, as the Gigabyte M.2 PCIe SSD still competes well with SATA-based drives while only being a bit more expensive. Thus, the Gigabyte M.2 PCIe SSD is a good entry into the NVMe drive market on its own, but it struggles when you line it up with the competition on either side of the price spectrum. This may be the situation where paying a bit more for the better known choice is worth it for improved performance, protection, or both.
Gigabyte provided this product to APH Networks for the purpose of evaluation.
Since April 30, 2007, Number Ratings have been dropped for all CPUs, motherboards, RAM, SSD/HDDs, and graphics cards. This is to ensure the most appropriate ratings are reflected without the inherent limits of using numbers. Everything else will continue using the Number Rating System.
More information in our Review Focus.
The crowded and competitive SSD market means the Gigabyte M.2 PCIe SSD 256GB is a decent option, but not necessarily an outstanding choice in a sea of equally or more desirable products.
Do you have any comments or questions about the Gigabyte M.2 PCIe SSD 256GB? Drop by our Forums. Registration is free, and it only takes a minute!
Page Index
1. Introduction, Packaging, Specifications
2. A Closer Look, Test System
3. Benchmark: AIDA64 Disk Benchmark
4. Benchmark: ATTO Disk Benchmark
5. Benchmark: Crystal Disk Mark 3.0
6. Benchmark: HD Tach 3.0.1.0
7. Benchmark: HD Tune Pro 4.60
8. Benchmark: PassMark PerformanceTest 9.0
9. Benchmark: PCMark Vantage
10. Benchmark: PCMark 8
11. Conclusion
