ADATA XPG ATOM 30 1TB NVMe with SU670 250GB SSD Kit Review

Today, we review XPGs new ATOM 30 Kit. This dual SSD kit includes an XPG ATOM 30 1 TB PCIe Gen 3 NVMe M.2 and an ADATA SU670 250 GB SATA SSD. Packaging two drives together, XPG has created this as a dual system upgrade kit for older laptops or aging desktops that just need something a little more. The ATOM 30 is the little brother to the ATOM 50 SSD that we reviewed earlier this year. With the ATOM 30 being a PCIe Gen 3 version we should expect a slower drive than the ATOM 50 and a price tag that is budget-friendly. In this kit you also receive a 250 GB ADATA SU670 SATA drive. While much slower than an NVMe they still pose a great upgrade for a dated mechanical hard drive commonly found in laptops or prebuilt desktops.

Specifications and Features

The ATOM 30 complies with NVMe 1.3 and utilizes PCIe Gen3 x4 to obtain read and write speeds of up to 2,500/2,000 MB per second. The SU670 relies on SATA III technology to achieve up to 520 MB/s sequential reads and up to 450 MB/s sequential writes. Both drives employ ADATA 3D NAND Flash in conjunction with SLC Caching for improved load times. The ATOM 30 is also equipped with Host Memory Buffer (HMB) technology for increased performance during multitasking conditions. To aid with data protection, both drives use LDPC (Low Density Parity Check) and AES 256-bit encryption. Finally, a thin aluminum heatsink is included for the ATOM 30.

Here’s a list of the specifications per the XPG website.

Packaging

The XPG ATOM 30 Kit is packaged in a glossy black cardboard carton. The images of the two drives are high quality and just the very basic information about the drives is listed on the front such as sequential read speeds, drive form factors, and capacities. On the back of the box, a few more features are listed in English, French, and Spanish. A plastic hanger is inserted at the top for in-store displays. The inside packaging is a single clear plastic insert that keeps the drives at a safe distance from the box edges. This packaging is suitable for most shipping concerns and provides just enough information for a potential consumer.

Packaging Front

Packaging Back

Internal Packaging

The ATOM 30 1 TB NVMe M.2 Drive

The first drive we will look at is the ATOM 30 1 TB M.2. This drive follows the NVMe 1.3 standard and employs multiple data protection features listed above in the specifications. It is a single-sided drive with the controller and all four 3D NAND located on the same side. The controller used is a Realtek RTS5766DL. Unfortunately, little information about this controller is available. What we do know is that it represents Realtek’s current generation for PCIe Gen3 x4 devices. Storage capacity is handled via the four 3D NAND with each responsible for 256 gigabytes, providing a total of one terabyte. Just like the ATOM 50, the ATOM 30 is a DRAM-less design, relying on the CPU and RAM to manage data flow. This is no doubt to reduce costs, though there is a trade-off for speed. As the ATOM 30 was never designed to be the fastest drive on the market this makes perfect sense. The thin aluminum heatsink is an exact duplicate of the ATOM 50s and works well for a drive that doesn’t generate much heat in the first place. It is secured to the drive using a thin strip of 3M adhesive.

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The ADATA SU670 SATA Drive

The ADATA SU670 is a 2.5″ SATA III SSD. The PCB inside the case features a Realtek RTS5735DLQ controller on one side and a pair of ADATA 3D NAND on the other. Each of the 3D NAND chips is responsible for 128 gigabytes of storage for a total capacity of about 250 gigabytes. The SU670 is new to the ADATA line-up and, when comparing specifications, looks nearly identical to the SU650. The only exception is a slightly higher 4k IOPS. The SU670 is so similar ADATA even reused the SU650 PCB. We are not claiming this to be a re-badge, just that the specifications and PCB make for an incredibly similar product.

ADATA SU670

ADATA SU670 Back

ADATA SU670 Opened

ADATA SU670 PCB Back

ADATA SU670 Controller

SU670 NAND Close Up

Testing Method and Test System

All tests we performed with the XPG ATOM 30 installed in the top M.2 slot to utilize the direct CPU interface. The ADATA SU670 was connected to the motherboard’s top SATA port using a 6GB data cable.

Benchmark Results

CrystalDiskMark

CrystalDiskMark is the top benchmark for verifying an SSD’s maximum speeds. We paired these drives up with other PCIe Gen3 drives to show the closest comparisons we have to offer. A PCIe Gen4 drive was also added to show the leap in generational technology. Unfortunately, we don’t have any recent data from other SATA drives as they just aren’t being pushed for reviews from the manufacturers. Looking at the charts, we can see the ATOM 30 reached a maximum sequential read speed of 2698 MB/s, slightly higher than its rated 2500 MB/s. For sequential writes, the ATOM 30 reached 2148 MB/s, again surpassing its rating of 2000 MB/s. The ADATA SU670 was also able to reach its rated sequential read/write speeds of 520/450 MB/s.

AS SSD

Similar to CrystalDiskMark, AS SSD tests the drive’s abilities in sequential and 4K read and write tests. The results above are right on par with the rated speeds of the two drives. They are the slowest rated drives in this dataset so it’s not really a fair race, but we can only compare to the data that we have.

ATTO

The ATTO benchmark is a little different from the first two. It utilizes a file size spectrum to gauge speeds based on the file’s relative size. Here we see essentially all the drives in the dataset achieving maximum performance around the 64k range with only the ATOM 50 (Gen4) getting another slight bump at the 1024K mark. What is not very noticeable is how well the two slower drives compare with smaller files. At the 1K file size spectrum, even the SU670 performs as well as the others.

Thermal Testing

With the synthetic benchmarks completed it’s time to review the thermal performance of the ATOM 30. Using an AMPROBE TMD-52 digital thermometer with a K-Type thermal probe taped directly on top of the controller, we can get the most accurate thermal readings. Occasionally, while using software, discrepancies have been noticed, so we opt for physical data wherever possible. Thermal results for the SU670 were not recorded for this review as it was still contained in the protective case.

Testing Rig

Thermal Testing

Throughout the testing, the ATOM 30 peaked just under 44° C. The testing was performed without using the included heatsink and, as you can tell, the Realtek controller simply does not generate a lot of heat. Users should feel even more confident if installing the heatsink, although it truly is more for cosmetics at these low temperatures.

DiskBench

Moving on to DiskBench provides us with our first real-world benchmark. Diskbench is designed to determine actual file transfer times. Using a 120 GB file composed of random data, we transfer the file from the primary (OS) drive to the test drives, recording the actual transfer time. If you are a user who is constantly dealing with massive file sizes, this is the test for you.

The ATOM 30 performed exceptionally well in this benchmark, beating out the other PCIe Gen3 drives by half the time. This is impressive for a drive that is rated slower and an indicator that you can’t base a drive from its sequential read speed only. There are many other factors involved. As for the SU670, well, it’s just damn slow comparatively. This result is from a second run. I killed the first run after ten minutes thinking the system had froze. (Warning: Author rant) When you are used to reviewing NVMe drives, you get used to a certain cadence, and when there is an outlier like this, it reminds us of how far we have come in just a few years. Stating a Gen4 drive is 10x faster than SATA looks great on paper, but in reality, when one drive takes one minute to run and the next takes ten minutes, it just drives that point home. It becomes very tangible. (End rant)

Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers Game Load Test

We use the scene loading metrics to the Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers benchmark to determine scene loading times. This test renders 3D game scenes and evaluates the overall system performance as well as the time it takes to load each scene. The scene loading time is all we are after for this benchmark as it indicates how game performance (load time) can be affected by a drive’s speeds. Note: This benchmark will soon be eliminated from our testing as modern drives, even the slower SATA drives, produce results that are within a fraction of a second of each other. We chose to include it in this review to demonstrate that even a SATA drive is comparable to a new Gen4 NVMe drive.

The results from this benchmark are conclusive. For each scene, nearly all the drives are within about a one-second window from each other. Through the entire testing, roughly 15 minutes worth, the fastest drive was only five seconds better than the slowest (i.e. 0.006%).

Anvil Storage Utility

The final benchmark we look at is Anvil’s Storage Utility. This is another benchmark that measures read and write speeds, similar to CrystalDiskMark and AS SSD. The main difference with ASU is that it produces a “real-world” performance score for comparison rather than an actual speed. This performance score is more of an all-encompassing overview of the drive’s capabilities.

The results from ASU are right where we expected them to be with a similar pattern to AS SSD and CrystalMarkDisk. There are no outliers as all the drives performed as rated. For a budget drive, the ATOM 30 performed well compared to the other, faster Gen3 SSDs.

Conclusion

The XPG ATOM 30 KIT is designed as a dual system update kit and should be reviewed as such. Individually, these drives are not too impressive, with both being on the slower side, though each performed at their expected speeds. Many of us at Overclockers have multiple PCs and laptops and the need to update them is always present. There are also times when a user does not need the top-performing parts. This is where the ATOM 30 Kit comes into play, featuring PCIe Gen3 speeds in an M.2 format with a second SATA drive for updating that aging laptop or prebuilt desktop.

The XPG ATOM 30 Kit retails for $124.99 at Amazon and $119.99 from ADATA via Newegg. Ironically, you can buy the ATOM 30 and an SU650 (remarkably similar drive) individually from either site for $128 and some change. Making this kit priced almost the same as if you purchased them separately. When comparing prices to other drives similar to the ones in this kit, they are priced in the same ballpark. While this kit is not very impressive and the pricing is average it does work as intended, at its rated speeds, and priced accordingly. This makes the XPG ATOM 30 Kit a borderline Overclockers Approved product, however, it would still behoove users to shop around as there are certainly better performing drives that are occasionally on sale.

-John Nester (Blaylock)

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