Silicon Power P34A80 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD Review

1. Introduction & Drive Details
2. SSD Software
3. Synthetic Benchmarks: CDM & Anvils
4. Synthetic Benchmarks: AS SSD & ATTO
5. Real-World Testing: Transfer Rates & Gaming
6. Real-World Testing: PCMark 10 Storage Tests
7. Final Thoughts

TweakTown's Rating: 93%

The Bottom Line

The Silicon Power P34A80 1TB is an incredible value. Period.

Buy at Amazon

Introduction & Drive Details

We've been on the lookout for bargain-priced SSDs as of late. Our search has us looking back on SSDs that we haven't previously reviewed and are about a year old. When we do that, sometimes incredible bargains present themselves. We are looking for SSDs with quality TLC flash arrays that can be purchased for around 10-12 cents per RAW gigabyte. In other words, fast Gen3 NVMe SSDs with TLC flash arrays that are priced the same or even lower than current QLC offerings.

On our bench today, we have just such a drive. Silicon Power's 1TB P34A80 costs about 11.7 cents per RAW gigabyte, has a premium TLC flash array, a massive TBW rating, a 5-year warranty, and is blazing fast. The exact version we have also does something that many of our readers consider a priority, providing a superior gaming experience.

Priced like QLC and superior in virtually every way is our current definition of value. This type of SSD won't be around for much longer as QLC flash is beginning to flood the market. Now is the time to get some of this high-value fast storage goodness. Let's take a close look at what Silicon Power's 1TB P34A80 can deliver.

Drive Details

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Advertised performance looks very good for a $120 SSD. Endurance is around 10x better than we see from QLC SSDs. A 5-year warranty is top of the line.

Be sure to activate your warranty with the QR code on the back of the box.

Jon's Test System Specifications

• Motherboard: ASUS ROG Crosshair Hero VIII Wi-Fi (buy from Amazon)
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X (buy from Amazon)
• Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 280 (buy from Amazon)
• Memory: ADATA XPG Z1 DDR4 3800MHz 16GB (buy from Amazon)
• Video Card: Sapphire Radeon RX Vega 64 (buy from Amazon)
• Power Supply: Corsair AX1000 (buy from Amazon)
• Case: InWin X-Frame
• OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (buy from Amazon)

SSD Software

SP ToolBox/ECHO Cloning Software

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Silicon Power provides an SSD Toolbox that is compatible with the P34A80, which you can download here.

Additionally, SP offers free cloning software that is compatible with the P34A80, which you can download here.

Synthetic Benchmarks: CDM & Anvils

CrystalDiskMark

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We are getting better than advertised sequential speeds from this 1TB powerhouse. Impressive. We also like a QD1 random read speed of 74 MB/s. This kind of QD1 random read performance typically indicates an excellent gaming SSD.

Anvil's Storage Utilities

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We are primarily looking for two things when evaluating Anvil results. 15K random read IOPS at QD1 and minimum total read score of 6K. The P34A80 delivers a whopping 17K QD1 random read IOPS and scores better than our 6K minimum total read score.

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We fall a bit short of factory max random IOPS due to our more demanding user state.

Synthetic Benchmarks: AS SSD & ATTO

AS SSD

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Looking at sequential and 4K random performance the P34A80 is delivering the goods where it matters most. However, so much of the scoring comes from 4K-64Thrd, overall scoring is artificially low.

ATTO

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Very close to full speed at 128K transfers.

Real-World Testing: Transfer Rates & Gaming

Transfer Rates

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Our 1TB P34A80 averages 500 MB/s while transferring our 100GB directory.

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When serving data to the host, our test subject manages an average of 1,860 MB/s.

Game Level Loading

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Gamers take notice. This version of Silicon Power's P34A80 SSD is one of the better gaming SSDs we've tested to date, no matter the price point.

Real-World Testing: PCMark 10 Storage Tests

PCMark 10 Storage Test is the most advanced and most accurate real-world consumer storage test ever made. There are four different tests you can choose from; we run two of them.

The Full System Drive Benchmark and the Quick System Drive Benchmark. The Full System Drive Benchmark writes 204 GB of data over the duration of the test. The Quick System Drive Benchmark writes 23 GB of data over the duration of the test. These tests directly correlate with user experience. Of the two tests, we feel that the Quick System Drive Test most accurately replicates a typical user experience.

PCMark 10 Full System Drive Benchmark

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The P34A80 delivers heavy workload performance that is on par with that of Samsung's more expensive 970 EVO Plus while at the same time giving you a full RAW capacity of 1024GB.

PCMark 10 Quick System Drive Benchmark

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We would like to see a bit better score here, but it's well within an acceptable range, and the P34A80 is beating some big-name competition that is far more expensive.

Final Thoughts

We've been searching for what we consider the best value available today for our readers, and what we found in Silicon Power's P34A80 1TB NVMe SSD is something special. A price of $120 for a full 1024GB of RAW capacity with a TLC flash array is remarkable, especially when you consider SATA SSDs like the 860 EVO cost 12 cents per gigabyte of RAW capacity and do not offer nearly as much performance or endurance.

Again, we will reiterate our current definition of value is getting fast TLC powered NVMe storage for about the same price as the current crop of QLC powered SSDs. We believe our readers will be better served by TLC powered SSDs than QLC due to the inherent superiority of 3-bit flash vs. 4-bit flash.

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The P34A80 1TB will deliver a mid-range user experience on a low range budget.

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Simply put, we find Silicon Power's P34A80 1TB to be one of the best, if not the best overall value in NVMe storage today. 8-channel controller, 3D TLC flash array, on PCB DRAM, unparalleled endurance, full capacity accessible to the end-user, and a 5-year warranty is why this SSD is deserving of TweakTown's coveted value award.

Pros

• Pricing
• Gaming
• Endurance/Warranty

Cons

• Light Workloads