addlink S93 4TB SSD Review - Deft DRAMless Powerhouse

TweakTown's Rating: 95%

The Bottom Line

PC or PS5, 4TB of this type of SSD value proposition is not to be missed.

Pros

• + Gaming
• + Sequential throughput
• + Pricing

Cons

• - None

Should you buy it?

AvoidConsiderShortlistBuy

Buy at Amazon

Buy at Newegg

Introduction & Drive Details

Over the past year or so, we've been enamored with the 100% Chinese-made Maxio Tech MAP1602-C 4-channel DRAMless controller in front of a YMTC 2,400 MT, 232-Layer TLC flash array SSDs that have been taking the value-centric enthusiast segment by storm. These drives are the fastest of their kind and, overall, some of the world's most powerful DRAMless SSDs ever made. As we see it, with up to 4TB of single-sided TLC goodness for as low as 5 cents per gigabyte, the overall value proposition posed by SSDs of this hardware configuration is still unequaled no matter how you slice it.

With these attributes in mind, it's no wonder so many purveyors of solid-state storage across the globe are jumping on board and offering versions of their own. The latest to do so is the Taiwanese memory company addlink. The 4TB addlink S93 we have on the bench today is an absolute beast of a performer and is overall the highest performing of its kind we've tested to date, just edging out the 4TB VP4300 Lite for the highest overall user experience score to date for this 100% Chinese-made configuration.

Additionally, it is the very first, and still only one of two, DRAMless hardware configurations capable of delivering sufficient throughput to qualify for legit usage as PlayStation 5 M.2 storage expansion, with the other being the Phison E27T controlled Corsair MP600 Elite. To top it off, the addlink S93 4TB delivers the eleventh highest throughput for any SSD that appears on our 51-drive deep PS5 chart, so it's not just barely making the cut, it's actually dominating most of the hot running, power-hungry 8-channel competition.

Cheaper, faster, and cooler is what addlink's S93 is all about. Okay, now let's get into the review so we can demonstrate for you exactly why this 4TB masterpiece offers a value proposition that is not to be missed.

Drive Details

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As mentioned, the drive is a preferred single-sided design, the first of its kind for a 4TB DRAMless offering. We love that because it's easy to cool and can fit in places double-sided SSDs cannot.

Jon's Test System Specifications

Intel Test System

• Motherboard: GIGABYTE AORUS Z790 Xtreme X
• CPU: Intel Core i9-14900K - Buy from Amazon
• Cooler: Alphacool Eissturm Hurricane Copper 45 - Buy from Amazon
• RAM: Patriot Viper Xtreme 5 8000 48GB - Buy from Amazon
• Graphics Card: MSI SUPRIM X RTX 3080 12GB - Buy from Amazon
• Case: PrimoChill's Praxis Wetbench - Buy from Amazon
• Power Supply: be quiet! Dark Power Pro 12 1200W - Buy from Amazon
• OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 64-bit - Buy from Amazon

AMD Test System

• Motherboard: GIGABYTE X670E AORUS Master
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X - Buy from Amazon
• Cooler: Alphacool Eissturm Hurricane Copper 45 - Buy from Amazon
• RAM: Sabrent Rocket DDR5 32GB - Buy from Amazon
• Graphics Card: MSI SUPRIM X RTX 3080 12GB - Buy from Amazon
• Case: PrimoChill's Praxis Wetbench - Buy from Amazon
• Power Supply: be quiet! Dark Power Pro 12 1200W - Buy from Amazon
• OS: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro 64-bit - Buy from Amazon

Because we at TweakTown like to be first at everything whenever we can, we will present our storage performance results for the test subject on both 13th Gen Intel and 7000 Series AMD platforms going forward for the foreseeable future. Because Intel still delivers the best real-world storage performance, (Look Here), our running chart will continue to be Intel-based until AMD can deliver better real-world storage performance than its rival.

addlink S93 4TB NVMe PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 SSD

	Today	Yesterday	7 days ago	30 days ago
	$244.44	$244.44	$244.44	$249.44	Buy
	$248.44	$248.44	$250.44	$254.44	Buy
* Prices last scanned on 4/26/2024 at 9:25 pm CDT - prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission.

Sony PlayStation 5 - M.2 Storage Expansion

PS5 Read Performance

With Sony's wildly popular PlayStation 5 console now enabled for M.2 NVMe SSDs to be used as fast storage expansion, we include results for PS5 compatible SSDs we test as a part of our reviews going forward.

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For 5,500 MB/s plus capable SSDs that don't have an adequately sized PS5 compatible heatsink or other SSDs where the heatsink provided doesn't fit right and can be removed, we both use and recommend Sabrent's unparalleled PS5 heatsink available HERE.

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We only chart SSDs that can deliver a minimum of 5,500 MB/s read, which is Sony's original recommendation.

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At 6,541 MB/s, the S93 4TB is within 18 MB/s of the highest we've ever recorded. Impressive.

Synthetic Benchmarks: CDM, Anvil, ATTO

CrystalDiskMark

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We employ CDM as our standard measurement for both sequential throughput and Q1T1 random read. In terms of sequential throughput, we find our test subject fully capable of meeting and or exceeding quoted up to specifications (which are given for AMD). Looking at 4K QD1 random read, our test subject is cranking out a stout 100 MB/s, which typically signals excellent real-world performance.

Anvil's Storage Utilities

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As we just saw with the Q1T1 random read with our previous benchmark, the S93 4TB can exceed the output of the similarly configured VP4300 Lite 4TB. We see this as evidence of firmware progression.

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We employ Anvil's random read test as our standard for measuring max random read IOPS. This test is very accurate as it at its core is Iometer skinned over. We test at QD128. Our DRAMless contender cranks out an impressive 883K random read IOPS on our AMD system.

ATTO

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ATTO gives us a clear picture of what transfer sizes a particular SSD favors in terms of sequential throughput. We chart 128K transfers. As expected, our test subject favors sequential transfers of 512K or larger when serving data to the host (reading) and 64K or larger when programming (writing) data.

Real-World Testing: Transfers, 3DMark SSD Gaming Test, PCM10 Storage

Transfer Rates

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Our 100GB data transfer test is not your ordinary 100GB of data. Ours is a crushing mix composed of more than 62K files. Write performance, random or sequential, is an infrequent operation, and as such, we do not consider it to be an important performance metric in the consumer space. An example being how many times is a game installed vs. how many times it's played. Although it's not an important metric in the real world, we are nonetheless impressed with how this 4-channel DRAMless SSD is able to outperform the vast majority of 8-channel PCIe Gen4 SSDs, with 4-channels tied behind its back, so to speak.

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Unlike programming (writing) data, serving data to the host (reading) data is always an important performance metric as it relates to the consumer space. 4,246MB/s is yet again another lab record for a flash-based DRAMless SSD. Impressive.

3DMark SSD Gaming Test

UL's newest 3DMark SSD Gaming Test is the most comprehensive SSD gaming test ever devised. We consider it superior to testing against games themselves because, as a trace, it is much more consistent than variations that will occur between runs on the actual game itself. This test is the same as running the actual game, just without the inconsistencies inherent to application testing. In short, we believe that this is the world's best way to test an SSD's gaming prowess and accurately compare it against competing SSDs. The 3DMark SSD Gaming Test measures and scores the following:

• Loading Battlefield V from launch to the main menu.
• Loading Call of Duty Black Ops 4 from launch to the main menu.
• Loading Overwatch from launch to the main menu.
• Recording a 1080p gameplay video at 60 FPS with OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) while playing Overwatch.
• Installing The Outer Worlds from the Epic Games Launcher.
• Saving game progress in The Outer Worlds.
• Copying the Steam folder for Counter-Strike Global Offensive from an external SSD to the system drive.

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Gaming is a performance metric that matters to most DIY consumers, especially to the enthusiast crowd that TweakTown caters to. Now, we've reached the point where results start to matter, as they are a direct reflection of user experience. Going by the numbers, our 4TB S93 is the sixth best PCIe Gen4 gaming SSD appearing on our chart, which is just mind-boggling considering this is a power-sipping DRAMless 4-channel drive.

PCM10 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. These tests directly correlate with mainstream user experience.

PCMark 10 Full System Drive Benchmark

This test writes 204GB data and covers a broad range of common consumer tasks, including booting Windows 10, file transfers, Adobe and Office applications, and startup times for games including Battlefield V, COD Black Ops 4, and Overwatch. Unlike synthetic numbers, this is comprehensive real-world data, which is why we use it to rank SSDs in terms of user experience.

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As expected, based on previous experience, our test subject handles heavy consumer workloads exceptionally well. In fact, it's delivering the best performance of any of the many similarly configured SSDs appearing on this chart regardless of capacity point.

PCMark 10 Quick System Drive Benchmark

The Quick System Drive Benchmark writes 23 GB of data over the duration of the test.

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Again, this is the best performance here of all the MAP1602/2,400MT YMTC configured drives we've tested to date.

Final Thoughts

After thoroughly reviewing addlink's S93 4TB, more than a year after these 100% Chinese-made SSDs first began to circulate, we are more convinced than ever that this hardware configuration continues to offer the best bang for the buck of any enthusiast-grade SSD we know of. Its read throughput is unmatched in the DRAMless realm, as is its transfer rate and gaming prowess. And then there's the pricing, where we have seen the drive going for as little as 5 cents per gigabyte on sale.

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We rank SSDs in terms of overall user experience (performance where it matters most) as expressed by PCMark 10 storage and 3DMark gaming storage tests. We consider a user experience score of 15K or more to verify an SSD as a TweakTown Elite performer. The S93 4TB is the overall highest-performing of the MAP1602/YMTC 2,400 MT TLC SSDs we've tested to date.

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It's ultra power efficient, cool running, capacious, a gaming specialist on both PC and console -it just does everything we want from an SSD at a high level and, as such, is deserving of a TweakTown Must Have Award. Well done, addlink.