The Bottom Line
Pros
- User experience
- Single sided
- Low power
- Certified TT Elite
Cons
- None
Should you buy it?
AvoidConsiderShortlistBuyIntroduction & Drive Details
Micron has been working overtime lately, and as we see things, it's paying off big time. Just two weeks ago, we reviewed Crucial's P310 2TB, the first of its kind retail SSD to be arrayed with Micron's 232-layer QLC flash. This 4-bit powered contender clearly demonstrated its superiority over all DRAMless SSDs that had come before it, verifying that Micron's eighth generation 2,400 MT flash is so good that even its QLC can beat competing TLC. That is, in our opinion, the most incredible accomplishment in the history of modern SSDs.
But wait, there's more. A lot more. Today, we get a first look at what Micron's skunkworks have been silently crafting behind the scenes. Micron's 2650 Client SSD is like the Crucial P310 in that it is what we call a milestone SSD. Typically, what brings forth a milestone in the consumer SSD universe is the progression of NAND technology, and that's exactly what we have here.
Micron's newest Client SSD is the first ever production SSD to feature a ninth-generation flash array. Micron's 276L B68S, or G9 flash, as Micron calls it, is the world's fastest and most architecturally advanced flash, capable of I/O speeds of up to 3,600 MT/s. This is 50% faster than its own and current king of performance 232L B58R flash.
We find it interesting that Micron chose to unveil the world's fastest and most architecturally superior flash via a 4-channel client SSD like the 2650. However, it does make perfect sense when you realize that nothing permeates the storage industry quite like a client SSD, nor can you draw a starker comparison between G9 flash and its competitors, including Kioxia, Western Digital, Samsung, YMTC and SK hynix.
Now, being a client or OEM SSD brings with it some disadvantages as it relates to performance comparisons between it and retail SSDs. This is because client SSDs, in general, are tuned differently than retail DIY SSDs. OEM or client SSDs are slated for mostly prebuilt systems where the end-user will, for the most part, never even see or touch the SSD. They may not even know what an SSD is; all they know is if the system works reliably and delivers a superior user experience.
Micron's 2650 SSD is no different in this respect. It is tuned for maximum reliability, including lower power consumption and a lower temperature envelope than its retail counterparts. Meaning that even though it is indeed arrayed with the world's fastest, most powerful flash, it is still considerably constrained in terms of all out performance due to its intended use case as well as it being a 4-channel DRAMless value-oriented offering.
As we see it, there is only one SSD that we can compare the G9 TLC arrayed 2650 with, and that's Crucial/Micron's own N58R QLC arrayed P310 2TB, which is currently the highest performing retail DRAMless SSD on the planet. At first glance, most informed readers would be inclined to believe that comparing a 2,400 MT arrayed QLC SSD with a 3,600 MT arrayed TLC SSD is an unfair comparison, and typically that would be the case. However, it does even out considerably because this is reliability-oriented OEM/client compared with performance-oriented retail.
Okay, now let's dive in and see if we do indeed have in-hand the new DRAMless performance leader.
Drive Details
As it is with most Micron storage products, Micron makes available for free its excellent toolbox software - Micron Storage Executive.
Jon's Test System Specifications
Intel Test System
- Motherboard: GIGABYTE AORUS Z790 Xtreme X
- CPU: Intel Core i9-14900KS - 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 14th 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.
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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 are including results for PS5 compatible SSDs we test as a part of our reviews going forward.
For 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.
We only chart SSDs that can deliver a minimum of 5,500 MB/s read, which is Sony's original recommendation.
A result here of 6,267 MB/s shows Micron's 2650 1TB as legit for PS5 storage expansion should the drive be repurposed one day and additionally notches its first win over the Crucial P310.
Synthetic Benchmarks: CDM, Anvil, ATTO
CrystalDiskMark
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 exceeding quoted up to factory throughput specifications.
At 109 MB/s Q1T1 random read our Micron 2650 is showing us what G9 flash is all about. This is an excellent indicator that our low power DRAMless contender is going to deliver superior user experience. Additionally, it's the fifth best all-time for any flash-based SSD we've tested. Impressive, especially considering the limitations of its E27T controller and the fact that it is limited further by its OEM/client drive parameters.
Anvil's Storage Utilities
Here the scoring is not impressive, unless we take note of the fact that this is the best we've ever obtained from any E27T controlled SSD.
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. At 929K IOPS, we are falling just short of the 1TB drive's quoted up to 1,000K IOPS. However, we are testing under far more demanding conditions, and certainly, the drive will get there if empty.
ATTO
ATTO gives us a clear picture of what transfer sizes a particular SSD favors in terms of QD4 sequential throughput. We chart 128K transfers. At a queue depth of four, the 2650 1TB favors sequential transfers of 128KB or larger when serving data to the host (reading) and 128KB or larger when programming (writing) data. This is outstanding small file performance, which is exactly what we are looking for from any SSD.
Real-World Testing: Transfers, 3DMark SSD Gaming Test, PCM10 Storage
Transfer Rates
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. We were expecting to see a higher transfer rate here, but this is apparently where the drive's client constraints are coming into play.
Unlike programming (writing) data, serving data to the host (reading) is typically an important performance metric as it relates to the consumer space. Again, it appears as if client drive parameters are affecting the transfer rate. Okay, so now on to the benchmarks that carry some weight.
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 SSDs 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.
Gaming is a performance metric that matters to most DIY consumers, especially for 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.
Here we find our contender delivering the most ever for a flash-based DRAMless SSD and this is again despite its OEM/client drive performance constraints. Do you want the most performance where it matters most? Well, here you go. Outstanding.
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.
If there's one test that traditionally brings DRAMless SSDs to their knees, it's this test. Our 1TB 2650 OEM/client SSD delivers the second-best all-time score for a flash-based DRAMless SSD, only eclipsed just barely by its cousin the P310 2TB. We believe the 2TB P310 does better here because it has more SLC capacity than the 1TB 2650. Nevertheless, it is top of the PCIe Gen4 food chain. Remarkable really.
PCMark 10 Quick System Drive Benchmark
The Quick System Drive Benchmark writes 23 GB of data over the duration of the test.
Of all the benchmarks we run, it can be argued that this one offers the best reflection of a typical consumer use case scenario. More than any other benchmark, here is where we want to see excellent numbers and that's exactly what we are getting from our OEM/client contender.
The 1TB Micron 2650 manages yet another win over the 2TB P310, cementing its position as the most powerful flash-based DRAMless SSD we've ever encountered.
Final Thoughts
Micron has stated that as it relates to the client space, they are singularly focused on delivering the industry's best user experience, and naturally, we couldn't agree more because this is exactly what we here at TweakTown focus on. As our readers will know by now, being the "fastest" doesn't always equate to being the most powerful. Sequential throughput is one metric that consumers have been trained to focus on as a measure of performance when what actually matters is how well a storage solution delivers in real-world tasks, including gaming.
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. Currently, we consider a user experience score of 15K or more to verify an SSD as a TweakTown Elite performer. Micron's 2650 SSD becomes only the second certified 15K TweakTown Elite flash-based DRAMless SSD in history, joining its close cousin, the Crucial P310 2TB, as the world's most elite of its kind, and for the very same reason - superior flash.
Micron's 2650 1TB OEM/client SSD isn't the "fastest" of its kind, but it is certainly the most powerful of its kind and is in fact the fifth most powerful flash-based PCIe Gen4 SSD ever made. It also gives us an introduction to a new ninth-generation of high-speed NAND that brings with it the promise of 4-channel SSDs capable of 14GB/s throughput, massively improved AI infrastructure scalability, and the speed necessary to fully utilize PCIe Gen6 as it comes into play. Micron's 2650 SSD is indeed a milestone SSD. Editor's Choice.