I was on the market for an inexpensive SSD to use in older systems for short term testing, and I came across this listing, a Netac 256gb SATA III 6Gbp/s 2.5in SSD for just $21.99 at time of purchase. Similar budget drives from more reputable brands start at $28-30. Out of curiosity I purchased the drive and decided to give it a teardown and see how it performed.
Netac claims: "Incredible Performance: Read speeds up to 500MB/s..." as well as "Write Speed: Up to 450MB/s..." It also claims to use "3d nand technology" I will be verifying these claims later on.
I cannot find any information about warranty length or endurance rating.
The drive comes in rather basic packaging, with just basic information about the drive on the front.
View: https://imgur.com/fUOeMe3
The reverse has even less information.
View: https://imgur.com/did2mbN
A disclaimer about why the drive may not appear as 256gb in windows due to the differences in capacity measurement is prominently shown at the top. Below that the phrase "SATA Revision 3.0" is printed in no fewer than 10 languages. The back also contains information about the manufacturer as well as regulatory icons.
Inside, the drive is packed in a standard plastic trey. Tucked underneath is a small booklet containing installation instructions written in fairly decent English, accompanied by some diagrams.
The drive itself uses a plastic chassis that feels fairly sturdy with a design on top, as well as an information about the drive on the bottom. It appears this drive is model number N530S.
View: https://imgur.com/F1PDjJ1
Opening the drive to reveal its contents was simple. The bottom is simply snapped on. Removing the bottom didn't even disturb the "Warranty Void if Removed" sticker.
View: https://imgur.com/4YC1QYh
Controller: YeeStor YS9082HC
Dram: N/A
Nand Flash: 2x Spectek PN: FBNM16A256G1KDBANJ4
This controller is a lower end dramless model that I have never heard of before. Some research yielded that this controller appears in other Chinese models from companies like Kingfir. The nand is from Spectek, a sub brand of Micron. I cannot find much information on it, but I believe it is TLC. Judging by the internals, I expect this drive to perform fairly average for a low end model, but there is only one way to find out.
Plugging it in it showed up properly. I ran crystal disk mark and ran some tests.
View: https://imgur.com/GyX0oZu
Performance is on par with other inexpensive drives. This was tested plugged into a sata iii port of my MSI b350 gaming plus.
Given the unknown brand, unknown tbw rating, and off-brand controller, as well some rumors that Netac might sell fake capacity drives, I don't think I would trust this drive. But as it sits, it should work fine for what I need.
Netac claims: "Incredible Performance: Read speeds up to 500MB/s..." as well as "Write Speed: Up to 450MB/s..." It also claims to use "3d nand technology" I will be verifying these claims later on.
I cannot find any information about warranty length or endurance rating.
The drive comes in rather basic packaging, with just basic information about the drive on the front.
View: https://imgur.com/fUOeMe3
The reverse has even less information.
View: https://imgur.com/did2mbN
A disclaimer about why the drive may not appear as 256gb in windows due to the differences in capacity measurement is prominently shown at the top. Below that the phrase "SATA Revision 3.0" is printed in no fewer than 10 languages. The back also contains information about the manufacturer as well as regulatory icons.
Inside, the drive is packed in a standard plastic trey. Tucked underneath is a small booklet containing installation instructions written in fairly decent English, accompanied by some diagrams.
The drive itself uses a plastic chassis that feels fairly sturdy with a design on top, as well as an information about the drive on the bottom. It appears this drive is model number N530S.
View: https://imgur.com/F1PDjJ1
Opening the drive to reveal its contents was simple. The bottom is simply snapped on. Removing the bottom didn't even disturb the "Warranty Void if Removed" sticker.
View: https://imgur.com/4YC1QYh
Controller: YeeStor YS9082HC
Dram: N/A
Nand Flash: 2x Spectek PN: FBNM16A256G1KDBANJ4
This controller is a lower end dramless model that I have never heard of before. Some research yielded that this controller appears in other Chinese models from companies like Kingfir. The nand is from Spectek, a sub brand of Micron. I cannot find much information on it, but I believe it is TLC. Judging by the internals, I expect this drive to perform fairly average for a low end model, but there is only one way to find out.
Plugging it in it showed up properly. I ran crystal disk mark and ran some tests.
View: https://imgur.com/GyX0oZu
Performance is on par with other inexpensive drives. This was tested plugged into a sata iii port of my MSI b350 gaming plus.
Given the unknown brand, unknown tbw rating, and off-brand controller, as well some rumors that Netac might sell fake capacity drives, I don't think I would trust this drive. But as it sits, it should work fine for what I need.
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