Taipower First With Next-Gen SMI NVMe Controller

[Guest]

Silicon Motion's next-generation NVMe controllers are starting to show up in China. The new controllers will help fuel the next round of performance wars, this time on the NVMe battlefield.

Taipower First With Next-Gen SMI NVMe Controller : Read more

 

[Bruce427]

Hey Chris,

When do you think you will post the results of your evaluation of the new MyDigital SBX NVMe drives?

At first glance, unless you need the power savings in a laptop, the prices are so close to the BPX as to not be a value. Especially when you consider that the BPX series is MLC and the SBX is TLC.

Additionally, I have been told by MyDigital that the SBX series will NOT contain an SLC buffer. So I wonder for what length of time can the SBX series actually maintain their 1600/1300 Sequential Read/Write specs.

 

[CRamseyer]

We are working on the scheduling right now. The SBX does use an SLC buffer. With all of the holiday cheer, tight deadlines and such I'm sure it was a miscommunication.

Pricing is key here. It will be a very competitive year. Until the BPX sells out, the SBX is ahead of its time.

 

[Bruce427]

Thanks,

Does it do well on the battery life test?

I am currently using BPXs and 960 Pros in laptop, and neither does particularly well on battery life. On long trips, I would be willing to sacrifice some performance for battery longevity, but it would have to be significantly better (not just 20-25 minutes better).

 

[CRamseyer]

The SBX 256GB is the most efficient in a notebook that I've seen. It's good on battery life while also delivering good performance. It's not the best if you just favor long battery life.

 

[CRamseyer]

Take the Samsung NVMe driver off and your battery time will increase quite a bit.

 

[Bruce427]

At your advice/observation re: previous Samsung 960 reviews, I have tried that on a number notebooks, and I have never been able to tell much difference in battery life between using the Samsung NVMe driver, and using the native W10 driver.

I know on your Lenovo notebook(s) the difference is dramatic, but on (about 6 different) Clevo/Prostar notebooks I have owned, the difference was less than 15 minutes.

I hesitate to say that the shorter battery life with regard to the Samsung 960 series might be something unique with Lenovo notebooks as that doesn't seem logical. But I have not experienced any significant increase in battery life on Clevos, when using the native W10 NVMe driver as opposed to the Samsung driver.

I am looking forward to the review on the SBX as a -- non power user -- friend of mine is asking for advice on an NVMe drive for a notebook.
______________

Chris, do you give out your email address you use for Tom's Hardware? I had your old email address when you were at TweakTown and occasionally asked you a drive question. But I don't see your address on Tom's.

(I am retired from the A/V field and am the fellow you emailed back and fourth with a few times several years ago when you were in the process of upgrading your sound system. I believe you said you settled on Martin Logans -- but didn't have much time to listen to them.)

 

[CRamseyer]

I know who you are, lol. It you can, just send me a message on FaceBook or Linkedin and I'll send you my email address.

I'm in the drywall phase of getting the home theater together. I may have 4 hours on the Logans from when we spoke last. They are in my bedroom and get a workout when I take a shower, lol. One of these days I'll retire and listen to them all day and night.