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Review: Transcend |
Transcend was kind enough to lend us their
latest high performance consumer grade solid state drives for review, one with
32GB capacity and another with 256GB capacity, both MLC based and featuring the
newer JM616 controller. Like the previous two we reviewed, both drives feature
a 2.5" form factor with an SATA2 interface. These SSDs can be fitted
directly into a laptop that supports an SATA hard drive, but for this this
review, we will be using a desktop PC that supports SATA2 drives.
As with our last review, we start by
carrying out a small number of synthetic benchmarks, comparing it to an OCZ Agility,
a desktop hard disk, a laptop hard disk and against the previous Transcend SSDs
we reviewed. The rest of the review involves a variety real world tests with a
clean Windows 7 installation and again with an aged Windows 7 installation that
has been in everyday use over a year. For the clean OS test, we start with a
completely fresh Windows 7 installation, where as with the 1-year old OS, we
use the same drive image as in our previous Transcend SSD review. Finally, we
measure performance as the SSDs are filled up to capacity with small files.
Transcend Company Information
Transcend is a well-known manufacturer of
memory products, including USB flash drives, flash memory cards, card readers,
computer RAM and a variety of consumer electronics goods.
The company was founded in 1988 with its
headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan and claim to be the first memory module
manufacturer in Taiwan and also the second in the world to receive ISO 9001
certification. Their products are marketed around the world, serving all the
major markets.
Further information on the Transcend
Company Profile can be found on
their website.
Retail packaging
These SSDs were shipped to us in shrink-wrapped
retail packaging, both looking very like the packaging we received the previous
Transcend SSDs in:
32GB & 256GB models as received.
Top & bottom of both boxes.
Same on each side of both boxes.
Back of the 32GB box, same as 256GB model apart from the sticker with the red
trim.
Sticker at the rear of the box for the 256GB model.
What’s inside the box?
The following shows the contents of the 256GB
box:
The only difference with the content of the
32GB model is the drive itself. Both SSDs were enclosed in a static-proof bag
as shown above.
The retail bundle consists of:
- Transcend 2.5” SATA2 SSD.
- 4 mounting screws.
- A quick installation guide.
- Warranty guide (not shown.)
- Transcend product guide (not shown.)
The following shows close-ups of the label
side of the 32GB and 256GB SSDs:
On the bottom of the SSDs, we can see the
model numbers, serial numbers, the power handlings and the SATA connectors,
along with various certification logos. When compared with the previous SSDs,
these appear identical apart from minor differences in the HW number (below the
second barcode) and the figure below the power details.
The reverse side is plain black with a
holographic Transcend logo:
Both SSDs appear to have hard plastic
casing.
Product Specifications
At this time of writing, the only
specifications we were able to obtain were those printed at the upper left at
the rear of both boxes. We were also unable to find detailed specifications
online.
The following shows a close-up of the
read/write speeds mentioned on the front of the box for the various models:
The following shows a close-up of the SSD
specifications table at the rear. This table is identical on both boxes:
As there is no clear mention of the controller,
we contacted Transcend and they mentioned that both SSDs use the newer JMicron
616 controller with 64MB cache.
Now let’s head to the next page where we
will look at our test PC and testing procedures…
