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Mixed Workloads And Steady State
80 Percent Sequential Mixed Workload
Our mixed workload testing is described in detail here, and our steady state tests are described here.
In mixed workloads consisting of 80 percent reads, Intel's SSD 750s perform particularly well at high queue depths. With fewer outstanding commands to keep them busy, the drives show up below Samsung and Kingston in our chart. Those sequential write issues we were seeing at a queue depth of two probably play a role here.
The 800GB SSD 750 is the slowest drive in its family, and yet it remains competitive with the other Intel NVMe-based desktop products.
80 Percent Random Mixed Workload
Impressive random performance carries over to the SSD 750's showing in mixed workloads, though the 512GB Samsung 950 Pro is a little faster while using a lot less power. But Intel has a capacity advantage, and that means more to many enthusiasts.
Random Write Steady State
Intel's last two high-profile desktop SSD launches focused on sustained performance. This is an area where the company does well with its SATA- and PCIe-based drives. A consistent random write profile means your PC won't slow down as the SSD 750 fills up. This drive is also the best available for use in RAID arrays, where fluctuations are magnified and actually hurt performance.
Sequential Steady State
We also benchmarked the drives in steady state using a sweep pattern shifting from all reads to all writes in 10 percent increments. The NVMe-based drives do well in these metrics. Specifically, Intel's 800GB SSD 750 trails its family members, achieving performance closer to the 400GB model than the 1.2TB version.
