Mushkin has introduced its new high-performance lineup of SSDs aimed at gamers and other performance-hungry users. The new Vortex Redline drives not only offer an up to 7415 MB/s sequential read speed (which makes it one of the industry's fastest PCIe 4.0 x4 drives capable of competing against the best SSDs available), but also come with a slim graphene heat spreader that allow installation of these devices into laptops.
That rated speed compares favorably with the 7,000 MBps sequential rates for popular PCIe 4.0 SSDs such as the Samsung 980 Pro and Kingston KC3000. Of course, we'll have to see how it stacks up in real-world testing.
Set to be available in 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB configurations, Mushkin's Vortex Redline is based on the InnoGrit Rainer IG5236 controller (multi-core, NVMe 1.4, eight NAND channels, up to 1200 MT/s NAND interface, 3W, 12nm) paired with 3D TLC NAND memory. The drives come in an M.2-2280 form-factor, feature a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface, and are equipped with an ultra-thin graphene heat spreader.
When it comes to performance, Mushkin's engineers have managed to squeeze every bit of performance promised by the InnoGrit IG5236 controller and then some. Mushkin's Vortex Redline 2TB SSD is rated for up to 7415 MB/s sequential read speed, up to 6800 MB/s sequential write speed, 730K random read IOPS, and up to 1,130K random write IOPS. Lower capacity drives are somewhat slower, but are also very fast.
Mushkin's Vortex Redline SSDs
| Row 0 - Cell 0 | 512GB | 1TB | 2TB |
| Controller | InnoGrit IG5236 | InnoGrit IG5236 | InnoGrit IG5236 |
| Interface/Form-Factor | PCIe 4.0 x4/M.2-2280 | PCIe 4.0 x4/M.2-2280 | PCIe 4.0 x4/M.2-2280 |
| Max Sequential Read | 6750 MB/s | 7430 MB/s | 7415 MB/s |
| Max Sequential Write | 2635 MB/s | 5300 MB/s | 6800 MB/s |
| Max 4K Random Read IOPS | 200,000 IOPS | 390,000 IOPS | 730,000 IOPS |
| Max 4K Random Write IOPS | 645,000 IOPS | 1,085,000 IOPS | 1,130,000 IOPS |
| TBW | 250TB | 500TB | 1000TB |
| DWPD | 0.26 | 0.26 | 0.27 |
As for endurance, not everything is that rosy. The drives are designed for 0.26 ~ 0.27 drive writes per day (DWPD) over a five-year warranty period, which is in line with inexpensive SSDs, but which is lower when compared to other premium solid-state storage devices.
Some might argue that Mushkin is a bit late with its top-of-the-range PCIe 4.0 x4 drives as owners of Intel's Alder Lake-based systems are either waiting for SSDs with a PCIe 5.0 x4 interface or have already acquired a premium PCIe Gen4 SSD. For obvious reasons, Mushkin would probably have liked to introduce its Vortex Redline earlier, but enthusiast-grade PCIe Gen5 drives are months away (some expect them to arrive in Q3, other talk about Q4), so enthusiasts building AMD-based AM4 and Intel-powered LGA1700 systems today could certainly use Mushkin's drives that promise higher performance than competing solutions.
Perhaps the sweetest part about Mushkin's Vortex Redline SSDs is their pricing: a 512GB model carries a $77.89 MSRP, whereas a 1TB SKU has a recommended price of $124.99, reports TechPowerUp. Both MSRPs are lower when compared to Samsung's 980 Pro SSDs.
