Adata XPG SX8200 Pro Review: Go Pro on a Budget (2TB Update)

Adata XPG SX8200 Pro 2TB
Editor's Choice
(Image: © Adata)

Tom's Hardware Verdict

At the 2TB capacity, Adata’s XPG SX8200 Pro is a highly competitive SSD that trades blows with Samsung’s finest. For the price, it is a solid pick.

Pros

  • +

    High-performance

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    Class-leading power efficiency

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    Black PCB with stylish DIY heat spreader

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    Software package

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    5-year warranty

Cons

  • -

    Same endurance as the non-Pro model

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12/20/2019 Update: We've updated this article with new testing for the 2TB XPG SX8200 Pro on page 4.

12/15/2019 Update: We've updated this article with new testing for the 512GB XPG SX8200 Pro on page 2.

Original Review published 2/12/2019:

One of the best SSDs you can buy, Adata’s XPG SX8200 Pro, is designed for gamers, overclockers, and video content producers. The drive features speeds of up to 3.5 / 3 GBps of read/write throughput and power efficiency that outclasses any other SSD we've tested, making the SX8200 Pro the performance leader out of the gate. The black XPG heat spreader makes it an even 'cooler' buy. Best of all, the SX8200 Pro's pricing undercuts the Samsung 970 EVO and PRO, as well as many other competitors. As of publication time, the 1TB model was selling for just $117 on Amazon (after you click a coupon button).

Jam-packed with Micron’s 64L 3D TLC, Adata’s SX8200 Pro is nearly identical to the SX8200 and GAMMIX S11 we reviewed previously, except this time around the SSD comes armed with the new SMI SM2262EN controller that is a significant upgrade over the previous-gen SM2262.

The controller brings higher performance and better efficiency thanks to an improved data path and firmware enhancements. It also supports the NVMe 1.3 spec and comes with end-to-end data protection, a RAID Engine, and LDPC ECC to maintain data integrity over time. The drive also leverages SLC caching, which helps improve performance beyond the native TLC write performance.

Specifications

Swipe to scroll horizontally
ProductXPG SX8200 Pro 256GBXPG SX8200 Pro 512GBXPG SX8200 Pro 1TBXPG SX8200 Pro 2TB
Pricing$74.99$114.99$219.99N/A
Capacity (User / Raw)256GB / 256GB512GB / 512GB1024GB / 1024GB2048GB / 2048GB
Form FactorM.2 2280 D5M.2 2280 D5M.2 2280 D5M.2 2280 D5
Interface / ProtocolPCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.3PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.3PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.3PCIe 3.0 x4 / NVMe 1.3
ControllerSMI SM2262ENSMI SM2262ENSMI SM2262ENSMI SM2262EN
DRAMNANYA DDR3NANYA DDR3NANYA DDR3NANYA DDR3
MemoryMicron 64-Layer TLCMicron 64-Layer TLCMicron 64-Layer TLCMicron 64-Layer TLC
Sequential Read3,500 MB/s3,500 MB/s3,500 MB/s3,500 MB/s
Sequential Write1,200 MB/s2,300 MB/s3,000 MB/s3,000 MB/s
Random Read220,000 IOPS390,000 IOPS390,000 IOPS390,000 IOPS
Random Write290,000 IOPS380,000 IOPS380,000 IOPS380,000 IOPS
EncryptionN/AN/AN/AN/A
Endurance160 TBW320 TBW640 TBWN/A
Part NumberASX8200PNP-256GT-CASX8200PNP-512GT-CASX8200PNP-1TT-CN/A
Warranty5-Years5-Years5-Years5-Years

The SX8200 Pro model doesn't have as much over-provisioning as its predecessor, but that doesn’t mean less performance. Actually, it’s quite the opposite. The new SM2262EN controller powers the SX8200 Pro up to 3. 5/ 3GBps of throughput in sequential read/write workloads. As per usual, performance varies based on the capacity of the drive, with write performance being slower on the smaller models. The SX8200 Pro also provides up to 390K/380K random read/write IOPS.

Adata makes the Pro in 256GB, 512GB, 1TB and 2TB models. At publication time, U.S. prices came in around $0.11-13 cents per GB for the 512,  1TB, and 2TB models, while the 256GB retails for a much-higher $0.19 cents.

Swipe to scroll horizontally
ProductTBWDWPDWarranty
Adata XPG SX8200 Pro 1TB6400.355
Intel SSD 660p 1TB2000.115
Corsair Force MP510 960GB17000.935
Samsung 970 PRO 1TB12000.665
Adata XPG GAMMIX S11/SX8200 960GB6400.355
Samsung 860/970 EVO 1TB6000.335
WD Black 1TB6000.335
WD Blue 3D 1TB4000.373
Crucial MX500 1TB3600.25

The SX8200 Pro wouldn’t be a pro model SSD without a Pro-class warranty, so Adata added a lengthy five-year warranty paired with an endurance rating that spans up to 640TBW (terabytes written) for the 1TB model. Other new SSDs with Phison’s E12 controller do offer more endurance, but the Pro's rating it is still plenty for the average gamer or PC enthusiast.

SMI also turned its eye to improving power consumption with its new SM2262EN controller. An improved data path helps boot performance, but other enhancements focus on delivering the same or better performance within a more efficient power envelope. The SX8200 Pro supports multiple NVMe low power states and has an active rating of just 0.33W. It also has a slumber rating of just 0.14W.

Software

Product support wouldn’t be complete without a software package, right? Like others, Adata provides an SSD Toolbox as a download, which can be used to monitor the drive and perform firmware upgrades. Additionally, you can download Acronis True Image HD, a drive cloning software, to help you clone over your existing data to your new drive.

A Closer Look

The XPG SX8200 Pro comes in an M.2 2280 form factor and uses a PCIe 3.0 x4 interface to connect to the host system. Aesthetically, the SX8200 Pro is quite appealing. It features a black PCB and even a stick-on heat spreader that improve looks but also helps dissipate heat a bit more efficiently.

The 1TB model we're testing has components on both sides of the PCB, meaning it is double-sided and a bit thicker than the Samsung 970 EVO. The SM2262EN uses a DRAM cache to help maintain a steady level of performance. The drive has two DRAM emplacements, one on each side, that total 1GB, complemented by four Micron 64L 3D TLC NAND emplacements. After formatting, the 1TB SX8200 Pro exposes 953GB of usable capacity.

Sean Webster
Storage Reviewer

Sean is a Contributing Editor at Tom’s Hardware US, covering storage hardware.

  • popatim
    Did you run into any issues witht he drive being detected on restarts like several forum users reported?
    Reply
  • Khadijahp
    Though an limited edition, for comparision purposes the Intel's Ryzen killer Core i9 9900KS should had been included, instead of, or beyond the overclocked 9900K.
    Reply
  • Mezoxin
    popatim said:
    Did you run into any issues witht he drive being detected on restarts like several forum users reported?
    had the drive for quite a while on my system as my main drive never experienced such issues
    Reply
  • mac_angel
    I thought you did a review of this drive a long time ago.
    Reply
  • Mezoxin
    mac_angel said:
    I thought you did a review of this drive a long time ago.
    yes this is an old review from feburary-april i think , it got somehow reposted , i know this because i read this review before buying mine
    Reply
  • mac_angel
    lol, same. I have the 1tb one and I love it.
    Reply
  • Gillerer
    "Pro" is just a word. You can't draw conclusions from Samsung's use of it to mean "MLC" / "more consistent performance", and apply it to other manufacturers. (You could just as well draw conclusions from AMD's past use of it to mean "partially disabled silicon".)

    This simply has an updated controller and firmware compared to the original SX8200, so different - but not necessarily better in all cases - performance characteristics. It's not a different class of product to SX8200 (non-Pro), but rather a later revision that replaces it.
    Reply
  • AlistairAB
    popatim said:
    Did you run into any issues witht he drive being detected on restarts like several forum users reported?

    Have bought several of these, never had issues showing up in the BIOS. I did have that problem with the Intel equivalent once (the Intel 760p or whatever it was called). Anyways that stuff is motherboard dependent, and has nothing to do with the SSD.
    Reply
  • plotinusredux
    SM2262EN drives are showing significant slowdowns off the x570 chipset compared to the off the CPU, though we're having trouble getting a response on it. For me (3700x MSI ACE x570 ADATA SX8200PNP) even at Q=1, sequential read is dropping from 2794 MB/s to 2422 MB/s in Crystal. Random read performance is only dropping a little, but random writes are also affected (226 MB/s to 199 MB/s at Q=1, 1451 MB/s to 1041 MB/s at Q=32).

    This seems to only be happening with the SM2262EN--see "X570 + SM2262(EN) NVMe Drives" reddit thread where people have tested specifically SM2262EN drives and ones with other controllers in the same system.

    If you could test the ADATA and one with another controller on an x570 motherboard, maybe we could get SMI or AMD's attention.
    Reply
  • Zpxkma
    Anyone else receive one of these ssds with different dram and nand? My first sx8200 pro had micron/nanya and the second one I ordered came with Unic²/Samsung(sec).

    a/XujJcFnView: https://imgur.com/a/XujJcFn
    Reply