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Team Group’s T-Force Cardea A440 delivers high performance, similar to that of many other Phison E18 and Micron 96L TLC combinations we’ve reviewed. It isn’t the most responsive drive available, but is still very competitive in most circumstances. It traded blows with Samsung’s 980 Pro and the WD Black SN850, and easily outclassed the Patriot Viper VP4300. Seagate’s FireCuda 530, however, easily surpassed it in nearly every metric.
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While the Seagate FireCuda 530 topped the A440 in testing, Seagate’s drive costs $120 more at the same capacity class. Even Corsair’s MP600 Pro XT with its heatsink and newer Micron 176L TLC as an alternative costs $125 more than the Team Group. For the average gamer, the T-Force Cardea A440 provides quite a value.
At the time of publishing, the A440 is one of the cheapest full-performance Gen4 SSDs you can get. It costs roughly $320 for the 2TB model, making it a bargain compared to Mushkin’s Gamma that’s also over $300, and it’s a whopping $80 cheaper than the Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 7000s. The WD Black SN850 is priced at just $20 more than the A440, and both the Samsung 980 Pro and Crucial P5 Plus are almost $40 more, making them a premium option.
With solid endurance ratings, a long warranty, and very competitive pricing, Team Group’s T-Force Cardea A440 is a great value for those with tougher-than-average workloads or those who want to outfit their new PS5 with some fast storage. With the included heatsinks it should remain cool under most workloads and stomp any SATA SSD any day of the week.
