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Real-World Software Performance
PCMark 8 Real-World Software Performance
For details on our real-world software performance testing, please click here.
Zotac's Premium Edition 480GB closes the gap between other SSDs and Samsung's 850 EVO at its capacity point. There is not a lot of separation from one low-cost drive to another in these charts, but it's important to know that, over time, the differences do add up.
Total Storage Bandwidth
Here we see the tests combined and the results displayed in throughput. The highest-capacity Premium Edition SSD is right on the heels of the 850 EVO 500GB, and the same can be said about the smaller 240GB model. This is really surprising because high-density 128Gb dies have otherwise turned 256GB SSDs into the new 128GB SSDs, with less than desirable performance. There are few 256GB-class SSDs that we would consider purchasing because they give up so much speed compared to products in the next-highest capacity class.
PCMark 8 Advanced Workload Performance
To learn how we test advanced workload performance, please click here.
Under heavy workloads, the Premium Edition SSDs are the best option available for the price. Their performance really is comparable to other mainstream SSDs, though without an emulated SLC layer to increase burst performance, they fall back into the pack with other low-cost products.
This is where Samsung's 850 EVO stands out, which is why it continues earning praise from non-professional users who own it.
Access Time Test
The access time results show a near mirror of the throughput tests. The Premium Edition SSDs whip through the heavy load iterations with a consistent flow that doesn't deviate from the path until the task eases up. They then settle in under moderate workloads and lead many of the other low-cost SSDs. Samsung's 850 EVO 500GB still performs a little better under light workloads, in part due to its TurboWrite feature (a marketing term for emulated SLC cache).
Notebook Battery Life
For more information on how we test notebook battery life, click here.
The Zotac Premium Edition SSDs fall into the middle of the pack when it comes to notebook battery life testing. The value-oriented drives we're including in the charts offer some of the best power numbers, often overshadowing high-performance SSDs in this discipline.
On notebook battery power, system buses run at reduced clock rates in order to minimize power consumption. This creates a bottleneck for many of the system components, and some SSDs adapt better than others. All of the drives in today's chart perform well though, delivering roughly the same performance.
