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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.
For the most part, Corsair's Force LE 960GB performs extremely well in our 80 percent sequential read test. The drive briefly exceeds its emulated SLC buffer at a queue depth of eight, but quickly recovers.
80 Percent Random Mixed Workload
Low random write performance leads to mediocre results in this metric. The Force LE's numbers are still higher than some of the other drives we've tested recently, but compared to the most popular incumbents, it falls to the bottom of the chart. This is a controller issue more than a flash issue. You can see the Klevv Urbane with the same controller, but MLC flash presents the same performance profile. Corsair can improve its standing with a firmware update, but that's going to depend on action from Phison.
Sequential Steady State
It shouldn't come as a surprise to see the TLC-based Force LE at the bottom of charts based on steady-state sequential data. In fact, it's more shocking to see this drive off the bottom in the two workloads that matter most—the 70 percent (workstation) and 80 percent (consumer) benchmarks.
Random Write Steady State
Corsair's Force LE 960GB is not a good candidate for RAID use. It suffers low random steady state performance and encounters wild peaks and valleys that lead to inconsistency.
