discussion Angelbird Adler SSD & SSD2Go PRO Review

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Firefox Portable / Real World Data Transfers

Firefox Portable Offline Performance

Firefox is notorious for being slow on loading tabs in offline mode once the number of pages to be opened grows larger than a dozen or so. We can think of fewer worse case scenarios than having 100 tabs set to reload in offline mode upon Firefox startup, but this is exactly what we have done here.

By having 100 pages open in Firefox portable, setting Firefox to reload the last session upon next session start and then setting it to offline mode, we are able to easily recreate a worst case scenario. Since we are using Firefox portable all files are easily positioned in one location, making it simple to repeat the test as necessary. In order to ensure repetition, before touching the Firefox portable files, we have backed them up into a .rar file and only extracted a copy of it to the test device.

Real World Data Transfers

No matter how good a synthetic benchmark like IOMeter or PCMark is, it can not really tell you how your hard drive will perform in “real world” situations. All of us here at Hardware Canucks strive to give you the best, most complete picture of a review item’s true capabilities and to this end we will be running timed data transfers to give you a general idea of how its performance relates to real life use. To help replicate worse case scenarios we will transfer a 10.00GB contiguous file and a folder containing 400 subfolders with a total 12,000 files varying in length from 200mb to 100kb (10.00 GB total).

Testing will include transfer to and transferring from the devices, using MS RichCopy and logging the performance of the drive. Here is what we found.

These results tell us absolutely nothing new and simply reinforce what's already know. The Novachips Bugatti controller is very powerful, but hasn't been fully utilized by Angelbird. On the positive side, the NVS3600A controller does give the Adler series an advantage other drives on the market do not have: consistency. While there is a difference between the smaller 320GB and larger 640GB capacity, the amount of performance difference is the smallest we have ever seen in the consumer marketplace.

As for the SSD2Go Pro 640GB, it certainly costs a fortune, but it is one heck of an external storage solution for well-heeled enthusiasts.

 

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Partial and Full Drive Performance

Partial and Full Drive Performance

While it is important to know how a drive will perform under optimal conditions, more realistic scenarios are just as important. Knowing if a solid state drive will behave differently when partially or even nearly full than when it is empty is very important information to know. To quickly and accurately show this crucial information we have first filled the drive to 50% capacity and re-tested using both synthetic and real world tests. After the completion of this we then re-test at 75% and 90% of full capacity.

Synthetic Test Results

For our synthetic testing we have opted for our standard PCMark 7 test.

Real World Results

For a real world application we have opted for our standard Windows 7 Start Up with Boot Time A/V Scan Performance test.

Both the Vector 150 and Angelbird drives are simply stunning here and retain more of their performance than most other drives. To get better results han what we see here, consumers need to go to the enterprise market and look at Intel’s X25 with its third generation controller. However, with price premiums nearly as high as Intel’s enterprise drives, this is not saying much. This is especially true considering the Barefoot 3 based Vector 150 is already on the market, uses better NAND and provides results just as good at a fraction of the price.

 

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SATA 2 Performance

SATA 2 Performance

In a perfect world everyone investing in a new solid state drive would have access to a SATA 6GB/s controller which could pass on the TRIM command. In reality not everyone has this and for many the decision comes down either giving up TRIM – never a good idea with most controllers – and running it off a secondary controller; or taking a performance hit and running in SATA 2.0 mode.

These tests will consist of some of our real world and synthetic benchmarks run on our standard 1155 test-bed; but the drive will be attached to an SATA 2 port.

For synthetic we have opted for the newcomer to our charts: Anvil Storage Utilities Pro. For real world we have opted for our Adobe test. These two tests should give you a very good idea of the level of performance impact you can expect from running a modern SATA 6 drive in compatibility mode.

We doubt (m)any consumers willing to spend as much per Gigabyte as what the Adler series demands would ever use them in a SATA2-equipped system, but the Adler does acquit itself reasonably well here. There is certainly a performance impact, but no worse than the Barefoot 3 or other well known high performance controllers.

 

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Conclusion

Conclusion

Here in North America, we don’t know Angelbird as well as we should but judging from the performance of their latest designs, maybe it’s time to take a closer look. Both the Adler and SSD2Go Pro exhibited some impressive results throughout testing and ended up running neck and neck with some of the more established brands’ top-pier products. That’s particularly important considering Angelbird is just now making their first tentative steps onto our shores and brand recognition is a key to success.

Let’s start off with the Adler 640GB and 320GB. Both of these were routinely near the top of our charts, beating or matching some of the best SSDs we’ve reviewed. While initial performance was certainly impressive for a brand that hasn’t been all that recognizable outside of some very niche enthusiast circles overseas, the way that performance sticks around is downright groundbreaking. Much like OCZ’s new Vector 150 series, these drives can consistently retain their performance even when nearing full capacity. That’s a feature very few competing SSDs can claim.

The SSD2Go Pro is another great looking product but in this case it focuses on the portable storage market. In that respect it puts up some awesome numbers, provided you are able to use the eSATA interface. USB 3.0 on the other hand doesn’t deliver quite the same amount of speed but can still give mobile users access to loads of on-the-go performance. Its Flush in Flight capabilities are also unique in the portable market. Unfortunately, there aren’t many notebooks outside of the professional segment with eSATA ports.

A common thread running through these diverse products is their controller. The NovaChips Bugatti boasts exceptional potential in every discipline and has an innovative design which ultimately allows Angelbird’s SSDs to shine. Unfortunately, the Bugatti is held back by these drives’ inclusion of slower NAND.

What really tends to sink Angelbird’s drives for most users is their introductory pricing. The 320GB, 640GB and SSD2Go Pro all cost substantially more than their competition even though they don’t offer any more real-world or synthetic performance results. For the price of the Adlers, most users can get access to enterprise-class SSDs which offer and increased longevity. That’s a massive problem since OCZ’s excellent Vector 150 costs a lot less and is, in many ways, the better drive series for most users.

All is not lost though as price is not a determining factor everyone. If the asking price is deemed “affordable” for folks that have the money, they’ll be hard pressed to find the Adler’s equal on this side of the Enterprise marketplace. For more budget minded consumers, there is also hope as we see a bright future for the Novachips Bugatti controller. Until this happens, the Adler series is much like a Van Gogh: amazing to look at but few will ever seriously consider buying it.

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