INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   If you're out in the market for a brand new M.2 SSD chances are that you'll easily get confused by the sheer number of available models from all the storage manufacturers out there. I mean just think about it, there are currently low-end M.2 SATA III based models (that top at around 550MB/s), mid-end PCIe 3.0 NVMe models (that top at around 2000MB/s), high-end PCIe 3.0 NVMe models (which can reach speeds of up to around 3500MB/s) and ultra-high-end PCIe 4.0 models (which can surpass 4500MB/s) in the market so it's understandable that some consumers will have a hard time choosing the right model for their needs. That being said the most appealing price/performance ratio is without doubt held by the mid-end models and so today we'll be testing the latest model by Toshiba/KIOXIA, the RC500.

  KIOXIA Europe GmbH (formerly known as Toshiba Memory Europe GmbH) is the European based subsidiary of KIOXIA Corporation, a worldwide leading supplier of Flash Memory and Solid State Drives (SSDs). Toshiba Memory is known as the Inventor of NAND flash memory in 1987 and was the first in the world to begin mass-producing it in 1991. Under its new name, KIOXIA remains a storage leader today with its BiCS FLASH 3D technology, focusing on innovation, quality and reliability. This technology is an important component in almost all electronic devices where data need to be stored. KIOXIA is leading a new era by providing advanced memory solutions to enrich people’s lives. By evolving "memory", KIOXIA creates uplifting experiences and changes the world.

   As you can see from the above about Toshiba has rebranded their entire memory (flash) division so the RC500 is basically the last SSD to be released under their name (KIOXIA is a combination of the Japanese word kioku meaning “memory” and the Greek word axia meaning “value.”). For the RC500 (currently available in 250/500GB capacities - a 1TB capacity model should be just around the corner) Toshiba/KIOXIA has used their very own quad-channel NAND flash controller (supports TRIM, Garbage Collection, Error Correction and Device Sleep) which they paired with their very own BiCS 96-layer 3D TLC (triple-level cell) NAND flash memory and an DDR4 SDRAM module by SKhynix (512MB for the 500GB model). This configuration allows the RC500 500GB to achieve performance numbers of up to 1700MB/s in reads and 1600MB/s in writes (290.000/390.000 IOPS). Finally, Toshiba/KIOXIA covers the entire line with a 5-year limited warranty (Toshiba/KIOXIA changed that even though on the package it still indicates 3 years) and reports an MTTF (meantime between failures) of 1.5 million hours and endurance numbers of 100TBW (Terabytes Written) for the 250GB model and 200TBW for the 500GB model.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We received the drive inside a small black and red box that has a partial product picture at the front along with the company logo, capacity and type of NAND used.

 

 

A few words about the product are printed at the rear of the box in multiple languages.

 

 

The only thing you'll be getting with the RC500 is a piece of paper showcasing the proper way of removing it from the package.

 

 

THE RC500 500GB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The RC500 500GB M.2 PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD follows the typical 2280 form factor (22mm wide and 80mm long).

 

 

At the top of the drive we see four BiCS 96-layer TLC NAND flash modules, each 128GB in size.

 

 

The Toshiba/KIOXIA quad-channel NAND flash controller is also here right next to the 512MB DDR4 SDRAM module by SKhynix.

 

 

Taking a look on the other side of the PCB we see that it's empty (probably populated in the 1TB model) and only has a sticker with the usual information such as capacity, electrical specifications and several certifications.

 

 

SSD UTILITY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you want more power over the RC500 you can download the SSD utility software from the official product page (this still has the OCZ logo which should change to KIOXIA soon).

From the overview tab of the software you can check the status of the drive (including the current firmware version, health, temperature, connected interface and current capacity), the SSD and system details and the SMART page.

 

 

The tuner tab allows you to run a quick benchmark and use the over-provisioning feature to increase performance.

 

 

Moving to the maintenance page from here you can check for new firmware updates, format and secure erase the drive, set alerts and use the bootable version of SSD Utility on a USB flash drive.

 

 

Inside the settings page we find the language selection along with other basic program options.

 

 

TEST BED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   After over 10 years of testing solid state drives, we’ve concluded that it's almost impossible for any single benchmark suite to accurately measure their performance and that's why in certain benchmark suites we see amazing read/write performance numbers with some drives while in others things are quite different. The reason behind this is that some benchmarking suites are configured to read and write random chunks of data while others read and write constant (sequential) ones. So that's why i always use a very wide selection of benchmarking suites including AIDA64, HD Tach RW, HD Tune Pro, Crystal Disk Mark, Sisoftware Sandra Pro, AS SSD, IOmeter and ATTO. To get the most accurate results each test gets repeated a total of 6 times with the average performance numbers recorded into our charts*. Also, as of February 25th 2015 our results will also include the Storage Networking Industry Association’s (SNIA) IOMeter tests. These tests include a 12 Hour write test used to “simulate” performance degradation over time and a mixed workload test which basically shows what you can expect when using an SSD continuously for roughly two hours. Unfortunately, due to the time required for these tests we repeat them a total of 3 times and not 6 as the above.

   Many people have made inquiries about our charts in the past so once again please do keep in mind that the Charts have the average performance numbers of each drive recorded and not the peak (highest) ones. Also, although every single one of these programs can help potential buyers choose the right drive for their needs you should also remember that from any kind of benchmark up to real world usage the gap is not small (and usually most differences will go unnoticed by most people). All tests were performed in a fresh Windows 10 Pro x64 installation with every update installed up to the date of this review.

* Since November 2018 our SSD comparison charts have been divided to 2.5” and M.2 models to reduce their growing size.

 

 

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA PRO / CRYSTAL DISK MARK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - AS SSD / IOMETER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - IOMETER SNIA

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   When we received the RC500 specifications sheet a while back i can’t say that we were impressed with the advertised performance numbers (we were with the numbers of the upcoming RD500 model however – review soon) so we were somewhat sceptical about what our tests would show. However, as you can see by our charts the numbers given by Toshiba/KIOXIA don’t accurately reflect the performance you should expect from the RC500 500GB model (sustained performance was also very good for a mid-end model). Unfortunately, we don’t have much information in regards to the NAND flash controller used by Toshiba/KIOXIA but with an MTTF of 1.5 million hours, endurance of 200TBW and a 5-year limited warranty the RC500 500GB is more than enough for both casual and gaming desktop systems.

   We were told by Toshiba/KIOXIA that one of the strongest selling points of the RC500 500GB M.2 NVMe SSD is its cost but with a current retail price set at 76Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) we do think that there’s a slight room for improvement (as for the US market we were unable to find this model there at the time of this review). Overall, we’re very satisfied with the RC500 500GB, it may be far from the fastest M.2 NVMe model in the market today but it does combine surprisingly good performance with good endurance numbers and a relatively good price tag which is why it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Very Good Overall & Sustained Performance
- Endurance Numbers (1.500.000 Hours MTTF)
- 5 Years Limited Warranty
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Slight Thermal Throttling (Evident In Our SNIA Tests)
- Current Availability