INTRODUCTION

   With PCIe 5.0 (Gen5) solid state drives before the gates this is indeed a very exciting time in regards to storage media and more specifically internal M.2 drives. This is not only due to the upcoming PCIe 5.0 (Gen5) models which should easily surpass speeds of 10000MB/s in both reads and writes but also due to the fact that the market has solutions for virtually all consumers and professionals ranging from PCIe 3.0 (Gen3) models with speeds of up to around 3500MB/s and the very first generation of PCIe 4.0 (Gen4 NVMe v1.3) drives which could easily hit 5000MB/s up to of course all the latest PCIe 4.0 (Gen4 NVMe v1.4) models which can even surpass 7000MB/s. So regardless of which market segment you're in there's certainly a solution tailored to your needs and many times faster not just compared to traditional mechanical drives but also SATA III solid state drives. Neo Forza may not be a name that comes to mind when we're talking about SSDs but with their brand new NFP425 line of PCIe 4.0 (Gen4 NVMe v1.4) models that's about to change.

   We are a professional team, studying in computer memory and storage devices industry for more than 10 years. In order to meet the rising demand on speed and capacity of the high-end gaming market players, we created Neo Forza, a new generation of ultra-standard overclocking module, SSD and other related storage device designing brand. Neo represents from virtual to reality, showing our core value for product innovation. Forza shows our strength and determination to meet gamers every need. Neo Forza possess strong resources, focus on core technology. From research & design, specific production to exceed the testing benchmark; Neo Forza keep pushing over technical boundary, providing top-notch performance and quality, providing gamers / game players extraordinary using experience.

   The NFP425 line of M.2 PCIe 4.0 (Gen4) M.2 NVMe SSDs will soon be available in 1TB/2TB capacities (initially at least) and it's also based on the latest and highly popular 8-channel tri-core (32-bit ARM Cortex R5 CPUs) PS5018-E18 NVMe v1.4 compatible NAND flash controller by PHISON. Neo Forza chose to pair the E18 NAND flash controller with Micron’s brand new 512Gb 176-layer 3D TLC NAND flash (B47R) together with 2666MHz DDR4 SDRAM by SK Hynix (2GB for the 2TB model and 1GB for the 1TB model). This hardware configuration propels the performance of the NFP425 1TB model up to 7000MB/s in reads and 5500MB/s in writes and the 2TB model up to 7000MB/s in reads and 6850MB/s in writes. Once again, the PS5018-E18 NAND flash controller sits at the top in terms of performance currently and sports numerous features like PHISON's 4th Gen LDPC engine (low-density parity check) along with end-to-end data path protection, advanced wear leveling, thermal throttling (70 degrees Celsius limit), TRIM, SMART, bad block management, dynamic range SLC cache and SmartECC (RAID ECC). As for endurance Neo Forza reports an MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) of 1.6 million hours for both models and a TBW (Terabytes Written) of 700 for the 1TB model and 1400 for the 2TB model.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

THE NFP425 1TB & 2TB

Neo Forza shipped both samples in static-free packages.

The NFP425 line sports black top stickers which are basically thin copper heatspreaders.

On the top side both NFP425 models have the PHISON PS5018-E18 NVMe v1.4 controller, 4 Micron 176-layer (B47R) 3D TLC NAND flash modules and the SK Hynix 1GB DDR4 SDRAM modules.

Turning both drives around we find 4 more extra Micron 176L 3D TLC NAND flash modules and another SK Hynix 1GB DDR4 SDRAM module on the 2TB NFP425.

TEST BED

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   Not long after I first started testing SSDs back in 2008, I 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 the 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 they get repeated a total of 3 times and not 6 as the above.

  Many people have made inquiries about the 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 complete with every update up to the date of this review.

* Since November 2018 the SSD comparison charts have been divided to 2.5” and M.2 models to reduce their growing size.
** Unless stated otherwise the Ryzen 9 3950x based Test Rig used for M.2 Gen 4 SSD reviews is not located in the lab.
*** As of January 2021 for Gen 3x4 models I’ll be using the Core i9-7980XE test rig (after numerous tests the up to 6% difference in read & write performance compared to the i7-6700 system simply wasn’t enough to justify having an extra test rig around).
**** Since February 2022 M.2 NVMe Gen3 and Gen4 SSD drives are placed in different charts.

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

   The combination between PHISON’s PS5018-E18 PCIe 4.0 NVMe v1.4 NAND flash controller and Micron’s 176-layer (B47R) NAND flash may be a somewhat recent pairing but it’s already proven to offer extremely good read and write results so it’s no surprise really that the NFP425 1TB & 2TB models by Neo Forza produced some of the highest numbers in my charts (especially in IOMeter). Still the NFP425 line is not the very first PCIe 4.0 (Gen4) line by Neo Forza since they also recently released the NFP455 (Gen4) model based on the Innogrit IG5236 NVMe v1.4 NAND flash controller a few months back (since that model has yet to arrive in the lab however, I can’t make any direct comparisons with the NFP425 models). With no complaints about performance and endurance (700/1400TBW for the 1/2TB models is more or less on par with the competition) it’s time to move to cost.

   The NFP425 line of PCIe 4.0 (Gen4) NVMe SSDs by Neo Forza is not yet available in stores but with an MSRP (Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price) set at around USD287/295Euros for the 2TB version and USD155/160Euros for the 1TB version it’s clear that it will become very popular very fast (that is if stores follow the MSRP). Overall, I can’t ask for anything more when it comes to the NFP425 line of SSDs, performance levels are right up there with the best Gen4 drives currently available, endurance levels are very good and in terms of cost well this MSRP is almost 30% below what you’d have to pay for a competing product. So, for all of the above the Neo Forza NFP425 line is certainly worth the Platinum Award.

PROS

- Excellent Performance Levels
- Endurance (700TBW - 1400TBW / 1.6 Million Hours MTBF)
- 5 Year Limited Warranty
- Copper Sticker
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- Thermal Throttling (During SNIA Tests)