INTRODUCTION

   Upcoming PCIe 5.0 (Gen 5) M.2 NVMe solid stand drives (and more) may be closer than we all think (especially with Intel just introducing the new ATX v3.0 power supply standard which provides support for PCIe 5.0 devices) but at least for now the performance crown clearly belongs to PCIe 4.0 (Gen4) models. Now as many of you already know the somewhat recent introduction of 176-layer 3D TLC NAND flash by Micron (B47R) has allowed manufacturers to both release brand new M.2 NVMe SSD models and to upgrade older ones something which we've all already seen with the GM7000 model by ACER (BIWIN). Well, that's not the only PCIe 4.0 (Gen4) M.2 NVMe model that got "refreshed" recently with Micron's latest 176-layer NAND flash, the award winning Rocket 4 Plus line by Sabrent is also among them and today with me i have the 2TB variant which comes bundled with a nice aluminum heatsink designed specifically for the PS5 console (SB-RKT4P-PSHS-2TB).

   Sabrent is a leading American manufacturer of computer peripherals and accessories, bringing uniquely styled quality products to consumers worldwide. Sabrent’s commitment is to offer the latest technology and the highest quality consumer electronic products at an affordable cost to everyone. Since its founding, Sabrent has consistently delivered to market a full line of computer peripherals and accessories that incorporate style, quality and the latest technologies available.

   Aside using the latest 176-layer 3D TLC NAND flash (B47R) by Micron together with 2666MHz DDR4 SDRAM by SK Hynix (2GB for the 2TB model that i have here) the updated Rocket 4 Plus line of PCIe 4.0 (Gen4) M.2 NVMe SSDs is currently available in 1/2/4TB capacities (8TB arriving soon) and is once again on the highly popular NVMe v1.4 compatible PS5018-E18 NAND 8-channel (tri-core) flash controller by PHISON. The PHISON PS5018-E18 NAND flash controller features their 4th Gen LDPC engine (low-density parity check) along with end-to-end data path protection, wear levelling, thermal throttling (70 degrees Celsius limit), TRIM, bad block management, dynamic range SLC cache and SmartECC (RAID ECC) and fully supports AES-256bit hardware encryption and TCG Opal 2.0 and Pyrite. Sabrent also covers the entire Rocket 4 Plus line with a 5-year limited warranty (after online registration) and as for endurance numbers it reports an MTBF of 1.6 million hours for all models and a TBW of 700 for the 1TB model, 1400 for the 2TB model and 3000 for the 4TB model.

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

For the PS5 bundle Sabrent uses a white box that has a product picture at the front, a few words about the product on the right side and the main features and specifications printed at the rear next to yet another product picture.

Removing the cover reveals two small boxes, one for the heatsink and one for the SSD itself.

The PS5 heatsink box contains the heatsink, screwdriver, and mounting instructions whereas the SSD box contains the SSD and its installation guide (since I don’t have an PS5 right now – not a console person myself – I will just be using the heatsink with all benchmarks).

THE ROCKET 4 PLUS 2TB

As always, the Rocket 4 Plus 2TB is an NVMe 1.4 M.2 Gen 4x4 SSD which once again follows the typical 2280 factor (22mm in width and 80mm in length).

Typically, the top sticker is actually a thin copper heatspreader which helps dissipate heat (even without the PS5 heatsink).

On the top side of the PCB once again we find the PHISON PS5018-E18 NAND flash controller and a 1GB DDR4 SDRAM 2666MHz module by SKhynix.

This time over however we also find 4 Micron 512Gb 176-layer 3D TLC NAND flash modules.

Just like its predecessor this isn't a single side M.2 SSD model so turning the drive over we see yet another sticker under which we find a 2nd 1GB DDR4 SDRAM 2666MHz module by SKhynix and 4 more 512Gb 176-layer 3D TLC NAND flash modules by Micron (removing this sticker will void your warranty).

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 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 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 original Rocket 4 Plus M.2 NVMe SSDs were among the fastest PCIe 4.0 (Gen4) models around and the new B47R based models are clearly even faster, at least in most of my tests. This of course is not just due to the 176-layer 3D TLC NAND flash by Micron (previous models used 96-layer) but also the 2666MHz DDR4 SDRAM modules by SK Hynix (previous models used 1600MHz). That being said if you have one of the previous Rocket 4 Plus models, I see very little reason to even consider about moving to one of these, not unless you want more capacity (and the 8TB will be with just this NAND). The PS5 heatsink is a nice touch, yes, I didn’t test it with a PS5 but it helped with temperatures across all my tests, even SNIA ones (there was thermal throttling while executing the 12 hour SNIA test but that’s always expected from such a heavy workload) so I expect it to be more than enough for PS5 use.

   Retailing for USD332.99 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 349.99Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de) the Rocket 4 Plus 2TB PS5 bundle (SB-RKT4P-PSHS-2TB) by Sabrent is priced pretty well, especially if you take into account the PS5 designed heatsink. With that out of the way there’s not much else I can say about the updated Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 2TB with Micron’s 176-layer that you don’t already see in all the tests. It’s very fast, has good endurance numbers, is covered by a 5-year warranty and features a PS5 designed heatsink and for all of these it clearly deserves the Platinum Award.

PROS

- Top of The Charts Performance (7000MB/s Read & 6600MB/s Write)
- Endurance (1400TBW / 1.6 Million Hours MTBF)
- PlayStation 5 Heatsink
- 5 Years Warranty (After Online Registration)
- Acronis True Image Software
- Price (Compared To Similar Models)

CONS

- Thermal Throttling (During SNIA Tests)