INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Solid‑state drives have steadily evolved into the cornerstone of modern performance computing, offering speed, efficiency, and reliability that redefine what users expect from storage. Their ability to deliver instant responsiveness, rapid data transfers, and consistent multitasking has made them indispensable across gaming, creative work, and enterprise environments. Each new generation of SSD technology pushes boundaries further, with advancements in NAND design and controller architecture unlocking higher throughput and lower latency. PCIe Gen5 represents the latest milestone, enabling unprecedented bandwidth that allows systems to fully exploit next‑generation CPUs and GPUs. This leap ensures smoother workflows, faster project completion, and a more immersive user experience overall. Today's review is about one such drive and more specifically BIWIN’s Black Opal X570 Gen5 SSD.

    For decades, BIWIN Storage Technology has made the critical storage and memory in many of the leading digital devices that have defined our digital world. The Biwin consumer brand offers the best of BIWIN’s experience, a range of SSDs, DRAM, memory cards and related accessories that will help you get the most out of your devices. Biwin, Built to Win. For more about Biwin, please visit www.biwintech.com

    The Black Opal X570 line by BIWIN is currently available in 1/2/4TB capacities all of which are based on the latest MAP1806A DRAM less flash controller by MaXio (Maxio Tech) which this time is paired with 232-layer 3D TLC NAND flash memory (B58R) by Micron. The MAP1806A is an 6nm, 8-channel (4CE) NAND flash controller with a speed of up to 3600MT/s per channel that follows the NVMe 2.0 (Non-Volatile Memory Express) standard and packs technologies like end data path protection, 4K LDPC error correction, Host Memory Buffer (HMB) architecture (uses a fraction of your PC's system memory to cache mapping tables) and temperature control. As for warranty BIWIN covers the entire Black Opal X570 Gen5 M.2 NVMe SSD line with a 5-year limited one and regarding durability they report an MTBF (mean time between failures) of 1.5 million hours and TBW (terra bytes written) of 600/1200/2400 for the 1/2/4TB models respectively.

 

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Typically, at the front of the box we find the manufacturer logo, product picture, capacity and model name.

 

 

At the rear we find a cutout from where you can look at the sticker located at the rear of the drive and of course company information and the serial number and barcode of the product.

 

 

Inside the box you'll find the Black Opal X570 Gen5 SSD, secure tool, screw and the quick start guide.

 

 

 

THE BLACK OPAL X570 2TB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Black Opal X570 2TB Gen5 SSD follows the typical 2280 form factor and has a graphene sticker on top with the company and product names.

 

 

This graphene pad is quite thick and should work well on a 2nd generation Gen5 SSD controller.

 

 

Under the graphene sticker we find the MaXio MAP1806A 6nm quad-channel NVMe 2.0 NAND flash controller and four 232-Layer 3D TLC NAND flash modules by Micron.

 

 

On the opposite side there's a sticker on which BIWIN has printed the model name, capacity, serial number and barcode and several certifications.

 

 

BIWIN INTELLIGENCE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Intelligence software by BIWIN was showcased recently.

Drive health, temperature, information, and history are the things displayed on the main tab.

 

 

You can also access smart information from the main tab.

 

 

From the other tabs you can perform an error scan, run a performance test,  enable/disable several features, erase the drive, migrate data, clone the drive, and perform a firmware update.

 

 

TEST BED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TESTING METHODOLOGY

   I've been using pretty much the same testing methodology for PCIe 3.0 Gen3 and PCIe 4.0 Gen4 SSDs for far too many years now, so I decided to "tweak" it for PCIe 5.0 Gen5 models. Needless to say, Gen5 M.2 NVMe SSDs will be tested using one of my latest test rigs (Intel Core Ultra 285K / ASRock Z890 Taichi Lite) and unlike with both Gen3 and Gen4 SSDs I will not be using the SNIA (Storage Networking Industry Association) 12 hour IOMeter benchmark since it proved to be rather heavy for early Gen5 SSDs (temperature issues). Instead, I decided to use the latest versions of 3D Mark, AIDA64, AS SSD, ATTO, Crystal Disk Mark, HD Tune Pro, HD Tach RW, Performance Test, IOMeter (4k Random Writes / 4k Random Reads – since September 2024 / SNIA Mixed) and Sandra Titanium for performance measuring and ForSpoken for all of you who might be wondering just how well Gen5 SSDs do in regard to Microsoft's DirectStorage API/Technology. Each test will be run a total of 5 times after which the average number will be recorded in each chart.

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - HD TUNE PRO / HD TACH RW

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - AS SSD / CRYSTAL DISK MARK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - SANDRA TITANIUM / IOMETER

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - PERFORMANCE TEST / 3D MARK / FORSPOKEN

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    The Black Opal X570 is the very first Gen5 SSD to arrive in the lab featuring MaXio’s latest Gen5 DRAM-less controller, the MAP1806A so I didn’t know what to expect. Luckily both read and write performance is very good across the board with sole exception my IOMeter tests (don’t really know the reason behind that). Worth pointing out is that during my tests I didn’t notice any thermal throttling so that too is good. Endurance levels are at the usual levels we’ve seen with other Gen5 models so no issues here either. The Intelligence software by BIWIN is one of the best out there, however during testing firmware updates weren’t possible, but that will probably get resolved soon. Once again the top capacity for the X570 is 4TB and well, I hope 2026 will be the year that all manufacturers will finally move to 8TB.

    Strangely enough at the time of this review availability for the Black Opal X570 line is limited at best (unlike the X570 Pro model which is available everywhere) so I was unable to find it, neither inside the USA or inside the EU. This is obviously the largest drawback of this drive but judging just its performance, features, and endurance the Black Opal X570 2TB by BIWIN is certainly worth the Golden Award.

PROS

- Quality
- Top Performance (Over 14000MB/s)
- Endurance (1.5 Million Hours MTBF / 1200TBW)
- 5 Year Limited Warranty
- Intelligence Software

CONS

- Almost Zero Availability
- IOMeter Performance (In My Tests)