Toshiba Q Series Pro & WD Black² in the test: SSDs 2013 at a glance

introduction

The year is inevitably drawing to a close. Time to take a look back and take a look at the current SSD market. Whether Crucial, Corsair, Intel, OCZ, Plextor, Samsung, Seagate, Toshiba or Western Digital – they all introduced new models or at least product updates over the course of the year. But which model should interested buyers currently consider?

We take another look at the current SSDs and at the same time supplement our test field with the new models from Toshiba and WD: the Q Series Pro and the Black². The latter is actually a hybrid drive, but unites the SSHDs from Seagate and Toshiba, but combines an HDD and a full-fledged SSD in a 2.5-inch case. The Black² is currently unrivaled.

Overview of newcomers

Toshiba Q Series Pro

Technical details on the Toshiba Q Series Pro have so far been few and far between. The SSD series is available with 128 GB, 256 GB and 512 GB storage capacity, supports SATA 6 Gb / s and achieves sequential transfer rates of up to 554 MB / s on reading and up to 512 MB / s on writing in the ATTO Disk Benchmark , Toshiba also reports up to 90,000 IOPS for 4K Random Reads (QD32) and up to 35,000 IOPS for 4K Random Writes (QD32). Apart from a note about the MLC memory modules, that's it with the official details.

A look into the only seven millimeter thin aluminum case of the Q Series Pro gives at least a few more clues. The MLC memory chips are manufactured by Toshiba with a structure width of 19 nm and have a toggle 2.0 interface. Eight of the components are soldered to the PCB, which suggests that the Toshiba TC358790XBG controller has eight memory channels.

What is more interesting than the number of memory channels is the fact that the controller does not have an external DRAM cache, as is currently the case with most SSD controllers. An exception to this, for example, are the models from LSI SandForce, which dispensed with an external DRAM cache from the outset and will do so again in the case of the new SF3700 family.

We cannot currently say for sure whether the controller is a complete in-house development by Toshiba. However, since other SSDs from the THNSN series use a controller – recognizable by their imprint – that was developed together with Marvell and also does without a DRAM cache, it is very likely that the TC358790XBG is now the same, now renamed Model or further development. Unfortunately, we were unable to get any information from Toshiba shortly before Christmas and will therefore submit it later if necessary.

The scope of delivery of the Q Series Pro is kept spartan. In addition to the SSD, the package also contains a plastic frame so that the drive can also be installed in notebooks that require a height of 9.5 millimeters, as well as warranty information and a multilingual quick guide. However, buyers can still download the NTI Echo 3 for Toshiba clone software free of charge from the Internet, which can be used to transfer existing installations to the Q Series Pro.

On the next page: WD Black²