Our Verdict
92%
A great software bundle and lower price just about enables the Sabrent to beat the competition, but there's not much in it when it comes to performance.
With so few PCIe 4 SSDs on the market at the moment, and even fewer controllers to differentiate them, the Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 has its work cut out if it wants to differentiate itself from the likes of the Corsair Force MP600 and Gigabyte Aorus NVMe Gen4 SSD. All three of these drives are based on the same Phison PS5016-E16 controller, as well as Kioxia TLC NAND memory.
What’s more, all three sport the same capacity options, with our sample offering 1TB of total storage space, with a formatted capacity of 931GB – the rest of the storage space is used for overprovisioning. The Sabrent also offers the same 1,800TBW endurance rating and five year warranty as the Corsair and Gigabyte drives.
At first glance, the Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 might appear to lose ground to the other two SSDs with its lack of a sporty heatsink. As a result, during our thermal stress test, the Sabrent’s peak temperature hit 82°C, while the Corsair MP600, for example, reached just 66°C in the same test. However, there’s also a sliver of copper on top of the SSD beneath the label to spread the heat, allowing you to easily use your motherboard’s heatsink instead.
As a result, we can’t be too harsh here, as most PCI-E 4 motherboards offer at least one M.2 port with a heatsink. For an extra £50, you can obtain the same SSD with a large heatpipe-equipped heatsink, but we’d sooner spend less money and find another means of cooling it.
Meanwhile, Sabrent’s software is very similar to that of Corsair, with basic controls over firmware updates and overprovisioning, as well as temperature monitoring. It also looks less dated than Corsair’s supplied software. What’s more, while the Corsair’s software can clone SSDs, you get a full copy of Acronis True Image with the Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0.
This is a more powerful and flexible tool when it comes to drive imaging; given that the two SSDs cost around the same amount of money, if you’re not fussed by the Corsair’s heatsink, the Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 just edges ahead in terms of value.
Interestingly, there were very few areas where the more expensive Samsung 980 Pro was significantly ahead. The only notable area was raw sequential read speed, which was close to 1,802MB/sec faster, while its sequential write speed was 676MB/sec faster. These tests don’t represent most people’s real world though – you’ll be hard-pushed to tell the difference for the most part.
Conclusion
While the performance of the Sabrent Rocket might be similar to that of the other drives based on Phison controllers, and you don’t get a fancy heatsink with it either, the Sabrent offers superb value. Not only is it keenly priced, but you also get a copy of Acronis True Image, and most PCI-E 4 motherboards come with M.2 heatsinks anyway.
It’s really down to how much you want to spend and whether you need a heatsink. In other areas, such as performance and warranty, there’s nothing between the three drives mentioned here, but the Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 just about offers the best value for money.
PRICE
£160
SCORES
PERFORMANCE: 44/50 | FEATURES: 19/20 | VALUE: 29/30
Pros
- Reasonable price
- Fast sequential transfers
- Good software
Cons
- No heatsink
- Can get toasty without extra cooling
- Competition looks better
1TB Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 specifications
- Full capacity: 1TB
- Formatted capacity: 931GB
- NAND: TLC
- Controller: Phison E16
- Endurance: 1,800 TBW
- Warranty: Five years
Looking for more storage upgrade options? Check out our guide to the best gaming SSD where we recommend options for every budget, with 1TB drives starting from just $55.