ADATA GAMMIX XPG S70 Blade review

Our Verdict

84%

Ridiculously fast in most tests, although the WD SN850 is a slightly better buy.

The ADATA GAMMIX XPG X70 Blade PCI-E 4 SSD uses an InnoGrit IG5236 controller, along with TLC memory. As with most TLC-based SSDs, it also has a write cache. This is made up of 1GB of DRAM and around 333GB of pseudo-SLC cache, where the SSD repurposes TLC memory, but only writes one bit of data per memory cell (instead of the usual three with TLC), speeding up the writing process.

If you fill-up the SSD completely, there won’t be any memory left for the caching, so speeds can drop, and write speeds can fall again if you fill the cache before that data has been offloaded to other areas of TLC NAND. You’re unlikely to encounter this scenario unless you regularly shift enormous files, however.

The GAMMIX XPG S70 Blade is available in versions with either a large heatsink or a thin slimline one, but we recommend either opting for the former or making use of your motherboard’s M.2 heatsink, as the slim heatsink failed to stop the SSD throttling after just a minute or two under load in our tests. This saw the write speed fall to just 2,200MB/sec as the SSD passed 70°C, but fitting the drive with our motherboard’s heatsink stopped this throttling and kept the temperature below 60°C.

The 1TB sample we tested retails for $160, which is a good deal more than the company’s cheaper GAMMIX XPG X50 Lite, but the S70 Blade did post some very impressive figures in our synthetic benchmarks.

ADATA GAMMIX XPG S70 Blade performance

It managed a sequential read speed in CrystalDiskMark of 7,011MB/sec and write speed of 5,764, with the latter being the fastest result of recent PCI-E 4 drives we’ve tested. Bizarrely, though, its 4K 32 queue depth performance of 1,577MB/sec was slower than the GAMMIX XPG X50 Lite. However, the 4K random write test saw it better the cheaper SSD, but fail to match the likes of the WD Black SN850, Corsair MP600 Pro, and Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 7000s, which managed more than 100MB/sec more.

Meanwhile, AS-SSD saw the S70 Blade match those SSDs in the sequential tests, as well as the 4K random write test, but it was fairly slow in the 4K read test with a speed of just 53MB/sec compared to 78MB/sec for the Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 7000s. Again, the IOPS rating showed a slow performance in the 4K read test too, at 354,577 versus 504,200 for the Gigabyte SSD – even the XPG GAMMIX S50 Lite was faster in this test. The S70 Blade redeemed itself somewhat in the write test with a more on par result.

ADATA GAMMIX XPG S70 Blade pros and cons

Pros

• Fast sequential performance
• Above average endurance rating
• Cheaper than other high-speed SSDs

Cons

• Not the fastest in all tests
• Slim heatsink couldn’t prevent throttling
• WD SN850 is slightly cheaper

ADATA GAMMIX XPG S70 Blade specs

The ADATA GAMMIX XPG S70 Blade specs list is:

ADATA GAMMIX XPG S70 Blade price

Cheaper than most direct competitors, the GAMMIX XPG S70 Blade is a decent option but the WD Black SN850 is slightly cheaper.

ADATA GAMMIX XPG S70 Blade review conclusion

The GAMMIX XPG S70 Blade had one or two wobbles in our benchmarks, but the fact remains that overall this is a very fast SSD, with mind-bending sequential speeds that will annihilate big data transfers, so long as you stay within the write cache limits. It offers a higher TBW endurance rating that’s higher than that of other SSDs too.

Its biggest trump card, though, is that it costs around $20 less than the competition from Corsair and Gigabyte – they do include more effective heatsinks, but that point is moot if your motherboard already comes with decent heatsinks. The only problem for the S70 Blade is that the faster WD Black SN850 is similarly equipped and costs a bit less, making it ultimately a better buy.

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.