Benchmarks
We tested the drive with KDiskMark, a popular free and open source graphical frontend to Flexible I/O. The software provides an easy to view and interpret comprehensive benchmark result similar to the Windows CrystalDiskMark application.
We benchmarked the SSD using a desktop machine with an ASUS motherboard and Intel 13th generation CPU, 64GB of RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce discrete graphics card. We also tested the SSD in an Intel NUC 13 Pro Mini PC mostly to see how well the graphene heatsink copes from a temperature perspective in a confined case.
Here are the results for the MP44L 2TB NVMe with the 13th generation machine. The MP44L is a low cost NVMe which doesn’t have DRAM caching. For comparison purposes, we also benchmarked a few other NVMe disks that are available for around the same price point.
For benchmarking purposes, the drives are used as storage only, with the operating system (Linux naturally) running on a separate drive. We’ve included a PCIe 3.0 NVMe for comparison purposes which may be useful if you’re considering upgrading to a PCIe 4.0 NVMe.
In the first benchmark, the TEAMGROUP MP44L runs the Fanxiang very close. In this synthetic benchmark, the MP44L is second fastest in terms of sequential throughput, and actually exceeds the manufacturer’s specifications. This score is useful for tasks like high-resolution video editing.
In this sequential read test, the TEAMGROUP MP44L performs admirably and offers very good sequential performance. It’s faster than the drives around its price point; significantly so compared to the WD and Crucial NVMes.
The TEAMGROUP MP44L literally blows the competition away in this benchmark.
The final read test represents more straightforward and common tasks. The TEAMGROUP MP44L agin romps home. For its price point, it’s ideal for everyday tasks such as booting up the Linux operating system and starting software.
We also repeated the above benchmarks for write speeds which are below.
Again the MP44L exceeds the manufacturer’s specifications.
Official write specifications are only part of the performance picture. Most SSDs implement a write cache, which is a fast area of (usually) pseudo-SLC programmed flash that absorbs incoming data. The write saturation results for the 2TB MP44L are better than expected for its price point.
We are very impressed by the performance of the MP44L which comfortably beat its DRAM-less rivals in most tests. Of course, there are faster NVMe drives available, both PCIe 4.0 NVMe, and PCIe 5.0 NVMe.
We also carried out real-life tests, the results of which are within margin of error. Typical Linux desktop applications don’t perform sufficient random writes to make DRAM essential. Naturally in some synthetic tests a comparable DRAM NVMe scores significantly higher, but they typically are far more expensive. The MP44L never slowed down even when writing 1TB to the 2TB drive. Its sustained performance is very good.
We also tested how long it took to read 75GB installed files from the MP44L to another drive. The drive turned in a very fast time in this real-world transfer, and is significantly faster than the Crucial and WD drives.
Pages in this article:
Page 1 – Introduction and Specifications
Page 2 – Benchmarks
Page 3 – Summary