Introduction
Lexar is well known for its memory components, including memory cards, USB flash drives, portable drives, card readers, RAM, and SSDs. We had a chance recently to check out Lexar’s top-tier SSD in our Lexar Professional NM800 Pro SSD review. If you need the fastest possible Gen4 x4 NVMe SSD performance, check out that SSD. That SSD is Lexar’s fastest SSD offering and also offers a pre-installed heatsink. If you move down Lexar’s SSD product line, you will find a new value-conscious SSD with the Lexar NM710 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSD (LNM710X001T-RNNNG). Today we will be taking a look at performance in this more budget-friendly SSD and what it offers to similar SSDs in this performance category.
Lexar NM710 SSD
The first thing to note about the Lexar NM710 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSD is that it is of the lower-generation PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe performance of 5000MB/s. It is not of the newer 7000MB/s Gen4 x4 NVMe performance such as the Lexar Professional NM800 Pro. Therefore, it is coming in a tier lower in the Gen4 x4 performance spectrum, so what that means is that we need to compare it with other SSDs that are also in this performance tier, so we can see how it compares to those and how well of a 5000MB/s PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe SSD it really is. It is an upgrade from PCIe Gen3 performance.
The Lexar NM710 M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSD does run at PCIe 4.0 Gen4 x4 interface and is based on the NVMe 1.4 protocol. This is a 3D TLC NAND Flash DRAM-less SSD that relies on Host Memory Buffer 3.0 technology and an SLC cache. The NM710 has three capacities offered, a 500GB model, a 1TB model, and a 2TB model. The capacities do have different quoted speeds and endurance. We will be reviewing the 1TB capacity today, which is the fastest among all three.
The Lexar NM710 1TB SSD model we are reviewing today is the fastest of all three capacities, it has a sequential read speed of up to 5000MB/s and a sequential write speed of up to 4500MB/s. It has an endurance of 600TBW.
For comparison, the 500GB model will run up to a sequential read speed of 500MB/s and a sequential write speed of up to 2600MB/s. It has an endurance of 300TBW.
The 2TB model will run up to a sequential read speed of 4850MB/s and a sequential write speed of up to 4500MB/s. It has an endurance of 1200TBW.
All capacities have an MTBF of 1.5 million hours and a five-year limited warranty. Lexar SSDs undergo testing in the Lexar Quality Labs to ensure performance, quality, compatibility, and reliability.
SSD Pictures
The Lexar NM710 1TB SSD comes in a nice-looking box, with the capacity clearly labeled. The performance expected is also clearly and boldly labeled, so you know what you are getting. Inside the box is the SSD, with a thermal label already applied, and an installation manual. There are no M.2 screws.
At first glance, we can see that the 1TB capacity model only has components on one side, with the other side bare. One of the benefits of the Lexar NM710 SSD is its compact and slim nature, with only components on one side of the 1TB model and no large heatsink. It allows you to easily install it into PCs or laptops with limited space. When we look closely at it, the 2TB model probably fills up both sides.
When we take a closer look at the components, we can see that the Lexar NM710 1TB SSD uses the new Maxio MAP1602A-F3C 4-channel controller. You can read all about this controller here. The Maxio MAP1602 is a 12nm process technology IC that supports PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe, and Maxio Agile ECC 3 technology based on an ARM R5 CPU core. It is geared for DRAM-less SSDs. This is becoming a popular controller for DRAM-less SSDs.
The 3D TLC NAND Flash is Longsys RH14TAA1442256G. When researching, we find that Longsys is engaged in the design, R&D, and sales of Flash memory and DRAM. In 2017, Longsys acquired the Lexar brand from Micron, and Lexar is owned by Longsys.