Gaming & DirectStorage Performance
On this page we will examine the game load time performance of the SSD, using 2 games that support DirectStorage as well 2 games that do not. In addition, we will utilize the DirectStorage test in 3DMark to look specifically at the DirectStorage benchmark on the SSD.
Horizon Forbidden West (DirectStorage Support)
We are using the full retail game Horizon Forbidden West. This game supports DirectStorage for saved game load times. We are using an AMD Radeon RX 6800 16GB video card for testing and all components are shown to support DirectStorage. We enable the highest graphics settings in the game at 4K for testing. We will show loading a saved game file and how long it takes to load into the game. All results are performed manually with a stopwatch.
In the graph above, we are testing the time it takes to load a saved game, this directly tests DirectStorage on the SSD and how long it takes to load a saved game. The TEAMGROUP T-FORCE G50 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD performs excellent here! This SSD was geared for gamers, and we are seeing that in the load times here, where it has the fastest load times out of all the SSDs in this range, besting the MSI Spatium M470 and the Lexar NM710.
Forspoken (DirectStorage Support)
We are using the full retail game Forspoken, which supports DirectStorage to test game loading time. Forspoken was released on January 24th, 2023, on the PC and uses the Luminous Engine. We are using an AMD Radeon RX 6800 16GB video card. We enable the highest graphics settings, including Ultra High Texture Memory, and run at 4K. We use the built-in benchmark and report the scene load times. We add the sum of all seven scene load times and run the benchmark three times. We then take the average of the three sums from each run. We graph the average result.
In Forspoken, the TEAMGROUP T-FORCE G50 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD also provides excellent scene load times in the game. We can see it besting the MSI Spatium M470, and the other SSDs, and being very close with the Lexar NM710.
Starfield
We are using the full game of Starfield, patched to the latest version. Starfield does not support DirectStorage, so this is the raw load time of a game without DirectStorage as a factor on the SSD. Starfield typically has longer load times, and thus is a great test to see how long it takes to load a saved game. We are using an AMD Radeon RX 6800 16GB video card and we enable the highest graphics settings at 4K. We will show loading a saved game file and how long it takes to load into the game. All results are performed manually with a stopwatch.
In Starfield, the TEAMGROUP T-FORCE G50 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD is about middle of the road, when DirectStorage is not in play. This is a raw load time and simply relies on the raw performance of the SSD. We can see that it’s not terrible, it’s keeping pace with the other SSDs like the Lexar NM710.
Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail Benchmark
We are now including the Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail Benchmark as well which benchmarks the load times of several game scenes. This new and updated benchmarks utilizes a new updated engine with updated and improved graphics textures and fidelity. The benchmark calculates the sum load time of the scenes and reports the number. We run the benchmark three times, and take the average of the load times. This provides consistent, objective game load testing data we can use for comparison in a game scenario outside of DirectStorage. This benchmark uses DX11.
In Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail benchmark the TEAMGROUP T-FORCE G50 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD also has an excellent load time. Again, this game does not use DirectStorage, so it is raw scene load times and depends on the performance of the SSD. We can see that it is only bested by the Lexar NM710, otherwise it beats everything else, including the MSI Spatium M470.
3DMark DirectStorage Benchmark
We are running the 3DMark DirectStorage feature test, and showing the overall feature test score, and individual test results as displayed when run on the SSD.
According to the 3DMark DirectStorage test, the TEAMGROUP T-FORCE G50 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD is 119.3% faster with DirectStorage enabled. It shows that with DirectStorage off we get 4.30GB/s, and then with DirectStorage on that results in 9.43GB/s. Individual scores show the bandwidth of each run with and without DirectStorage.