Acer FA200 4TB PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD Review

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System Storage Benchmarks

For our SSD comparisons we are comparing similar PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe SSDs in this same performance tier of 7000MB/s read speed.

3DMark

We are using 3DMark’s Storage Benchmark which tests common gaming workload traces. The benchmark tests loading Battlefield V, Call of Duty Black Ops 4, and Overwatch. It tests moving games by copying a Steam folder for CS:GO, and installing Outer Worlds from the Epic Games Launcher, and saving game progress in The Outer Worlds. It tests recording a 1080p gameplay video at 60FPS with OBS while playing Overwatch. We will graph the Overall Benchmark Score, higher is better.

3DMark Storage Benchmark Performance Graph

In all of our benchmarks to follow, you’ll want to keep an eye on how the Acer FA200 4TB PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD compares to the Netac NV7000-Q, because it as well is a QLC-based SSD on the Maxio MAP1602 controller and YMTC NAND flash. The Netac NV7000-Q will be a great comparison point, as it is a drive that closely matches the Acer FA200 in hardware.

In 3DMark’s storage benchmark, the Acer FA200 4TB PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD pulls in with a total score of 2822, putting it in the middle of the pack for gaming performance. It actually just squeaks out over the Netac NV7000-Q, showing a very slight improvement over that QLC SSD. It can’t keep up with faster driers here, like the Western Digital, but again, the Acer FA200 4TB PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD is a DRAM-less SSD, HMB, and QLC, and it is still hanging quite well. It is much faster than the Teamgroup MP44 and many other older SSDs.

PCMark 10

We are using PCMark 10’s Full System Drive Storage Benchmark. It outputs an overall score (higher is better) that is derived from the Bandwidth (higher is better) as well as access time (lower is better) results.

PCMark 10 Storage Full System Drive Benchmark Performance Graph

In PCMark 10’s full system drive storage benchmark, the Acer FA200 4TB PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD pulls in a bit behind the Netac NV7000-Q overall. It does seem to be on par with the Teamgroup T-Force Cardea A440 Pro, which is an SSD with a DRAM cache, so that is impressive to see. There are SSDs that outperform it here, but it isn’t the slowest in this graph, with performance maintaining an overall average level of performance for general applications.

PCMark 10 Storage Full system Drive Benchmark Average Access Time Performance Graph

The average access time test in PCMark 10’s Storage Benchmark shows you a closer look at where things line up. This graph shows why the Acer FA200 4TB PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD places a bit lower in PCMark 10; the access time is middling at 58, it’s not the worst, but there are certainly some that are better. With the access time being a bit slower than the Netac NV7000-Q, the overall PCMark 10 score becomes lower in the graph above. We can see that it has equal access time with the Teamgroup T-Force Cardea A440 Lite, and actually beats the Teamgroup T-Force Cardea A440 Pro on access time.

PCMark 10 Storage Quick System Drive Benchmark

PCMark 10’s quick system drive storage benchmark focuses on smaller workloads, and typically this is where we see the benefit of a DRAM cache. This is where the Acer FA200 4TB PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD shows its lack of DRAM buffer, with a score of 2489, it is near the bottom for smaller workloads. Note that even the Netac NV7000-Q suffers here, so it is likely a combination of the controller and lack of a DRAM cache, combined with latency and access time.

PassMark PerformanceTEST

We are using PassMark’s PerformanceTEST Disk Mark benchmark only. This test benchmarks Disk Sequential Read, Disk Sequential Write, IOPS 32KQD20, IOPS 4KQD1 tests and outputs an overall score (higher is better.)

PassMark PerformanceTEST Performance Graph

In PassMark PerformanceTest Disk Mark, this benchmark takes everything into consideration, small workloads, large workloads, access time, and DRAM cache, and this benchmark kind of backs up PCMark 10’s quick storage test. The Acer FA200 4TB PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD is near the bottom once again, at 50497. However, this time it does actually beat the Netac NV7000-Q by 4%, which is actually encouraging to see. Perhaps NVMe 2.0 makes a difference?

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REVIEW OVERVIEW

The FPS Review Score
8.8

SUMMARY

The Acer FA200 4TB PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD offers affordable PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe 2.0 M.2 2280 SSD performance upwards of 7GB/s sequential read. It does this by using the Maxio MAP1602 controller, and YMTC Xtacking 3.0 3D NAND flash. This QLC-based drive shows that QLC drives have improved over time, and are viable options for large performance drives. Acer offers this in 500GB, 1TB, 2TB and 4TB capacities to give you plenty of room for your games. It exceeded sequential performance, but does show its weakness in random 4K performance due to its QLC, DRAM-less nature. It does have some real weakness when it comes to small office type workloads, but otherwise does alright for gaming, or secondary storage needs, and hey, it's affordable.
Brent Justicehttps://www.thefpsreview.com
Former managing editor of GPUs at HardOCP for 18 years, Brent Justice has been reviewing computer components since the late 90s, educated in the art and method of the computer hardware review, he brings experience, knowledge, and hands-on testing with a gamer-oriented and hardware enthusiast perspective. You can follow him on Twitter - @Brent_Justice You can sub to his YouTube channel - Justice Gaming https://www.youtube.com/c/JusticeGamingChannel You can check out his computer builds on KIT - @BrentJustice https://kit.co/BrentJustice

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