Throughput Benchmarks (SEQ and RND)
CrystalDiskMark
We are using CrystalDiskMark to benchmark sequential and random throughput of read and write performance. For these NVMe SSDs, we are using the NVMe profile in CrystalDiskMark. This tests SEQ1M Q8T1, SEQ128K Q32T1, RND4K Q32T16, and RND4K Q1T1.
The Lexar PLAY 2280 SE 4TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD has a rated sequential read speed of 7,000MB/s and a rated sequential write speed of 6,000MB/s on the PC. In our CrystalDiskMark testing, SEQ1M Q8T1, we are achieving well beyond that with this drive, which is impressive. On sequential read, we are hitting 7,436MB/s, and on sequential write, we are hitting a really great 6,631MB/s. This puts its read performance toward the high-range of PCI Gen4x4 performance, and close to the Lexar Professional NM800 PRO and Netac NV7000. It beats the Acer FA200 quite a bit, as well as other drives like the Lexar NM710. The write performance is very strong, actually beating the Lexar Professional NM800 PRO by a few hundred MB/s of bandwidth. At 6,600MB/s of write performance, it’s among the top performers in that regard.
Again, in SEQ128K Q32T1, the trend continues for the Lexar PLAY 2280 SE 4TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD; it has very strong write performance and read performance, ranking in the high-range.
If there is a weakness with the Lexar PLAY 2280 SE 4TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, it is random performance. In RND4K Q32T16, when ranked by write performance, it is in the lower range of performance at 4,089MB/s. It is surpassed by the Lexar Professional NM800 PRO at 4,371MB/s, and even the Netac NV7000 as well. The read performance suffers the most; however, random read performance is next to the slowest on this graph at 3,063MB/s, and only the Lexar NM710 is slower. This, once again, could be attributed to a new drive and firmware that needs some optimization.
The trend of random read being a bit behind with the Lexar PLAY 2280 SE 4TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD continues in the RND4K Q1T1 testing. Here, we see it at 63MB/s read, which ranks as the slowest SSD, even below the Lexar NM710. However, the write speed is surprisingly the opposite; at 268MB/s random write performance, it pulls in the HIGHEST/FASTEST random write performance in RND4K Q1T1. It pulls ahead of every drive here, really setting up an interesting dichotomy between random read and random write performance with the Lexar PLAY 2280 SE 4TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD.
ATTO
Using the popular ATTO Disk Benchmark, the Lexar PLAY 2280 SE 4TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD isn’t doing badly here; it’s in the higher-range of performance again. It edges out the Lexar Professional NM800 PRO on write performance, and matches the Netac NV7000 on performance for read and write.