MSI Spatium M580 FROZR Review: Super-Fast SSD Tower Of Power
HDTune v5.75 Benchmarks
HD Tune Pro has the MSI Spatium M580 FROZR in the pole position. This is an older benchmark, but it tests reads and writes across the entire capacity of the drive, so thermals can come into play. The MSI Spatium M580 FROZR has no problem maintaining peak performance in a properly cooled chassis (which is how we test) and as such, it ends up offering the highest transfer speeds and among the lowest latency of the bunch.
CrystalDiskMark x64 Benchmarks
CrystalDiskMark is a synthetic benchmark that tests both sequential and random small and mid-sized file transfers using incompressible data. It provides a quick look at best and worst case scenarios with regard to SSD performance, best case being larger sequential transfers and worse case being small, random transfers.
CDM's sequential transfer tests have the MSI Spatium M580 FROZR leading the pack at both high and low queue depths, and it overtakes the excellent Crucial T705.
The MSI Spatium M580 FROZR falters a bit in terms of random 4K transfers at either queue depth, but it's right there in the mix with the other Phison-based drives and remains highly competitive at Q1T1, which is arguably the most important test for consumers.
Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker Game Level Load Times
We also tested game level load times using the Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker benchmark. This tool loads an array of different game levels during its graphics benchmark and outputs the average result when complete.
Level load times with the MSI Spatium M580 FROZR in the Final Fantasy XIV benchmark were great. The drive technically leads the pack here, even if only by a small margin.
UL's 3DMark Gaming Storage Benchmark
UL recently added a gaming-centric storage benchmark to 3DMark that leverages trace-based tests of actual PC games and gaming-related activities (such as streaming with OBS) to measure real-world gaming performance in a variety of scenarios. The tests include things like loading Battlefield V, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, and Overwatch from the initial launch to the main menu, recording a 1080p gameplay video at 60 FPS with OBS while playing Overwatch, installing The Outer Worlds and saving game progress. And finally, copying the Steam folder for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive from one drive to another.
The individual bandwidth results reported by 3DMark's Storage Test are somewhat mixed, but overall the MSI Spatium M580 FROZR once again leads the pack.
The MSI Spatium M580 FROZR's latency characteristics are also top-notch, and it ultimately takes the lead. All of the Phison-based drives are grouped relatively tightly, however. It was in the Move, Save, and Record tests where the MSI M580 did best, which pushed it into the overall lead.
Looking back through the bandwidth and latency results, it's no surprise that the MSI Spatium M580 FROZR finishes at the top of the chart, besting every other SSD we've tested.
Looking back through the bandwidth and latency results, it's no surprise that the MSI Spatium M580 FROZR finishes at the top of the chart, besting every other SSD we've tested.
UL's PCMark 10 System Drive Storage Test
We like PCMark 10's new quick storage benchmark module for its real-world application measurement approach to testing. PCMark offers a trace-based measurement of system response times and bandwidth under various scripted workloads of traditional client / desktop system use cases.
In PCMark's trace-based tests, which mimic a varied array of everyday computing workloads, the MSI Spatium M580 FROZR trails the Crucial T705 by the smallest of margins, to take the silver...
MSI Spatium M580 FROZR SSD: The Verdict
To put it simply, the MSI Spatium M580 FROZR is one of the fastest solid state drives we have ever tested. The MSI Spatium M580 FROZR excels in multiple categories and led the pack or remained highly competitive throughout all of our tests. The MSI Spatium M580 FROZR offers some of the highest sequential transfers, fastest game level load times, and it finishe at or near the top of the charts in the trace-based 3DMark and PCMark tests. Latency was very good across the board as well, and MSI offers a competitive 5-year warranty.
The MSI Spatium M580 FROZR isn’t for everyone, though. The drive is currerntly priced in premium territory due to its high-performance components and included tower-type cooler. The MSI Spatium M580 FROZR is priced at $329, which is just at ouch higher than other high-end drives like the Crucial T705 w/ Heatsink, but about 10% – 20% higher similar performing Gen 5 NVMe drives that don’t include heatsinks. That premium is well worth it in our opinion if the MSI Spatium M580 FROZR is a good fit for your system and you don't want to worry about the possibility of your drive thermal throttling. With that in mind, we have no problem recommending the MSI Spatium M580 FROZR to any PC enthusiast, gamer or content creator looking for a fast, high-end Gen 5 SSD. The MSI Spatium M580 FROZR is consistently fast and reliable and is among the best enthusiast-class solid state drives currently on the market.
