Solidigm P44 Pro SSD Review: Ultra-Fast PCIe Gen 4 PC Storage
Solidigm P44 Pro: More Benchmarks, Gaming Tests And The Verdict
HDTune v5.75 Benchmarks
The Solidigm P44 Pro didn't play well with HD Tune's workloads, at least in terms of average transfers rates. The drives performed about on par with the Samsung SSD 980 Pro, but trailed the others. The Solidigm P44 Pro's latency characteristics were excellent, however, and burst rates were good as well.
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.
Both of the Solidigm P44 Pro drives we tested offered competitive write speeds in CrystalDiskMark's sequential transfer tests, but with class-leading read speeds. The graphs are sorted by write speeds, which puts the Solidigm P44 Pro down the stack a bit, but if sorted by reads, they'd be on top.
The Solidigm P44 Pro offered excellent 4K random transfer speeds as well. At a queue depth of 32, they trail the Phison drive slightly, but at queue depth 1 -- which is the more important number for the vast majority of consumer use cases -- the Solidigm P44 Pro drives lead the pack.
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.
The Solidigm P44 Pro drives took the top two spots according to the Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker benchmark, offering the fastest load times, and besting all of the other drives we tested.
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 (like 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 Solidigm P44 Pro 2TB drive offered better latency characteristics in 3DMark's Storage Benchmark versus the 1TB model, but the tabled turn in the bandwidth related tests...
This Solidigm P44 Pro drives' bandwidth results are among the best we've seen. In some of the individual test, the drives trail occasionally, but overall, performance is strong here.
The overall score shows the 1TB Solidigm P44 Pro taking the top spot, with the higher capacity 2TB model dropping in just behind the Samsung 990 Pro.
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 the trace-based PCMark tests, which are comprised of a broad mix of consumer workloads, the Solidigm P44 Pro clearly outrun the Innogrit and Phison-based drives, and the Samsung SSD 980 Pro, but ultimately trail the newer SSD 990 Pro by a small margin.
Solidigm P44 Pro PCIe Gen 4 SSD: The Verdict
The Solidigm P44 Pro drives we tested (1TB and 2TB capacities) performed very well in our benchmarks, virtually across the board. In all of the sequential transfer tests (save for HD Tune), the Solidigm P44 Pro hung right alongside some of the fastest PCIe 4 NVMe SSDs currently available. The Solidigm P44 Pro’s latency scores, however, were some of the best we’ve seen. The drives also offered some of the fastest game level load-times and performance in the trace-based tests was also excellent.
In addition to offering strong performance, the Solidigm P44 Pro is priced aggressively as well. The drives are currently available at prices ranging from $55 - $179 depending on the capacity, which works out to less than $0.09 per gigabyte on the 1TB and 2TB drives we tested. Considering their excellent performance, 5-year warranties, and highly competitive pricing in the enthusiast NVMe SSD segment, we can’t help but like these drives and can wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone looking for a new SSD.
