Sitting in the mainstream sweetspot and boasting PCIe Gen4 support, Team Group’s M.2 NVMe drive teases a tempting set of specs in this SSD review.
Product on Review: Z44A5 2TB NVMe SSD
Manufacturer: Team Group
Street Price: 2TB Model – $219 AUD inc. TAX | £115 inc. V.A.T.
Team Group have grown significantly since we first saw them as a plucky band of memory manufacturers back in 2012. Their product range now stretches into flash storage, peripherals, cooling and even lighting accessories under their enthusiast T-FORCE, professional T-CREATE and mainstream TEAM GROUP sub-brands. With support for the latest technologies including DDR5 DRAM and PCIe Gen5 NVMe SSDs, they sit at the leading edge of capabilities for enthusiast performance PCs.
Today we’re looking at the 2TB T-FORCE Z44A5, an M.2 NVMe SSD supporting PCIe Gen4x4 signalling with advertised read/write rates of 5000/4500 MB/s respectively. This drive, which is intended for high performance gaming systems, also supports important technologies including garbage collection, TRIM, LDPC error correction, and end-to-end data protection; cumulatively, they will improve longevity and security for what remains a non-trivial investment for an SSD.
The Z44A5 is also available in 512GB and 1TB capacities, each utilising the 2280 M.2 form factor. They should not be mistaken for the T-FORCE Z44A7, a superficially similar series boasting meaningfully higher read/write performance that is currently unavailable in most regions.
About Team Group
Team Group Inc. is a world-class memory brand with professional R&D capability, excellent product quality, fast production efficiency, and perfect after-sales service, and is actively involved in B2B and B2C markets. Our products have won numerous domestic and international awards and have been highly recognized by the global media.
Team Group Inc. has four brands: TEAMGROUP, T-FORCE, T-CREATE and TEAMGROUP Industrial with product design, R&D, manufacturing capabilities and in-house core technology, which satisfies the storage needs of customers in different fields, from general PCs, assembled PCs, ultra-performance PCs, and even high-end audio/video editors requiring high-performance computing and high-capacity storage.
Team Group Inc. has four brands: TEAMGROUP, T-FORCE, T-CREATE and TEAMGROUP Industrial with product design, R&D, manufacturing capabilities and in-house core technology, which satisfies the storage needs of customers in different fields, from general PCs, assembled PCs, ultra-performance PCs, and even high-end audio/video editors requiring high-performance computing and high-capacity storage.
NVMe Storage is now an exceptionally competitive market from top to bottom, a far cry from only a handful of years ago. PCIe Gen5 SSDs occupy a premium bracket of their own while Gen3 solutions have settled at a more modest budget-friendly tier. The class of drives the Z44A5 sits in is squeezed from both sides, and it will be challenging to set themselves apart as one of the more affordable PCIe Gen4x4 models on the market.
Technical Specifications
Model ID: Z44A5
Capacity: 512, 1TB, 2TB*
Form Factor: 2280
Interface: PCIe Gen4x4 with NVMe
DRAM Cache: No
Seq. Read: 5000 MB/s
Seq. Write: 4500 MB/s
Voltage: DC +3.3V
Operation Temperature: 0C ~ 70C
Weight: 7g
Dimensions:80.0(L) x 22.0(W) x 3.7(H)mm
MTBF: 1,700,000 Hours
Terabytes Written: 1200TBW
Warranty: 5-year limited warranty
*specifications listed are for the 2TB model
Capacity: 512, 1TB, 2TB*
Form Factor: 2280
Interface: PCIe Gen4x4 with NVMe
DRAM Cache: No
Seq. Read: 5000 MB/s
Seq. Write: 4500 MB/s
Voltage: DC +3.3V
Operation Temperature: 0C ~ 70C
Weight: 7g
Dimensions:80.0(L) x 22.0(W) x 3.7(H)mm
MTBF: 1,700,000 Hours
Terabytes Written: 1200TBW
Warranty: 5-year limited warranty
*specifications listed are for the 2TB model
There are no surprises in the Z55A5’s specifications, though we should note that Team Group are refreshingly up-front in their acknowledgement that the drives are not equipped with a DRAM cache. This keeps costs down but will have an impact on longevity and performance in some write-contingent workloads. Read-heavy workloads are more common in consumer and especially gaming scenarios, so it makes sense to judge the suitability of the drive accordingly.
Team Group’s GE PRO lineup is a DRAM cache-equipped option for those who would benefit from it and want to stay with the brand.
The Z44A series as a whole utilises a Graphene Heatspreader to assist in cooling the NAND chips and controller. This 2TB model is a single-sided solution that should be compatible with the majority of mainstream desktop and notebook motherboard models that have an open M.2 slot.
Closer Look
T-FORCE’s packaging for the Z44A Series NVMe SSDs is straightforward and unassuming, with a simple image of the drive on the front and a small amount of technical information on the rear.
A general lack of frills extends to the product as a whole – you’ll only get the drive itself in this retail package alongside brief documentation and warranty information.
The drive itself is attractive enough. A black PCB is topped with the graphene heatspreader emblazoned with T-FORCE Z4 Series branding, keeping it well within the 2280 M.2 form factor. Model and serial numbers are on the sticker on the rear, ensuring that this generally extraneous label isn’t viewable in day-to-day operation.
While Team Group don’t explicitly define the Z44a5’s memory controller it has been documented elsewhere to be the Maxiotech MAP 1602. It’s in principle capable of higher speeds than those outlined in the technical specifications, but has been configured with more modest parameters to maximise NAND durability.
Test Setup & Methodology
Our test system is formatted and a fresh version of Windows is installed with just drives in place – no additional applications. Windows is then updated to the latest release and the drivers are installed.
Included in the list of benchmarks are the following applications:
BENCHMARKS
Anvil Pro
AS SSD
ATTO Disk Benchmark v2.46
AIDA64
AS SSD
ATTO Disk Benchmark v2.46
AIDA64
TEST CONFIG
CPU Intel Core i9-12900K
Motherboard MSI Z690 UNIFY
Graphics GIGABYTE RTX 3060
Memory 64GB CORSAIR Dominator Platinum RGB DDR5
Storage KIOXIA EXCERIA PRO
PSU Corsair HX1050 Gold
OS Microsoft Windows 11 Professional 64-Bit
Motherboard MSI Z690 UNIFY
Graphics GIGABYTE RTX 3060
Memory 64GB CORSAIR Dominator Platinum RGB DDR5
Storage KIOXIA EXCERIA PRO
PSU Corsair HX1050 Gold
OS Microsoft Windows 11 Professional 64-Bit
Benchmarks: Anvil Pro
Anvil Pro from Anvil Storage utilities is one of the most popular storage benchmarking utilities today thanks to the large suit of tests available. You can test pretty much anything from Read/write Speed to IOPs with many variables to tweak allowing you to get either a single or host of results to compare with other likeminded enthusiasts. In our test we ran the standard suite 5 times, subtracting both the highest and lowest scores and determined the final result from the average of the remaining three results.
Anvil’s tests show the exceptional variability for ostensibly similar SSD, underscoring the importance of picking a correctly balanced drive for your workload. The Z44A5 is an interesting candidate – great Read IOPs at short queue depths and mid-range sequential read/write, but poor 4K IOPs Write performance.
Benchmarks: AS SSD
AS SSD Benchmark is a straightforward tool for measuring the speed of your SSD drive.
Simply launch the program, choose your drive, click Start, and it’ll test your SSD’s read and write speed in a variety of ways, delivering a score for each when it’s done. And if that’s not enough, there are also additional file copy and compression-related benchmarks available from the Tools menu. (The author’s support page is German only, but if you need further English explanations then there’s a thread on the program at the OCZ Technology forum.).
Simply launch the program, choose your drive, click Start, and it’ll test your SSD’s read and write speed in a variety of ways, delivering a score for each when it’s done. And if that’s not enough, there are also additional file copy and compression-related benchmarks available from the Tools menu. (The author’s support page is German only, but if you need further English explanations then there’s a thread on the program at the OCZ Technology forum.).
AS SSD offers a combined score for sequential reads and writes, and the Z44A5 is solidly in the upper-mid tier for both.
Benchmarks: ATTO
The ATTO Disk Benchmark performance measurement tool is compatible with Microsoft Windows. Measure your storage systems performance with various transfer sizes and test lengths for reads and writes. Several options are available to customize your performance measurement including queue depth, overlapped I/O and even a comparison mode with the option to run continuously. Use ATTO Disk Benchmark to test any manufacturers RAID controllers, storage controllers, host adapters, hard drives and SSD drives and notice that ATTO products will consistently provide the highest level of performance to your storage.
ATTO’s 1024 read/write tests places the Z44A5 firmly in the middle of the pack.
Benchmarks: CrystalDiskMark
CrystalDiskMark is an open-source disk drive benchmark tool for Microsoft Windows. Based on Microsoft’s MIT-licensed Diskspd tool, this graphical benchmark is commonly used for testing the performance of solid-state storage. It works by reading and writing through the filesystem in a volume-dependent way. It generates read/write speeds in sequential and random positions with varying numbers of queues and threads.
A now familiar pattern is replicated in CrystalDiskMark where the Z44A5 performs well in sequential read/write tests, but has more trouble in 4K random read/write tests. It certainly doesn’t disgrace itself by any means however.
Conclusion
After more recent storage reviews pushing the boundaries of NVMe interfaces to the limit, Team Group’s T-FORCE Z44A5 is an excellent palette cleanser that tempers expectations while being a case study in the healthy state of the consumer SSD market.The Z44A5 doesn’t stretch the PCIe Gen4x4 interface to the limit, instead providing a well-balanced package tuned towards better write durability. While the synthetic consequences are borne out in the data, real-world experiences for the vast majority of target users will be virtually indistinguishable from all but the fastest drives in the next performance tier up.
Where the drive is weak is in random write performance, ruling it out as a more workhorse workstation or prosumer drive. Gamers, particularly those on a healthy but not generous budget, could however embrace it for exceptional long-term results.
A capacity of 2TB for $219 AUD | £115 in this performance tier is good but competition is hot. Paying ~30% more gets you to the next tier of performance – a 7000/6000 MB/s drive over the same PCIe Gen4x4 bus, whereas stepping down to Gen3 could garner you a far more affordable 2TB drive. It’s a tricky balance to get right; we’ve called it a price/performance sweet-spot but in reality a very precarious position to be in.
Fundamentally, the drive is easy to recommend for mainstream audiences on a PCIe 4.0 platform who need a bit more kick from their OS/Gaming Drive. Those with more specialist requirements would do well to consider a drive equipped with a DRAM Cache and other specialist workstation features.
TEAM GROUP are on to a winner with the T FORCE Z44A5, a well-rounded NVMe SSD with great read performance and solid write characteristics. Optimally paired with a system supporting PCIe 4.0 over M.2 NVMe, it should be considered in any new build where budgets are a little more flexible and strong gaming performance is ideal. The drive gets our Approved award.
Pros
+ Good upper-mid tier performance
+ Attractive price
+ Easy installation with few compatibility issues due to thin heatspreader
+ Attractive monochrome aesthetics
+ 5 year warranty
= Should only be considered on a system supporting PCIe 4/5 through M.2 NVMe
Cons
– Relatively weak random write performance
– No DRAM Cache
+ Good upper-mid tier performance
+ Attractive price
+ Easy installation with few compatibility issues due to thin heatspreader
+ Attractive monochrome aesthetics
+ 5 year warranty
= Should only be considered on a system supporting PCIe 4/5 through M.2 NVMe
Cons
– Relatively weak random write performance
– No DRAM Cache
Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.
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