T-FORCE GC Pro with Dark Airflow I Review

Slated to be able to achieve up to 12000MB/s, could the GC Pro be the fastest Gen5 SSD on the market? We test out this new solid state drive along with the Dark Airflow I cooler.

Product on Review: GC PRO M.2 PCIE SSD
Manufacturer: TEAM GROUP
Street Price: 2TB Model – $200 USD | $350 AUD

TEAMGROUP’s T-FORCE GC PRO 2TB PCIe Gen5 SSD represents a significant leap in storage technology, harnessing the capabilities of the InnoGrit IG5666 controller to deliver exceptional performance. This controller, paired with high-quality 3D TLC NAND flash, enables the GC PRO to achieve sequential read speeds of up to 12,000 MB/s and write speeds nearing 11,000 MB/s, positioning it at the forefront of consumer SSD performance. The drive also features a robust DRAM cache architecture, utilizing two 1GB Hynix DDR4-3200 chips, to ensure responsive data access and maintain high throughput during intensive tasks.

To evaluate the T-FORCE GC PRO’s performance and thermal characteristics, we’ll be testing using the T-FORCE Dark Airflow I SSD cooler. This active cooling solution incorporates a single 40mm intelligent PWM fan, dual 5mm copper heat pipes, and multilayered aluminium alloy fins, designed to effectively dissipate heat generated by high-speed SSDs. The inclusion of a patented double-layered graphene heat dissipation structure further enhances thermal management, aiming to prevent thermal throttling during sustained workloads.

This review will provide insights into whether the T-FORCE GC PRO 2TB SSD, when paired with effective thermal management, delivers on its promise of next-generation performance.

TEAM/T-FORCE on their GC Pro:

The product delivers a unique high-speed experience for gamers and users seeking ultimate performance! The SSD utilizes the latest PCIe Gen5 x4 interface with support for the latest NVMe 2.0 protocol, achieving a maximum read speed of up to 12,500 MB/s.

Technical Specifications

Below are the technical specifications surrounding the GC PRO:

Capacity
2TB, 4TB

Form Factor
M.2 Type 2280-S2-M

Interface
PCIe Gen5x4 NVMe

Dimension (Max: LxWxH)
80 x 22.15 x 3.9 mm

Interface Command
NVM Express™ Revision 1.4 command set

Weight
7g

MTBF
16K hours

Closer Look

T-FORCE has kept things simple with the packaging and GC PRO arrives in a small, nicely designed box which gives very little away – except for the PCIe standard and patent information.

Since we’re also taking a look at the Dark Airflow I, above is the packaging and bundled items we receive with this SSD cooler. T-FORCE include thermal pads, a screwdriver, and the heatsink/cooler.

GC PRO conforms to the M.2 form factor and more specifically the 2280 size, out of the box, the drive does not come with a heatspreader attached but T-FORCE includes their patented graphene plate.

GC PRO uses InnoGrit IG5666 controller, it also uses DRAM in the form of 2x 1 GB Hynix DDR4-3200 H5AN8G6NDJR-XNC.

Over the next pages we’ll be putting the GC PRO under examination to see what you can expect in terms of performance.

As mentioned previously, we’ll be using the Dark Airflow I SSD cooler with the GC PRO. This cooler makes use of dual 4mm copper heatpipes and a 40mm PWM fan.

To install the SSD inside the bracket, we just need to remove the screws, apply the supplied thermal pads to the drive, slot the drive into the bracket, re-attach screws, and we are ready to go!

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

TEST CONFIG

CPU AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
Motherboard MSI X870E Carbon Wifi
Cooler Corsair iCue Link Titan 360 RX LCD
Graphics Onboard
Memory 32GB HyperX FURY Renegade 7600MHz
Storage T-FORCE GC PRO 2TB
PSU Corsair RM1000X
OS Microsoft Windows 11 Professional 64-Bit

Temperatures – Extra help is needed

T-FORCE include a patented graphene heatsink with the GC PRO which is said to provide enhanced dissipation and system operating stability. We attempted to use GC PRO without the graphene cover and the drive overheats in a matter of moments and becomes unusable. It should be noted that this drive absolutely needs a decent method of cooling to operate correctly.

GRAPHENE HEATSINK

So, the next step was to attach the graphene plate but unfortunately, we soon encountered high temperatures with the drive reaching 98C. As shown below:

MSI MOTHERBOARD HEATSINK

Next, we used the motherboard SSD heatink which accompanies our MSI X870E Carbon Wifi and we immediately experienced better cooling performance. The drive reached a mere 55C under this configuration:

DARK AIRFLOW I

Lastly, we attached the Dark Airflow I cooler to the GC PRO, and again we achieve notably better results compared to that of the graphene cover. Temperatures on the drive reached 66C as shown above. Using both the motherboard and this T-FORCE cooler yields the best results and avoids any thermal throttling:

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.

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.).

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.

Benchmarks: AIDA64

AIDA64 Product Page

This simple integer benchmark focuses on the branch prediction capabilities and the misprediction penalties of the CPU. It finds the solutions for the classic “Queens problem” on a 10 by 10 sized chessboard. At the same clock speed theoretically the processor with the shorter pipeline and smaller misprediction penalties will attain higher benchmark scores. For example — with HyperThreading disabled — the Intel Northwood core processors get higher scores than the Intel Prescott core-based ones due to the 20-step vs 31-step long pipeline. CPU Queen test uses integer MMX, SSE2 and SSSE3 optimizations.

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.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the T-FORCE GC PRO 2TB PCIe Gen5 SSD delivers outstanding performance across a wide range of workloads, living up to its specifications with sequential read speeds exceeding 12,000 MB/s and write speeds approaching 11,000 MB/s. Random IOPS performance was also excellent, making this drive highly suitable for both content creation and high-intensity gaming. Sustained throughput remained consistent even under extended load, thanks in part to the robust InnoGrit IG5666 controller and quality 3D TLC NAND architecture. When tested with real-world application data, the drive consistently outpaced most Gen4 models and was competitive with other flagship Gen5 drives.

Thermal performance, however, requires closer consideration. GC PRO is unlike any other drive we’ve tested for its thermal output. This drive gets incredible hot, quickly. The included graphene heat spreader, while sleek and low-profile, falls short under sustained high-speed transfers and does not adequately prevent thermal throttling on its own. In our testing, it proved insufficient during long synthetic benchmarks and large file write operations. This is where the T-FORCE Dark AirFlow I cooler proved beneficial, significantly lowering operating temperatures and maintaining consistent peak performance. The cooler’s design—with heat pipes, aluminum fins, and a focused active airflow—allowed the GC PRO to sustain its top-end performance metrics.

That said, the Dark AirFlow I introduces some acoustic compromise. The small form factor fan, although effective in thermal regulation, produces an audible high-pitched noise under load, especially in otherwise quiet systems. Enthusiasts focused on silent operation may find this distracting, particularly in desktop environments optimized for low noise. Nonetheless, given the GC PRO’s class-leading performance, competitive pricing, and robust warranty, it earns a strong recommendation—with the caveat that effective cooling is essential to fully unlock its potential, and that may come at the cost of some additional system noise.

TEAMGROUP supports the GC PRO with a 5-year limited warranty, which reflects their confidence in the drive’s durability and endurance characteristics. While the SSD is currently available only in 2TB and 4TB capacities, these options should meet the needs of most high-performance users. The pricing is also surprisingly reasonable considering the performance class of the GC PRO, positioning it as a strong value proposition for early adopters of Gen5 storage technology. For users with compatible motherboards and workloads that can truly take advantage of Gen5 speeds, the GC PRO stands out as a smart investment.

Pros
+ Outstanding performance
+ 5-years warranty
+ Reasonably priced
+ Dark Airflow I provides great thermal performance
+ Available in 2TB and 4TB models

Cons
– Graphene plate struggles to effectively cool
– Dark Airflow I cooling fan introduces noise

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