Sabrent Rocket 512GB PCIe NVMe M.2-2280 Internal High Performance Solid State Drive

EDIT: While my original review was 4 stars, I felt it necessary to bump it up to 5 stars after receiving and installing a heat sink. Before installing the heat sink, my Rocket drive would reach temperatures in excess of 78 C during benchmarks. After I installed a $7 heat sink, the temps now max out in the mid-to high 50s! What a huge difference. And, it no longer seems to be throttling (see third photo). So, I'll leave my original review in place, but keep in mind that adding a heat sink will relieve most of these issues._____________________________________________________________________________________________UPDATE (Feb. 2020)Some like it hot ...I just wanted to give a one-year update. So far, so good. Since installing the heat sink, I've not seen any throttling issues. Under heavy stress (benchmarking, etc.), the drive rarely gets above 55C, and I'm still getting consistent top read speeds of over 3500 MB/s and write speeds over 2K MB/s. If you're seeing temperatures in this range, or even higher, don't be alarmed. I've read that operating temperatures of 60-70C are normal for NVMe drives under heavy workloads. My normal/idle temps are around 25-30C. These drives run hot, so it's not a problem unless you are consistently seeing 60-70 degrees during idle or low workload conditions.Overall, I still think it's a great NVMe drive and well worth the price. The only concern I have is that CrystalDisk Info no longer recognizes the drive. It does, however, show up fine in HWinfo and passes SMART testing, but I'll update if that changes._____________________________________________________________________________________________ORIGINAL REVIEW:If you feel the need for digital speed and you're on a budget, this will do the trick, but with some caveats.PROS:-Very affordable-Can reach very fast speeds-Comes with five-year warranty-Good customer supportCONS:-Gets very hot and throttles-Packaging is very light; drive only, no screws or manualsSUMMARY:While it does seem to hold up to spec on its speeds occasionally, it's very inconsistent. While running sequential read/write tests, my drive hit temperatures of near 80C. The problem with the high temps (other than longevity) is that it seems to begin throttling, which reduces the transfer rate. If you take a look at the attached image, the drive hit 78C during testing. That is way too hot. Consequently, the sequential write speed was only 628MB/s, but should've been near 2K. As far as real-world performance, however, it seems to work OK, and I haven't noticed any freezes while using it with some Steam games I have on the drive.I've really wanted to like this drive. I think Sabrent is a good company, and their tech support tried to help me understand why I was having so many issues with speed and temperatures, so they deserve some credit for that. And, the throttling/overheating issues can be helped somewhat with a heat sink. But, don't remove the sticker ... at least that's what Sabrent told me.As for packaging ... Sabrent, you need to step up your game! There are no manuals, stickers, warranty cards or even screws in the box. There is a five-year warranty, but how would anyone know? BTW: Go to their website to register the drive, and the warranty information is there.As for value, it is really hard to beat the price ($79 in early 2019) for a 512GB 3x4 NVMe drive. The throttling issues are not too noticeable while using applications/games. I mean, even if it throttles down to 1,000MB/s sequential speeds, it's still faster than a SATA SSD. And finally, while the high temperatures are a concern, I feel confident in granting four stars since I have a five-year warranty, which is probably the longest warranty I've ever had for a storage device.

The SABRENT 2TB Rocket NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 Internal SSD is an absolute game-changer. This high-performance solid-state drive has completely transformed my computing experience. I can't believe how fast and responsive my system has become since I installed it. It's like my computer received a turbo boost!This SSD has ample storage space, making it perfect for storing all my important files, games, and media. It's a real workhorse, handling everything I throw at it with ease. Whether I'm editing videos, gaming for hours on end, or just multitasking, the SABRENT Rocket SSD never breaks a sweat.One of the standout features for me is the lightning-fast read and write speeds. It feels like I'm accessing my data at the speed of light. It has reduced load times in my games significantly, and file transfers are a breeze. Plus, it's incredibly reliable, so I never have to worry about data loss.Installation was a breeze, thanks to the M.2 form factor. I didn't need any extra cables, and it fit perfectly on my motherboard. The drive's compact size means it doesn't take up much space inside my PC case, leaving room for additional upgrades in the future.In terms of value for money, the SABRENT 2TB Rocket NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 Internal SSD is a steal. It provides top-notch performance at a price that won't break the bank. I couldn't be happier with this purchase, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone looking to supercharge their computer's performance. It's a game-changer, plain and simple.

It's the third NVMe drive in my system (sounds crazy, I know). Comparing to what I had before, the Sabrent Rocket is really a rocket. It gives the best performance in my system.The pros:1. It stays cool when idle or not much used. My Win10 is installed on this drive and most of the time I see ~28C given the ambient temperature is ~23C. Under a huge load (whole OP queue used, full bandwidth) it rises up to 49C. No heatsink used. A reference HP drive in the same system constantly stays at 54C regardless to the loading. So it seems the power management is good on this device.2. The actual speed in the sequential write is slightly higher than advertised. See the attached screen. However, this parameter is the least useful since a sequential writing of big chunks of data is a very specific use case.3. The random read timing is very good comparing to the same tier devices.4. You can adjust the block size to choose between ease of migration and the device lifespan. The default block size of 512 bytes gives good performance on the default NTFS 4k cluster format, while providing a better wear leveling. The 4K block size let's cloning setups that would not be cloneable otherwise. My personal advise is do not use larger blocks. By spending some extra hours on the full OS reinstall you may save months if not years of your device health.5. Sabrent has a pretty usable tool to get info about the device.The cons:1. The S/N of the device is not listed on the boxes even though there are placeholders for that. So, when you decide to go a nd register the device for the 5 years warranty, you'll have to get S/N via the disk info tools or open you PC box.2. The random write performance is noticeable worse comparing to the same tier devices.All in all, this is a very good NVMe SSD. I think it's priced fair. I cannot give feedback on the reliability yet, but 5 years warranty makes me optimistic.