TeamGroup T-Force Z44A5 PCIe 4 2TB M.2 SSD Review

TeamGroup is one of the leading names for high-performance storage and memory, and with the launch of their new Z44 series, they're looking to grab the attention of those wanting to deploy high-speed and high-quality M.2 storage, with three new products in the lineup, the Z44A3, Z44A5, and Z44A7 with a maximum read speed of 3500MB/s, 5000MB/s, and 7400MB/s respectively, and of course, targeting different price points based on the maximum speeds too. With their 2280 M.2 form factor, these drives should be widely compatible with PCs, laptops, slim systems, consoles and more. Furthermore, they come with TEAMGROUP’s exclusive patented graphene heatsink, and quality control features such as garbage collection, TRIM command, LDPC, E2E data protection, and S.M.A.R.T. The A3 and A5 are available in 512GB, 1TB and 2TB configurations, however, the flagship A7 will be available in up to 4TB. Features Effortless upgrade for professional gaming Patented graphene heatsink for enhanced heat dissipation and system operating stability Best choice for NB capacity upgrade Intelligent management technology – trustworthy reliability Patented intelligent health monitoring system Eco-friendly products contributing to conserving the Earth Patented graphene heatsink US invention patent (certificate no.: US11051392B2) Taiwan invention patent (certificate no.: I703921) China utility patent (certificate no.: CN 211019739 U) S.M.A.R.T. software patent Taiwan invention patent (No.: I751753) Packaging & Accessories The T-Force A44A is an M.2 drive, so it's not exactly a big product, and comes in a nice and slim cardboard box, with an oversized photo of the drive on the front showcasing the graphene heatsink. Around the back, we can see the drive uses a PCIe Gen4x4 interface, with read speeds of 5000 MB/s and write speeds of 4500 MB/s, with an international translation telling you the website for more information; overall, pretty simple stuff. Inside, you'll find a plastic clamshell insert, which has the drive securely mounted in between. A Closer Look The T-Force Z44A Series PCIe SSD is nothing we haven't seen before, as it uses the very common 2880 form factor, meaning it is 80mm long, which means a large number of motherboards, laptops, NAS, and consoles will be able to support it without any issues. It's also PCIe 4.0, which is very much commonplace these days compared to the more premium PCIe 5.0 that's typically only on mid-to-high-end newer motherboards and systems. There's a patented design graphene heatsink on the top, it looks like a simple sticker, but as thin as this material is, it has long since proven to be great at heat dissipation. What exactly is patented about it I don't know, as we've seen the same thing deployed on similar products for years, but who knows, maybe they found a way to apply it better and improve cooling a little more, which would always be welcome. The drive features a couple of memory ICs on one side, and I suspect this is the same on the A3 and A7 models, with the flagship A7 4TB most likely utilising memory ICs on both sides of the PCB to increase the capacity. However, its design and slim thermal material on the top mean the form factor is just 1mm thick, which again, will ensure compatibility with the slimmest form factor laptops and notebooks. Beyond that, there's not a lot to see here, it's a PCIe 4 drive, and we've had those for a fair few years now, so while it's not the latest Gen 5 drive, it's safe to say that through manufacturing improvements, Gen 4 drives are at their absolute best right now. Preparation The drive will be formatted as NTFS with default settings, as most users will do. The quick format option isn’t used as that might affect the performance the first time data is written. Modern operating systems all take care of the TRIM command in the background and it isn’t something to worry about for regular users. However, for these reviews, I will add a waiting period between each benchmark to make sure that the TRIM command has been fully executed and finished. After all, we want a clear picture of the drive’s performance with minimal interference from the operating system. Data We will start with a typical benchmark analysis of the formatted drive with various fillage scenarios. However, depending on how a drive is built, the performance may differ depending on how much data it is already storing. The drive will be tested empty and at 25%, 50%, and 75% space usage for this area. We’re using Anvil’s Storage Utilities and CrystalDiskMark for this part of the review. Hardware Processor: Intel Core i9 12900K Graphics Card: XFX Speedster RX 6800 XT MERC Motherboard: ROG MAXIMUS X690 EXTREME RAM: Corsair Vengeance DDR5 5200Mhz 32GB(2x16GB) Storage: Seagate FireCuda 530 PCIe Gen 4 2TB M.2 (Primary Drive) Power Supply: NZXT C1000 Gold Case: NZXT H7 Flow Cooling: NZXT Kraken Z73 RGB Software CrystalDiskMark Anvil’s Storage Utilities ATTO Benchmark Windows 11 64-bit The drive is rated for up to 5000 MB/s read and 4500 MB/s write, and while your choice of motherboard, CPU, RAM and other components can have an impact on this, clearly, the drive is capable of just a little bit more, exceeding the read speeds by 16.84 MB/s, but even more so in the write test, with 297.66 MB/s more than expected! Running the IPS test, we see nearly 250000 IPS on the Q32T1 test, and 165000 in the write IPS, reflecting what we saw in the previous test for overall speed. This is a fantastic score for Gen 4x4 drive, scoring well over 22000 points, and again showing read and write speeds of around 4000 MB/s, keeping in mind Anvil speeds are always lower than that of CrystalDiskMark. The drive gets up to top speed remarkably quickly, hitting around 4.4 GB/s from just 32KB, while many other drives don't get up to speed until 64 or even as far as 256 KB loads. The drive responds every quickly, showing sub 1 second loading times for ISO, program and gaming loads. The access times are extremely fast too, with reads coming in at just 0.015ms, and writes at 0.061ms. AS SSD showed exceptional IPS in all tests, and while not as extreme as Gen 5 drives, this is about the best we've seen from a Gen 4x4 drive. AJA is great for testing the drive for high-end camera devices and with the 10bit YUV 1GB test file, and at over 4000 MB/s it passed with flying colours. For the PCMark 10 storage test, we see it has no issues with gaming loading times, with fast access times in all games, which should mean that drive access times won't cause any unwanted stuttering. For the compression test, things went pretty well, with a couple of drops in the write speeds at regular intervals as new blocks are compressed, but the drive is quickly back to full speed when needed, and overall consistent read speeds throughout A just under 12 seconds the Final Fantasy XVI benchmark scored very strongly, resulting in a rating of "extremely high". Throughout all of our testing, the drive never had any issues with thermal throttling, with a peak temperature of just 49c, it's clear the graphene pad is working well, and it's unlikely you'll even need additional cooling to maintain the drive performance. How Much Does it Cost? I couldn't find stock of the TeamGroup T-Force Z44A5 PCIe 4 2TB M.2 SSD at any of our preferred retailers, which can often happen with new products that are still being distributed. However, I can see it in stock at Clevo Computer, with a retail price of 127.13 EUR, and I expect the UK price to be around £110, in line with similar products on the market right now. However, you can check for up-to-date stock and prices on Amazon here. Overview The T-Force Z44A5 PCIe 4 2TB M.2 SSD not only delivered on its promises, but I think it's fair to say it exceeded them. TeamGroup has a pretty rock solid reputation for class-leading products, winning awards, and having fantastic designs, and their latest effort certainly hopes up to such a reputation. The drive is rated at the maximum for what we would expect from the PCIe 4x4 interface, but even then, it managed to exceed the rated read and write speeds in our testing. I'm not saying that'll be true for every system it's put in, but it's capable of delivering some fantastic read and write speeds. Heat can be a big problem for NVMe drives, and if they get to hot, they slow down to maintain their lifespan. However, even with the 1mm thick design and that ultra-thin Graphene sticker on the top, the drive barely got more than warm after sustained read and write loads from repeated benchmarking. Overall, I think it's safe to say that heat and performance loss will never be an issue here. When it comes to gaming, working or whatever, the Z44A5 is ticking all the right boxes, and while it may not be as fast as the latest Gen 5 drives, I'd hardly call it slow either. Also, Gen 5 drives are a lot more expensive and harder to keep cool, so it seems like a fair trade-off for those looking for less hassle and expense when upgrading their systems or building a new one. Should I Buy One? Gen4 SSDs have been with us for a good few years now, but while it may be "last-gen" technology, years of manufacturing improvements have made them extremely reliable, and affordable, and they're delivering speeds that utilise every bit available on the interface. The T-Force Z44A5 PCIe 4 2TB M.2 SSD performed beyond our expectations with no issues, and would make a great addition to any PC, laptop or console such as the PlayStation 5.