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 4×4 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.
