The HP EX920 M.2 series is ideally suited for both high-end desktops and ultrathin notebooks which require mass storage in a very small footprint. It utilizes exclusive HP PCIe Controller and comes equipped with 2-channel DRAM Cache, delivering extremely high sequential read/write speeds of up to 3200/1800 MBps1, and random read/write speeds of up to 350K/350K2 IOPS. This means you can enjoy quicker application response, more responsive multitasking and smoother gaming experience – without any lag. Moreover, the HP EX920 features advanced 3D NAND Flash memory technology to yield more capacity, performance and endurance. Plus, it undergoes strict tests to ensure maximum durability, reliability and compatibility.
3200MBps1 Max Read Speed PCIe Gen3x4 Interface NVMe 1.3 New Protocol
EX920 features a HP controller with 8 flash memory channels that support PCIe3x4 and NVMe 1.3 standard. Maximize gaming notebook and high-end computer's performance, and increase responsiveness.
The read and write speeds of EX920 reach 3200MBps and 1800MBps 1 respectively. Faster speed, higher efficiency, and compatible with new platform of Intel and AMD to release the potential of CPU motherboard.
EX920 is configured with 2-channel DRAM Cache to improve 4K random performance and reduce latency. EX920 supports NCQ full-speed command queues and TRIM instructions to provide continuous and fast response to notebooks and PCs.
EX920 adopts 3D NAND Flash subject to rigorous HP quality tests, offering better storage density and reliability than general 2D Flash, and improving SSD performance and durability. Its capacity is up to 1TB, which guarantees easy storage for large media files and game. EX920 supports LDPC ECC, improving SSD durability and reliability to meet the expectation of workers with high demands.
With a size of 22x80x3.5mm (2280), EX920 M.2 SSD is a new storage solution with ultra-high performance. Compatible with new generation motherboard architecture, EX920 is applicable to high-end motherboards, notebooks and desktops with PCIe M.2 interface. EX920 also supports HP PC DST self-test, ensuring the durability in use. With the performance improved and capacity upgraded, the efficiency of operation and gameplay is also raised.
Please make sure the M.2 interface on the motherboard supports PCIe before purchase, otherwise it will be unrecognized.
HP EX920 passes strict tests before delivery, including performance test, reliability test, compatibility test, application test, etc. It features low power consumption, low heat and noiselessness. EX920 secures end to end internal firmware and professional-level security key write process can effectively protect against viruses and hacks.
Note:
- The sequential read and write speed of test data is for the capacity of 1TB. The data may vary in different capacity and different test environment.
- The random read and write speed of test data is for the capacity of 1TB. The data may vary in different capacity and different test environment.
Pros: - Has the same performance as the much pricier Sam's NVMe SSD in real-world performance
Cons: - None yet.
Overall Review: That is the thing that you have to look for, which is *REAL* world performance... Sure, if you compare with some other NVMe such as the 960/970 EVO/PRO, the HP EX920 will show lower small-file I/O performance (4K random read/write). But what those 'headline' benchmark does not tell you is that this is usually with queue depth of 32 (i.e. you have 32 simultaneous threads reading or writing to the drive). This is really something that can be seen mostly only in large server/enterprise environments (like a database server handling multiple client request). In every day life however, for practically any regular (and even power) users, there will hardly be more than 2~4 concurrent threads actively reading/writing to the storage at a given time. So, if you look more deeply in the benchmarks, you will see that for a queue depth of 1~4 (QD1 ~ QD4), this drive does perform on par, if not even slightly better, than the competition. Luckily, low queue depth benchmarks tend to be more shown on the Internet lately (as compared with a year or two ago). So, apart if you're doing some exotic stuff, this drive is a MUCH better bang for the buck than the other drives. And even at higher queue depth, it's still pretty good. So, unless you happen to plan to compile the Linux kernel with 32-threads (make -j 32), which in itself would only make sense if you have a really beefy CPU, all day long, I don't see why one would ignore considering this drive. Small file performance is really more important than sequential large file read/write performance, unless you plan to mostly spend your time copying large movie files around rather than looking at them! For it's main competitor, Samsung has undoubtedly been the reference for a long time, so many people just considered them, but HP just came out of the blue, and took a serious grip in the top contenders. Now it just have to make it's name... :) Eric P.S. I'm not affiliated with any of the companies mentioned above, I'm just someone who did a lot of research when I built my system, and went past the big marketing points in the 'front-page' specifications sheets. I had some doubts, considering the low amount of user reviews on this drive. But I'm glad in the end that I did. So this is my small contribution to help others with the same doubts I had. Rule number 1 when reviewing/comparing products, NEVER look at vendors hype and marketing, ALWAYS look at REAL every-day users review. Rule number 2, your primary goal when reviewing products is NOT to find out what it does, but rather what it DOES NOT do, what are the BUGS, what are the LIMITATIONS, and what are the REAL LIFE experience with the product (which is a direct confirmation for the rule 1 above, as vendors will NOT tell you what are the issues... Good independent reviewers will, along with user reviews)! Regards