Will a budget SSD be a good contender against high-priced SSDs in the market? We’ll soon find out.

ADATA has been known for its storage solutions, and with their jump to the gaming peripherals market with the XPG series, they are becoming a promising brand for gamers. Now with their release of the XPG SX8200, it promises a high performance SSD M.2 with a price tag that does not hurt on your budget. Let’s take a look:

Specifications:

• Form Factor: M.2 2280
• NAND Flash: 3D TLC
• Controller: SMI
• Dimensions (L x W x H): 22 x 80 x 3.5 mm
• Weight: 8g / 0.28oz
• Interface: PCIe Gen3x4
• Performance(Max):
• Read 3500MB/s , Write 3000MB/s
• Maximum 4K random read/write IOPS : up to 390K/380K
• Operating temperature: 0°C – 70°C
• Storage temperature: – 40°C – 85°C
• Shock resistance: 1500G/0.5ms
• MTBF: 2,000,000 hours

The review unit that was tested is the 256GB variant

Like any M.2 SSDs, the XPG SX8200 Pro has no special casing or whatsoever, so those who are expecting any fancy designs on the SSD stick should be aware that these are placed on the PCIe Gen3 ports which aren’t very visible from your motherboard inside your computer when displayed on your desktop. It also includes a heatsink that can act as a cover for the SSD which has the XPG logo and black/red color scheme. The SX8200 Pro has the standard M.2 2280 form factor that is sized at around 80mm, which will fit into any of the latest motherboards that has a PCIe Gen3x4 slot. Unfortunately it does not include the CM2x3-3.3 screw that is a standard screw for installing the SSD on your board, you may have to acquire one from your local PC or hardware shop.

Featuring the latest Micron 65-layer TLC and SMI SM2262EN controller that promise faster read and write speed performance, though the memory is the same as with its non-Pro counterpart, the newest SM2262EN controller makes up for it as it improves power consumption.

As for performance, we tested the SX8200 Pro on its sequential reading and writing speeds as well as loading time performance in games. We used several benchmark tools and games to see how the SSD will perform.

Crystal Disk showed some great results when tested for sequential read/write. After tested in multiple sizes, it still managed to have almost consistent writing speed even on larger size. Transferring files is a breeze for the SX8200 Pro as we tested it on Diskbench, it managed to move large files in lesser time as shown on the chart. We also used HD Tune for additional tests on transfer speed. We made some tests from moving large sized files from different hard drive sources.

As for games, we loaded a save file from Final Fantasy XV which is known to have a long loading time that could take minutes when booting up a game up to its current save state, and so far it managed to load at around 30 seconds. We did the same test with Monster Hunter World and it managed to load the game quite fast at seconds. We then tested it on the Final Fantasy XIV Stormblood and Shadowbringers benchmark to see more results for games, and it did managed to perform well from these benchmark tools.

Overall, the XPG SX8200 Pro provides a fast performing NVMe M.2 SSD at a very reasonable price. It can go toe-to-toe with other PCI Express M.2 SSDs that are almost double the price tag. The SX8200 has several variants that suits gamers for specific storage capacity which gives more options depending on their needs and budget. So if you are looking for a great performance SSD for your new desktop or just upgrading your rig without spending too much, then you should opt for the SX8200 Pro.