Adata SP550 SSD Review

Adata’s SP550 is the first SSD to hit our lab with Silicon Motion’s new SM2256 controller paired with SK Hynix NAND. But does it compete with Samsung’s prolific 850 EVO?

We observed several storage-oriented trends at this year’s Computex that we expect to materialize in the fourth quarter of 2015. One example is extremely low-cost solid-state storage. Since the very inception of affordable client-oriented SSDs, Adata has shown itself to be comfortable competing against other fabless vendors. The company  has several of its own product lines, and additionally builds drives for other brands. In recent years, Adata even increased its visibility by packaging NAND.

Interestingly, the Premier SP550 doesn’t use Adata-packaged flash, but instead pairs Silicon Motion’s SM2256 controller with new three-bit-per-cell NAND from SK Hynix. It’s rare to see that company’s flash outside of cellphones and its own branded SSDs. But SK Hynix continues increasing NAND output to make this possible. Now that SK Hynix is selling flash to third parties, we have another reason to expect plummeting SSD prices through the end of 2015.

TLC NAND needs to be used with a powerful controller capable of advanced error-correction technology. We’ve tested Silicon Motion’s SM2256 in pre-production andretail  form, and if you check out our Silicon Motion SM2256 Preview, you’ll learn more about its LDPC code.