480GB HyperX Predator M.2 PCIe SSD Review

HyperX Predator PCIe SSD Test System

Before we look at the numbers, lets take a brief look at the test system that was used. All testing was done on a fresh install of Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit and benchmarks were completed on the desktop with no other software programs running. Windows has the power option set to high performance.

The Intel Z97 platform that we used to test the M.2 PCIe SSD was based around the ASUS Z97-A motherboard with BIOS 2205 that came out on 02/17/2015. The Corsair Dominator Platnium 8GB 2133MHz memory kit was set to XMP 1.3 memory profile settings, which is 1.65v with 9-11-11-31 2T memory timings. The Corsair Neutron GTX 240GB SSD was used as the primary drive (uses 19nm NAND and M311 firmware).

We tested with the HyperX Predator M.2 PCIe SSD as it arrived in the HHHL adapter. We inserted that adapter into the primary PCI Express Gen 3.0 x16 slot with no other cards installed in any of the PCIe lanes and activated the drive in disk management with a drive letter and performed a quick format with all the default settings. Windows 8.1 had the power option for the system set to high performance.

Intel Z97 Test Bench

Intel LGA 1150 Test Platform
Component	Brand/Model	Live Pricing
Processor	Core i7 4770k	Click Here
Motherboard	ASUS Z97-A	Click Here
Memory	Corsair Platinum 2133MHz 8GB	Click Here
OS Drive	Corsair Neutron 240GB	Click Here
Power Supply	Corsair AX860i	Click Here
Operating System	Windows 8.1 Pro 64-Bit	Click Here

CrystalDiskInfo 6.3.0 Readout:

For the HyperX Predator PCIe SSD 480GB M.2 PCIe SSD, the readout on CrystalDiskInfo 6.3.0 shows that NCQ, S.M.A.R.T. and TRIM are enabled. The firmware version that we are running at the time of testing was 0C34L5TA.

Let’s have a look at the performance!