Biwin Black Opal X570 2TB SSD Review: Caught In The Middle With You

When was the last time you really saw a high-end DRAM-less SSD? Everybody knows that high performance and DRAM go together, but that connection is not always as direct as it appears. Manufacturers that sell DRAM-less SSDs are usually doing so to entice a budget buyer and, as such, they usually try to save money on the controller and sometimes on the flash. They also design the drive in a way that looks impressive with its peak performance, which can also be abysmal in edge cases. The write saturation result in our recent TeamGroup MP44Q review is a good example of this.

Biwin goes a very different direction with the X570, promising full PCIe 5.0 performance with an eight-channel controller that is DRAM-less but has a more restrained cache for generally better sustained performance. This is a bit like having your cake and eating it too: you can have the benefits of a DRAM-less drive, such as lower cost and potentially better efficiency, while also getting the advantages of a fully-fledged eight-channel controller. This means more bandwidth and higher IOPS than you’d get with a standard four-channel DRAM-less solution.

The Crucial T500 comes to mind as a similar type of hybrid drive in the opposite direction, as it has DRAM but only four channels. In that case, the drive is able to compete with the high-end PCIe 4.0 field while also being suitable for laptop use.

The X570, therefore, ends up caught in the middle in a way that feels similar to the mid-range, Phison E31T-based SSDs like the Crucial P510. Why get a PCIe 5.0 drive and not go for 14 GB/s? Well, you might want to save some money and future-proof on your current PCIe 4.0 system. The X570, in contrast, can achieve maximum bandwidth and should also be less expensive than the high-end alternatives, but it also gives up power efficiency over the E31T drives to get there. This is a bit of a push, but there is one final place where the X570 can attain an edge: capacity. An eight-channel controller can address twice as much flash, which makes the X570 attractive at 4TB with the possibility of 8TB for its controller, something which isn’t really possible on the E31T SSD controller. For an audience that is always asking for larger drives, this helps keep the drive in the fight.

Biwin Black Opal X570 Specifications

The Biwin Black Opal X570, hereby also referenced as “X570” for brevity, is available at 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities. The drive is currently not readily available in the U.S. market, but it, and drives like it, may be in the future. The relevance of this review is contingent on the unique hardware of such drives: a DRAM-less controller that, thanks to having eight rather than the normal four channels, can fully saturate the PCIe 5.0 interface and support higher capacities.

The X570's lack of DRAM and need for a DRAM controller also means that the controller can be smaller, allowing four NAND flash packages on the top side, with the drive pulling less power in general use. This also reduces cost and, additionally, older flash could be used as well, opening the door to some unique solutions.

The X570 is rated for up to 14,500 / 11,000 MB/s for sequential reads and writes and up to 2,000K / 1,500K random read and write IOPS. The warranty is standard at five years with up to 600TB of writes per TB capacity.

Biwin Black Opal X570 Software and Accessories

Biwin’s site has a download for the Biwin Intelligence Software package, which is an SSD toolbox application. This program has health information for the drive, including S.M.A.R.T. values, and has diagnostics, performance testing, and other functions such as firmware updating. Additionally, the software can be used to migrate data or clone a drive.

If you prefer not to use this software, we recommend CrystalDiskInfo for health monitoring, CrystalDiskMark for benchmarking, MultiDrive for imaging, cloning, and backup on Windows, and Clonezilla for a bootable imaging solution.

Biwin Black Opal X570: A Closer Look

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The X570 is single-sided at all capacities. This increases its compatibility with laptops and mobile devices. The drive is rated at 3.3V @ 2A, which translates to 6.6W with some tolerance – this matches the highest power mode via S.M.A.R.T. at 6.5W. In comparison, the earliest high-end Gen 5 drives based on the Phison E26 controller, such as the Crucial T705, are rated to pull up to 11.5W. This is a significant difference, relevant because drives like the T705 required a heatsink and were not suitable for laptop use.

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The flash is labeled BW29F4T08EMLCHQM, which can be decoded as Biwin flash with 4Tb or 512GB packages manufactured in week 10 of this year. It’s 232-Layer TLC flash from YMTC, which is extremely prevalent in budget drives and has been proven to be reliable and performant.

The controller is of more interest. The Maxio MAP1806 is an eight-channel, PCIe 5.0 SSD controller manufactured in the 6nm TSMC process node. This allows it to be more power-efficient than previous 12nm designs. It’s capable of handling up to 3600 MT/s flash, although it’s possible to achieve 14 GB/s with 2,400 MT/s flash. Without DRAM, it has to rely on Host Memory Buffer (HMB) tech, but it still has the benefits of an eight-channel design, whereas all other DRAM-less controllers are four-channel. Running eight channels does mean higher power consumption, but we’ve seen good things out of the SMI SM2508 – see our Sandisk WD_Black SN8100 review – and Phison E28 controllers, which are also made with the 6nm process node.

In fact, the lack of DRAM can reduce power consumption in many cases and certainly lowers cost. Sticking with eight channels means that older, 2,400 MT/s flash can be used, which could be less expensive with more flexibility, without losing the ability to use up to at least 64 1Tb dies. This means that 8TB is on the table, with even 16TB technically being possible. That’s a lot of capacity for a DRAM-less drive. Having eight channels also means a higher level of parallelization with higher, more consistent throughput.

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