TeamGroup GX2 is a Dram-Less SSD. It comes in the categories of light SATA and budget SATA. The available storage variants are 450GB, 512GB, 960GB, 1TB, and 2TB. But, the most interesting thing is its competitive price.
If you ever search online for an affordable 2.5″ SATA SSD, you get to see its name for sure. You may also see its related variants such as Teamgroup AX2, EX2, GX1, or QX. Each of them will come with almost similar features.
But, in this article, we are going to focus just on the TeamGroup GX2. The item number is T253X2512G0C101. It is one of the most selling and well-rated SSDs in the market. However, most of the buyers are curious to know its pros and cons. The biggest thing that may change your decision is it’s HMB (Host Memory Bus) caching technique.
So, here, in this review, I am going to tell you deeply about all its best and worse things. This is going to be the best and in-detail review of the TeamGroup GX2 SSD. So, without any further delay, let’s get started.
Theoretical Specifications
Before starting with anything else, let’s see what are core specifications that TeamGroup is promising to its users.
| Specifications | TeamGroup GX2 |
|---|---|
| Sequential Read Speed | Up to 530MB/s |
| Sequential Write Speed | Up to 480 MB/s |
| Capacity | 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB |
| Interface/Form-Factor | SATA III 6Gb/s / SATA 2.5″ |
| Dimensions | 100(L) x 69.9(W) x 7(H) mm |
| MTBF (Mean Time Between Failure) | 1 Million hours |
| TBW (Terabytes Written) | 128 GB-100 TB 256 GB-200 TB 512 GB-400 TB 1 TB-800 TB 2 TB-1600 TB |
| OS Supported | Windows, MacOS, Linux |
| Warranty | 3-Years Limited Warranty |
The TeamGroup GX2 supports S.M.A.R.T. and T.R.I.M. commands. The required operating voltage is 5V maximum. Now, to help you understand the features properly, let’s see these benchmarks below.
Synthetic Benchmark Scores
To see whether the GX2 is worth its price, I tested it on my Intel i5 8th computer that has 3200MHz RAM. I used Crystal Disk Mark to test it. You can see the results below. These tests are done on GX2’s 1TB variant only.
| Parameter | Results (Average) |
|---|---|
| Sequential Read Speed | 362.2 MB/s |
| Sequential Read Speed | 287.1 MB/s |
| Random 4K Read Speed | 34.8 MB/s |
| Random 4K Write Speed | 57.4 MB/s |
| Deep Queue 4K Read Speed | 198.4 MB/s |
| Deep Queue 4K Write Speed | 231.6 MB/s |
Note: The results may vary as per your system configuration, product variant, total space filled, and total data to be moved. However, this is the normal range you will get to see most of the time.
OS and Software Loading Time
I also tested this SSD in real-time and tried firing up some software along with my Windows OS. Let’s see the results below.
| Software/OS | Time to load First Screen |
|---|---|
| Windows 10 Home | Within 30 Seconds |
| Adobe Photoshop CS6 | ~25 Seconds |
| Fortnite | ~55 Seconds |
| Google Chrome | Within 5 Seconds |
| Tomb Raider | ~23 Seconds |
These results may also vary as per your overall system configurations such as Graphics Card, RAM, and Processor. But, as compared to the HDD, the GX2 is enough to make your system sharpened.
NAND Flash, Controller, and Cache Storage
The TeamGroup GX2 is using Micron’s 3D TLC NAND for data storage. 64-Layers of flash can be found in all the variants.
If we talk about the controller, this SSD is making the best use of its SMI SM2258XT controller. The controller configurations are Single-core, 4-Channel which are enough for a budget SATA SSD.
No DRAM or other on-board cache memory is available in this SSD. It is making use of the Host Memory Buffer which is actually your system’s main RAM (Random Access Memory).
Endurance
It is normal to have worried about the reliability of any SSD when it is coming without any DRAM or other cache memory buffer. But, in terms of endurance, TeamGroup has claimed great numbers.
The 2TB variant has a massive TBW rating of 1600 TB whereas the 1TB variant has 800 TB, and 512GB has 400 TB endurance limits. Also, the 3-years warranty is enough to test any SSD’s reliability. If it works on your system for 3-years, it will surely last way longer than that with this TBW.
Cache Buffer Issues
You might be worried about the wear-leveling or this product because it doesn’t have a cache buffer. But, there is nothing that you should get tensed about because it supports T.R.I.M. and S.M.A.R.T. These commands are enough to help you with data block management.
The next issues without a cache buffer can be slow random read and write operations. But, as per my testings, this SSD was lacking by very small numbers. If you compare with Crucial MX500 or even SAMSUNG 860 EVO, the random read/write speeds are not that bad. However, you can’t expect any SSD to offer you 100MB/s random write speed at this price point.
Who should buy TeamGroup GX2 SSD?
Anyone with minimal data copy and pasting needs can go for the TeamGroup GX2 without thinking too much. The software and OS loading/booting times will be reduced dramatically if you are switching from an HDD.
These results will be almost similar to any other popular SATA SSD out there. But, if you want to use it to read and write huge data files, it may not be the right pick for you. For example, if you move a 1GB movie from your system to this SSD, it may take way longer than any other SSD that comes with a DRAM or other cache.
What is a better alternative to the TeamGroup GX2?
So, at the same price point, you can easily buy the WD Blue which is a DRAM SSD. You can also go for Crucial MX500 which is again DRAM SSD. However, MX500’s price might be a little bit higher than the GX2. But, its performance is highly recognized.
I am not saying that the GX2 is bad just because it is a DRAM-less SSD. But, if you want to go for a much more reliable and fast SSD, these two are good options for you.
Final Verdict
TeamGroup GX2 is made for those who want a SATA SSD just to improve their software and OS booting times. But, if you want to play games regularly or move heavy files from one system to another, this might not be the perfect fit for you in terms of speed. Otherwise, there are no other serious issues in using it. I have suggested this SSD to numerous clients and it works just fine for everybody with low to moderate data read/write requirements. But, don’t expect it to perform like other top-end SATA SSDs like Samsung 860 Evo or 870 Evo.