SSD Description
The ADATA LEGEND 900 PRO is a high-bandwidth PCIe 4.0 NVMe storage solution designed to saturate the limitations of the Gen4 x4 interface. The drive typically leverages a high-performance controller architecture—historically aligning with the Silicon Motion SM2264 or Maxio MAP1602 reference designs depending on the revision—paired with high-density 3D TLC NAND. This configuration utilizes an aggressive SLC caching algorithm to achieve peak sequential read throughput of 7,400 MB/s, positioning it in the upper echelon of the Gen4 performance tier alongside flagship enthusiast drives.
Key Specifications
- Interface: PCIe 4.0 x4 (NVMe 1.4)
- Max Sequential Read: 7,400 MB/s
- Max Sequential Write: 6,000 MB/s (1TB model; lower than 2TB due to fewer NAND dies for interleaving)
- Controller: High-performance Gen4 controller (likely Silicon Motion SM2264 or Maxio MAP1602)
- NAND Type: 3D TLC (Triple-Level Cell)
- Physical Profile: M.2 2280, Single-sided PCB (typically)
- Thermal: Ships with a low-profile aluminum heat spreader; sustained heavy write workloads may induce thermal throttling sooner than drives with high-mass heatsinks
- Encryption: Supports LDPC and AES 256-bit encryption
Hardware Alternatives
- ADATA Legend 960: Shares an almost identical performance profile (7400/6000 for the 1TB model) and likely shares the same underlying Silicon Motion SM2264 architecture
- Transcend MTE250S: Often utilizes similar SM2264 hardware, offering a comparable balance of high read IOPS and sustained write performance
- Samsung 990 PRO 1000GB: A proprietary competitor that offers similar read saturation (7450 MB/s) and typically delivers higher random I/O performance due to a custom in-house controller and LPDDR4 DRAM cache
- Kingston KC3000 1000GB / Seagate FireCuda 530 1000GB: These utilize the Phison E18 controller. While they trade blows in sequential speeds, the Phison E18 platform generally offers slightly more consistent sustained write performance after the SLC cache is exhausted compared to the SM2264 platform