Our first test of random read performance uses very short bursts of operations issued one at a time with no queuing. The drives are given enough idle time between bursts to yield an overall duty cycle of 20%, so thermal throttling is impossible. Each burst consists of a total of 32MB of 4kB random reads, from a 16GB span of the disk. The total data read is 1GB.  The HP S700 Pro's QD1 burst random read performance is a bit slower than the ADATA SU800 except for the 128GB capacity, but overall the scores are fine for a budget SSD. The S700s all perform similarly and slightly ahead of Toshiba's OCZ VX500 (DRAMless with MLC) and the 128GB SU800. Our sustained random read performance is similar to the random read test from our 2015 test suite: queue depths from 1 to 32 are tested, and the average performance and power efficiency across QD1, QD2 and QD4 are reported as the primary scores. Each queue depth is tested for one minute or 32GB of data transferred, whichever is shorter. After each queue depth is tested, the drive is given up to one minute to cool off so that the higher queue depths are unlikely to be affected by accumulated heat build-up. The individual read operations are again 4kB, and cover a 64GB span of the drive. On a longer test and with some higher queue depths, the HP S700 falls to last place, as expected of a DRAMless SSD. The larger two S700 Pros again come in just behind the SU800, while the 128GB S700 Pro beats the SU800 but doesn't match the planar TLC based PNY CS1311. The power efficiency of the S700 is poor but they're not alone at the bottom of the chart. The larger two S700 Pros are about average. The 120/128GB HP drives saturate around QD8, while the 250/256GB HPs show a little bit of performance improvement beyond QD16 and the 500/512GB HPs are still scaling up at the QD32 limit imposed by the SATA link. Unfortunately, none of them come close to the SATA throughput limit even at QD32. Random Write PerformanceOur test of random write burst performance is structured similarly to the random read burst test, but each burst is only 4MB and the total test length is 128MB. The 4kB random write operations are distributed over a 16GB span of the drive, and the operations are issued one at a time with no queuing. The burst random write performance of the HP S700 Pro is above average at all capacities. The S700 is slowest, but even the 120GB is still more than half as fast as the fastest drive in this bunch. As with the sustained random read test, our sustained 4kB random write test runs for up to one minute or 32GB per queue depth, covering a 64GB span of the drive and giving the drive up to 1 minute of idle time between queue depths to allow for write caches to be flushed and for the drive to cool down. On the longer random write test, the larger two HP S700 Pros maintain average performance while the smallest is at quite a disadvantage, but it's still faster than any other recent 128GB-class SATA SSD. (The 128GB Samsung 850 PRO is very fast, but was discontinued when Samsung migrated to 48-layer 3D NAND.) The 120GB S700 is extremely slow on this sustained test. The larger two S700 Pros that offer decent performance also offer great power efficiency, and the smallest S700 Pro is great for its capacity class. The larger two S700s beat the planar TLC drive on efficiency but are otherwise unimpressive, and the 120GB S700's efficiency is little more than a tenth of the best SATA SSDs. The 512GB S700 Pro's performance scales well from QD1 to QD4, then increases slowly through the rest of the test. The smaller capacities hit the limits of their SLC caches before the end of the test and performance gets much lower and less consistent. The S700s are slow and inefficient throughout the test, but do at least offer the lowest power consumption in absolute terms, hovering just above 1W. The HP S700 Pro SSD is an excellent solid state drive for business use, offering fast speeds and excellent build quality. Pros
Cons
Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test. HP used to be mainly known for PCs and printers, but since those markets began to struggle, it has also turn its hand to components, such as the HP S700 Pro SSD. As the packaging proudly exclaims, this is a solid state drive (SSD) that values high performance, durability, quiet operating volume, and power efficiency – all top concerns for people who are looking for hard drives to install in professional environments where they need to run constantly. At $269.99 (around £210, AU$350) for the 512GB version (which we tested), $169 (around £130, AU$220) for the 256GB version and $89.99 (around £70, AU$1120) for the 128GB version, the HP S700 Pro is competitively priced, though slightly more expensive than the SanDisk Extreme Pro 480GB SSD (though you do get a bit more storage space for your money). As it is SATA 3, it’s not as expensive as a PCIe/M.2 SSD, such as the Toshiba OCZ RD400 512GB, which costs £315 (around $385, AU$500). For that price you are getting a lot more speed, however. FeaturesThe HP S700 Pro uses new 3D NAND technology, which Micron promises will prolong the life of the SSD thanks to an advanced wear balancing algorithm that the company uses in conjunction with the NAND chips. While no one wants to lose data thanks to a dying hard drive, when it comes to professional and business use cases (which the HP S700 Pro SSD is aimed at), data loss can be truly catastrophic, which is why HP is so keen to talk about the various technology – and rigorous testing methodologies – that it uses to ensure the HP S700 Pro SSD is as robust and secure as possible. This includes full tests at HP laboratories, and the use of Higher Order LDPC Error Correction for high speed parallel decoding and real time error correction. It also has a very low power draw when the device it is installed in is in sleep mode – this is especially helpful if you install the HP S700 Pro SSD in a laptop – as the lower power draw will help keep the laptop’s battery charged for longer. The metal body of the drive also acts as a heat sink, keeping it cool when in use. The MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) is an impressive 2,000,000 hours – so you can be pretty confident that the HPS700 Pro will be a reliable device to store your files on. While the common SATA 3 port is showing its age these days, HP promises up to 565MBps sequential read and 520MBps sequential writes. Nowhere near the speeds of M.2 SSDs, but if it can hit those targets it will still offer a substantial speed increase over standard hard drives with moving parts. PerformanceSo does the HP S700 Pro SSD reach the speeds that HP promised? The good news is that it did – and then some. In our CrystalDiskMark benchmark tests – which tests the speed of the drive – we recorded sequential read speeds of 562.3MB/s, roughly what HP promised. The sequential write speeds proved to be around the same as what HP promised, hitting 509.9MB/s. The ATTO disk benchmark backed up these results with 562.8MB/s read and 517.3MB/s writes. There usually is a speed difference, with sequential read speeds being faster (as it’s easier to just read data, rather than write it to disk), but with the HP S700 Pro SSD the speeds are pretty close – which means this is a consistent performer regardless of what tasks you’re using it for. The SanDisk Extreme Pro achieved 547MB/s read and 509MB/s write speeds, making it a slightly slower drive than the HP S700 Pro, with the Samsung 850 Pro managing 550MB/s and 525MB/s read and writes. So, the HP S700 Pro holds up very well against its peers. We also performed some real-world tests, which saw the HP S700 Pro transfer a 1GB file in just 24.07 seconds – so moving large files shouldn’t be an issue with this hard drive. Overall, we were very impressed with the performance of the HP S700 Pro, which offers fast read and write speeds that often exceed its competitors. We likedThe HP S700 Pro is a nicely-designed SSD that comes with a number of features that help prolong its lifespan and ensure that it is a safe and secure place to store files. Its read and write speeds are very good for a SATA 3 solid state drive, and the price is nicely competitive as well. We didn’t likeThere wasn’t really anything we didn’t like about this drive. It’s not quite the fastest we’ve tested, but it offers very good, and consistent, performance. Final verdictIf you want a dependable hard drive with plenty of features for making sure it won’t fail and lose your important files and documents, while offering fast – and consistent – speeds no matter what tasks you ask of it, then the HP S700 Pro is an excellent choice. We were very impressed with both its build quality and its speeds, and the price is pretty good for what you get as well. It’s not quite the fastest SSD we’ve tried – and certainly doesn’t compare to the much more expensive M.2 drives coming out – but if you’re in the market for a dependable SSD for your business needs, we’d heartily recommend this drive. Managing Editor, Core Tech Matt is TechRadar's Managing Editor for Core Tech, looking after computing and mobile technology. Having written for a number of publications such as PC Plus, PC Format, T3 and Linux Format, there's no aspect of technology that Matt isn't passionate about, especially computing and PC gaming. Ever since he got an Amiga A500+ for Christmas in 1991, he's loved using (and playing on) computers, and will talk endlessly about how The Secret of Monkey Island is the best game ever made. |
