AMD Radeon R7 SSD (240GB) Review
by Kristian Vättö on August 28, 2014 6:00 AM ESTFinal Words
To be frank, the R7 does not bring anything new to the table. Performance and feature wise it provides something in between the ARC 100 and Vector 150, but there's nothing earthshaking that would separate it from the masses. Sure, a four-year warranty is unique but with Samsung and SanDisk offering 10-year warranties in their high-end SSDs, the buyers who value a long warranty will likely choose something other than the R7.
| NewEgg Price Comparison (8/24/2014) | ||||
| 120/128GB | 240/256GB | 480/512GB | ||
| AMD Radeon R7 | $100 | $160 | $290 | |
| OCZ Vector 150 | $85 | $140 | $280 | |
| OCZ Vertex 460 | $90 | $140 | $245 | |
| OCZ ARC 100 | $75 | $120 | $240 | |
| Samsung SSD 850 Pro | $130 | $200 | $400 | |
| Samsung SSD 840 EVO | $90 | $140 | $250 | |
| SanDisk Extreme Pro | - | $200 | $380 | |
| SanDisk Extreme II | $70 | $140 | $295 | |
| Crucial MX100 | $80 | $123 | $220 | |
| Plextor M6S | $80 | $135 | $280 | |
| Intel SSD 730 | - | $190 | $340 | |
| Intel SSD 530 | $90 | $140 | $250 | |
The pricing does not make the R7 any better. Right now it is more expensive than the Vector 150, which provides higher performance and a longer warranty along with a higher endurance rating. The R7 must come down in price to make any sense, although even then the R7 will fall into the infamous middle-class. As I have said before, I only see two segments in the client market: the mainstream/value and the high-end market. In other words, the average Joe should just buy the SSD that provides the best value and frankly the MX100 has been dominating that market for the past couple of months. The high-end market, on the other hand, values absolute performance and features, and the R7 cannot compete with the 850 Pro and Extreme Pro there.
It is quite obvious that AMD is going after novice users with the R7 SSD. For someone with very little or no understanding of computers, the AMD branding can provide a peace of mind since AMD is fairly large and visible brand in the industry, but anyone who understands what they are buying should look elsewhere. To put it simply, there are better SSDs available for less money.
Ultimately AMD's biggest opportunity with the R7 SSD is bundles. I would not mind seeing the R7 as a part of an AMD component bundle because there is nothing wrong with the drive, but the pricing must be much more competitive than what the standalone drive currently is. If the total bundle price can put the cost of the SSD roughly in line with other value drives like the MX100, it provides good performance overall; it's just not worth the current price premium when purchased on its own.
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yannigr2 - Thursday, August 28, 2014 - link
Fear only Intel and Nvidia buttons in the front page. An AMD button is just an AMD button. AMD's pockets are empty to influence Anandtech like the other two firms are already for years and without front page buttons influencing other major sites.yannigr2 - Thursday, August 28, 2014 - link
I can only explain like this the high price compared with other disks that perform the same- It targets AMD fans who are willing to pay a little extra for the sticker with the "Radeon" brand on it.
- Rebranding and selling someone else's disk does add extra costs.
- It's not meant really for retail. This is a disk that will improve the total package that an OEM will take from AMD.
SleepyFE - Thursday, August 28, 2014 - link
I think the drive is a bit much for OEMs. That said, it would be good if PCs under 600$ came with an SSD.ExarKun333 - Thursday, August 28, 2014 - link
Seriously AMD? The pricing is terrible and you are essentially looking to sell an inferior product for more than a superior one. Why? smhDoach - Thursday, August 28, 2014 - link
Love the SSD reviews Kristian. Very well written and informative.Curious, why haven't you tested a toshiba q pro series SSD yet? You have tested their partners SSDs but not theirs. According to other sites the performance is about the same as a samsung 840 pro, which is a top performer. The price is right also.
Would love to see you review this model. I saw the reviews on the other sites but your reviews are better in my opinion.
www.amazon.com/Toshiba-512GB-Series-Internal-HDTS351XZSTA/dp/B00FR6VM54/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1409228046&sr=8-3&keywords=Toshiba+ssd
www.tweaktown.com/reviews/6057/toshiba-q-series-pro-256gb-ssd-review-offers-great-value/index.html
Kristian Vättö - Thursday, August 28, 2014 - link
I met with Toshiba for the first time at FMS a few weeks ago and we didn't have a direct contact before that. Let me get in touch with them to see if they can send us some samples.Doach - Thursday, August 28, 2014 - link
That would be great! Looking foward to another great review.Thanks for the reply kristian.
LiviuTM - Thursday, August 28, 2014 - link
Great review, as always.Indeed, MSRP is not competitive at all.
A simple conversion shows the 512GB drive would cost ~220 Euros and that's without taking into account the taxes you pay in Europe.
There are obviously much better choices. Here in Romania you can buy the 512 GB Crucial MX100 for 207 Euros. An even better deal is the 512 GB Crucial M550 which right now is running for just 5 Euro more than MX100 (212 Euros!), after a recent 50 Euro price slash.
i don't need another SSD, otherwise I would have jumped on the offer with my eyes closed.
kyuu - Tuesday, September 2, 2014 - link
Except you can't simply convert the US price to Euros and take that as the price it would be sold for in Europe. That isn't how pricing works.You're also comparing MSRPs to "street" prices. SSDs in particular often sell for much less than their MSRP.
The_Assimilator - Thursday, August 28, 2014 - link
Now all we need are Radeon-branded motherboards and power supplies, and you could build a full system that's shit from top to bottom.