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Memblaze Launches PBlaze5 SSDs: Enterprise 3D TLC, Up to 6 GB/s, 1M IOPS, 11 TB
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Memblaze Launches PBlaze5 SSDs: Enterprise 3D TLC, Up to 6 GB/s, 1M IOPS, 11 TB

Memblaze has introduced its new generation of server-class NVMe SSDs for mixed and mission critical workloads. The PBlaze5 SSDs are based around Micron’s 3D eTLC memory and paired with a Microsemi Flashtec controller. The SSDs come in PCIe 3.0 x8 AIC or 2.5” U.2 form-factors, carry up to 11 TB of 3D TLC NAND, and feature sequential read performance of up to 6 GB/s as well as random read performance of up to 1M IOPS.

The Memblaze PBlaze5 700 and 900-series SSDs are based on Microsemi’s Flashtec PM8607 NVMe2016 controller that features 16 compute cores, 32 NAND flash channels, and supports everything one might expect from a contemporary SoC for server SSDs (LDPC 550 bit/4KB ECC with a 1×10-17 bit error rate, NVMe 1.2a, AES-256 PCIe 3.0 x8/PCIe 3.0 x4 dual-port, etc.) along with a host of enterprise-grade features. Memblaze further outfits the card with their own MemSpeed 3.0 as well as MemSolid 3.0 firmware-based technologies. The MemSpeed 3.0 feature better ensures consistent performance and QoS, and comes with further priority que management optimizations over the previous version. As for the MemSolid 3.0, it is a stack of reliability and security features of the PBlaze5 900-series drives, which we are going to touch upon later.

Both the 700 and 900 series drives use the same kind of memory — Micron’s 32-layer 3D eTLC NAND flash (384 Gb). Memblaze tells us that the 3D eTLC memory offers higher endurance and reliability, but it does not go beyond that.

Given the same controller and the same kind of memory, performance and power consumption numbers for the PBlaze5 700 and 900-series SSDs are close (the 900-series offers 50% higher random write performance). The 2.5″ drive form-factor PBlaze5 D700/D900 feature sequential read speeds of up to 3.2 GB/s, sequential write speeds of up to 2.4 GB/s, as well as up to 760K random read IOPS. The PCIe card-based PBlaze5 C700/C900 offer considerably higher performance numbers due to two times wider interface (PCIe 3.0 x8): sequential reads up to 6 GB/s, sequential writes up to 2.4 GB/s, and 1.042M read IOPS, respectively. As for power consumption, all the drives use from 7 to 25 W of power, depending on the configuration, workload and settings. However, the similarities between the PBlaze5 700 and 900-series SSDs end here.

The PBlaze5 700 drives are designed for datacenters that require maximum performance, high density and capacity at low power and moderate costs. That said, the PBlaze 700-series are rated for 1 DPWD for five years and come with reliability features that are consistent with other SSDs for hyperscale datacenters.

By contrast, the PBlaze5 900-series drives are aimed at mission critical environments (databases, financial transactions, analytics, etc.) that need enhanced reliability. In addition to extended error correction code (with a 1×10-17 bit error rate), the PBlaze 900-series also supports T10 Data Integrity Field (DIF)-compliant end-to-end data path protection, which results in a Silent Bit Error Rate (SBER) lower than 10-23. In addition, the 900-series takes full advantage of all MemSolid 3.0 enhancements offering features like crypto erase, background scan protection, firmware encryption (one of the first SSDs to support this feature), whole disk encryption, metadata protection, read disturb protection, dual-port capability (U.2 drives only), and so on. For those who need to precisely manage the power consumption of their SSDs, the MemSolid 3.0-based drives offer distinct 15, 20 and 25 W modes. As for endurance, Memblaze guarantees 3 DPWD over five years for its PBlaze5 900-series SSDs.

Memblaze PBlaze5 Series Specifications
  PBlaze5 D700 PBlaze5 C700 PBlaze5 D900 PBlaze5 C900
Form Factors 2.5″ U.2 Drive HHHL AIC 2.5″ U.2 Drive HHHL AIC
Interface PCIe 3.0 x4 PCIe 3.0 x8 PCIe 3.0 x4 PCIe 3.0 x8
Capacities 2 TB
3.6 TB
4 TB
8 TB
11 TB		 2 TB
3.2 TB
4 TB
8 TB
Controller Microsemi Flashtec PM8607 NVMe2016
Protocol NVMe 1.2a
NAND 3D Enterprise TLC NAND memory
Sequential Read 3.2 GB/s 6 GB/s 3.2 GB/s 6 GB/s
Sequential Write 2.4 GB/s 2.4 GB/s 2.4 GB/s 2.4 GB/s
Random Read (4 KB) IOPS 760,000 1,042,000 760,000 1,042,000
Random Write (4 KB) IOPS 210,000 304,000
Latency Read 90 µs
Latency Write 15 µs
Power Idle 7 W
Operating 23 W
ECC LDPC 550 bit/4 KB
Endurance 1 DWPD 3 DWPD
Dual-Port Support – + –
Uncorrectable Bit Error Rate <1 bit per 10-17 bits read
Silent Bit Error – <1 bit per 10-23 bits read
End-to-End Data Protection – T10 DIF/DIX
Crypto Erase – +
Firmware Signature – +
PCIe ECRC – +
Encryption AES-256
Power Loss Protection Yes
Proprietary Technologies MemSpeed 3.0 MemSpeed 3.0
MemSolid 3.0
MTBF 2.1 million hours
Warranty Five years
Additional Information Link Link

Traditionally, Memblaze does not publicly list the pricing of their enterprise SSDs, as pricing is dependent in part on the number ordered and just how the customer wants the drives configured. The company is currently working with its partners on deploying the PBlaze5 drives, and actual volume shipments will begin after their clients validate the SSDs with their respective applications.

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GlobalFoundries Details 7 nm Plans: Three Generations, 700 mm², HVM in 2018
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GlobalFoundries Details 7 nm Plans: Three Generations, 700 mm², HVM in 2018

Keeping an eye on the ever-evolving world of silicon lithography, GlobalFoundries has recently disclosed additional details about its 7 nm generation of process technologies. As announced last September, the company is going to have multiple generations of 7 nm FinFET fabrication processes, including those using EUV. GlobalFoundries now tells us that its 7LP (7 nm leading performance) technology will extend to three generations and will enable its customers to build chips that are up to 700 mm² in size. Manufacturing of the first chips using their 7LP fabrication process will ramp up in the second half of 2018.

GlobalFoundries 7LP Platform
  7nm Gen 1 7nm Gen 2 7nm Gen 3
Lithography DUV DUV + EUV DUV + EUV
Key Features Increased performance, lower power, higher transistor density vs. 14LPP. Increased yields and lower cycle times. Performance, power and area refinements.
Reasons for EUV insertion – To reduce usage of quadruple and triple patterning. To improve line-edge roughness, resolution, CD uniformity, etc.
HVM Start 2H 2018 2019 (?) 2020 (?)

7 nm DUV

First and foremost, GlobalFoundries reiterated their specs of their first-gen 7 nm process, which involves deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography with argon fluoride (ArF) excimer lasers operating on a 193 nm wavelength. The company’s 7 nm fabrication process is projected to bring over a 40% frequency potential over the 14LPP manufacturing technology that GlobalFoundries uses today, assuming the same transistor count and power. The tech will also reduce the power consumption of ICs by 60% at the same frequency and complexity.

For their newest node, the company is focusing on two ways to reduce power consumption of the chips: implementing superior gate control, and reducing voltages. To that end, chips made using GlobalFoundries’ 7LP technology will support 0.65 – 1 V, which is lower than ICs produced using the company’s 14LPP fabrication process today. In addition, 7LP semiconductors will feature numerous work-functions for gate control.

When it comes to costs and scaling, the gains from 7LP are expected to be a bit atypical from the usual manufacturing process node advancement. On the one hand, the 7 nm DUV will enable over 50% scaling over 14LPP, which is not something surprising given the fact that the latter uses 20 nm BEOL interconnections. However, since 7 nm DUV involves more layers that require triple and quadruple patterning, according to the foundry the actual die cost reduction will be in the range between 30% and 45% depending on application.

The 7 nm platform of GlobalFoundries is called 7LP for a reason — the company is targeting primarily high-performance applications, not just SoCs for smartphones, which contrasts to TSMC’s approach to 7 nm. GlobalFoundries intends to produce a variety of chips using the tech, including CPUs for high-performance computing, GPUs, mobile SoCs, chips for aerospace and defense, as well as automotive applications. That said, in addition to improved transistor density (up to 17 million gates per mm2 for mainstream designs) and frequency potential, GlobalFoundries also expects to increase the maximum die size of 7LP chips to approximately 700 mm², up from the roughly 650 mm² limit for ICs the company is producing today. In fact, when it comes to the maximum die sizes of chips, there are certain tools-related limitations.

Advertised PPA Improvements of New Process Technologies
Data announced by companies during conference calls, press briefings and in press releases
  GlobalFoundries
7nm Gen 1
vs 14LPP		 7nm Gen 2
vs Gen 1		 7nm Gen 3
vs Gen 1/2
Power >60% same* lower
Performance >40% same* higher
Area Reduction >50% none yes
*Better yields could enable fabless designers of semiconductors to bin chips for extra performance or lower power.

GlobalFoundries has been processing test wafers using 7 nm process technology for clients for several quarters now. The company’s customers are already working on chips that will be made using 7 nm DUV process technology, and the company intends to start risk production of such ICs early in 2018. Right now, the clients are using the 0.5 version of GlobalFoundries’ 7 nm process design kit (PDK), and later this year the foundry will release PDK v. 0.9, which will be nearly final version of the kit. Keep in mind that large customers of GlobalFoundries (such as AMD) do not need the final version of the PDK to start development of their CPUs or GPUs for a given node, hence, when GF talks about plans to commercialize its 7LP manufacturing process, it means primarily early adopters — large fabless suppliers of semiconductors.

In addition to its PDKs, GlobalFoundries has a wide portfolio of licenses for ARM CPU IP, high-speed SerDes (including 112G), and 2.5D/3D packaging options for its 7LP platform. When it comes to large customers, GlobalFoundries is ready for commercial production of chips using its 7 nm DUV fabrication process in 2018.

Fab 8 Ready for 7LP, Getting Ready for EUV

Speaking of high volume manufacturing using their 7LP DUV process, it is necessary to note that earlier this year GlobalFoundries announced plans to increase the production capacity of their Fab 8. Right now, the output of Fab 8 is around 60,000 wafer starts per month (WSPM), and the company expects to increase it by 20% for 14LPP process technology after the enhancements are complete.

The expansion does not involve physical enhancement of the building, which may indicate that the company intends to install more advanced scanners with increased output capabilities. GlobalFoundries naturally does not disclose details about the equipment it uses, but newer scanners with higher output and better overlay and focus performance will also play their role in HVM using 7 nm DUV that relies on quadruple patterning for select layers.

In addition to more advanced ASML TWINSCAN NXT DUV equipment, GlobalFoundries plans to install two TWNSCAN NXE EUV scanners into the Fab 8 in the second half of this year. This is actually a big deal because current-generation fabs were not built with EUV tools in mind. Meanwhile, EUV equipment takes up more space than DUV equipment because of the light source and other aspects.

EUV: Many Problems Solved, But Concerns Remain

Usage of multi patterning for ultra-thin process technologies is one of the reason why the industry needs lithography that uses extreme ultraviolet wavelength of 13.5 nm. As avid readers know, the industry has been struggling to develop EUV tools suitable for HVM, and while significant progress has been made recently, EUV is still not quite up to scale. This is exactly why GlobalFoundries is taking a cautious approach to EUV that involves multiple generations. Keep in mind that GlobalFoundries does not seem to have official names for different iterations of its 7 nm process technologies. The only thing that the company is talking about now is its “7LP platform with EUV compatibility.” Therefore, all our generations-related musings here are just for a better understanding of what to expect.

ASML has developed several generations of EUV scanners and has demonstrated light sources with 205 W of power. The latest TWINSCAN NXE scanners with recent upgrades have demonstrated an availability that exceeds 60%, which is good enough to start their deployment, according to GlobalFoundries. Eventually, availability is expected to increase to 90%, in line with DUV tools.

Meanwhile, there are still concerns about protective pellicles (films) for EUV photomasks, mask defects, as well as EUV resists. On the one hand, current pellicles can handle productivity rates of up to 85 wafers per hour (WpH), which is well below 125 WpH planned for this year. Basically, this means that existing pellicles cannot handle powerful light sources required for HVM. Any defect on a pellicle can affect wafers and dramatically lower yields. Intel demonstrated pelliclized photomasks that could sustain over 200 wafer exposures, but we do not know when such pellicles are expected to enter mass production. On the other hand, powerful light sources are required for satisfactory line-edge roughness (LER) and local critical dimensions (CD) uniformity primarily because of imperfections of resists.

7 nm EUV Gen 1: Improving Yields, Reducing Cycles

Given all the EUV-related concerns, GlobalFoundries will start to insert EUV for select layers in a bid to reduce the usage of multi patterning (and eliminate quadruple patterning in general, if possible), thereby improving yields. At this time the company is not disclosing when it plans to start using EUV tools for manufacturing, only stating that they’ll do so “when it is ready.” It is unlikely that EUV will be ready in 2018, so it is logical to expect the company to use EUV tools no sooner than 2019.

Such approach makes a lot of sense because it enables GlobalFoundries to increase yields for its customers and to learn more about what it will take to get EUV ready for HVM. In the best-case scenario, GlobalFoundries will be able to produce designs developed for 7 nm DUV with multi patterning using its 7 nm EUV tech. However, one should keep in mind two factors. First, semiconductor developers release new products every year. Second, GlobalFoundries will begin to insert EUV tools into production at least a couple of quarters after the launch of the first 7 nm DUV chips. Therefore, it is highly likely that the first EUV-based chips produced at GlobalFoundries will be new designs rather than chips originally fabbed on the all-DUV process.

7 nm EUV Gen 2: Higher Transistor Density and Line-Edge Roughness

Depending how fast the industry addresses the current EUV challenges related to masks, pellicles, CD uniformity, LER and other things, GlobalFoundries will eventually roll out another generation of its 7 nm EUV process.

The second-gen 7 nm EUV manufacturing technology from GlobalFoundries will feature improved LER and a better resolution, which the company hopes will enable higher transistor densities with lower power and/or higher performance. Though given the experimental nature of the tech behind this process, as you’d expect GlobalFoundries is not saying when certain problems are to be resolved and when it can offer appropriate services to its customers.

Finally, 3rd Gen 7LP will likely introduce some new design rules to enable geometry scaling and/or higher frequencies/lower power, but in general I’m expecting that the transition to this process should be relatively seamless to IC designers. After all, the majority of layers will still use DUV. The only question is whether GlobalFoundries will need to install additional TWINSCAN NXE scanners into the Fab 8 for its 2nd Gen 7 nm EUV process technologies, which would also indicate that the number of layers processed using EUV had increased.

5 nm EUV: Adjustable Gate-All-Around FETs

A week before GlobalFoundries disclosed their 7LP platform plans, IBM and their Research Alliance partners (GlobalFoundries and Samsung) demonstrated a wafer processed using a 5 nm manufacturing process. ICs on the wafer were built using silicon nanosheet transistors (aka gate-all-around FETs [GAA FETs]) and it looks like they will be building blocks for semiconductors in the future. The big question of course is when.

GAA FETs developed by IBM, GlobalFoundries, and Samsung stack silicon nanosheets in such a way that every transistor now has four gates. The key thing about GAA FETs is that the width of nanosheets can be adjusted within a single manufacturing process or even within the IC design to fine-tune performance or power consumption. When it comes to performance/power/area(PPA)-related improvements, IBM claims that when compared to a 10 nm manufacturing process, the 5 nm technology offers 40% performance improvement at the same power and complexity, or 75% power savings at the same frequency and complexity. However keep in mind that while IBM participates in the Alliance, announcements by IBM do not reflect the actual process technologies developed by GlobalFoundries or Samsung.

IBM, GlobalFoundries, and Samsung claim that adjustments to GAA FETs were made using EUV, which is logical as the three companies use an ASML TWINSCAN NXE scanner at the SUNY Polytechnic Institute’s NanoTech Complex (in Albany, NY) for their R&D work. Technically, it is possible to produce GAA FETs using DUV equipment (assuming that it is possible to get  the right CD, LER, cycle times, etc.), but it remains to be seen how significantly the 5 nm process and designs will rely on EUV tools.

Industry FinFET Lithography Roadmap, HVM Start
Data announced by companies during conference calls, press briefings and in press releases
  2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
1H 2H 1H 2H 1H 2H 1H 2H
GlobalFoundries 14LPP 7nm DUV 7nm with EUV* 5nm (?)
Intel 14 nm
14 nm+		 14 nm++
10 nm		 10 nm+
10 nm++
Samsung 14LPP
14LPC		 10LPE 10LPP 8LPP
10LPU		 7LPP 6 nm* (?)
SMIC 28 nm** 14 nm in development
TSMC CLN16FF+ CLN16FFC CLN10FF
CLN16FFC		 CLN7FF
CLN12FFC		 CLN12FFC/
CLN12ULP		 CLN7FF+ 5 nm* (?)
UMC 28 nm** 14nm no data
*Exact timing not announced
**Planar		  

Neither of the three members of the Research Alliance talked about timeframe of 5 nm HVM, but a wild guess would put 5 nm EUV in 2021 (if not later).

Some Thoughts

Wrapping things up, based on recent announcements it’s looking increasingly likely that EUV will in fact make it out of the lab and intro high volume production. In just the past couple of weeks GlobalFoundries and two of its development partners have made several announcements regarding EUV in general, increasingly calling it a part of their future. This does not mean that they do not have a Plan B with multi patterning, but it looks like EUV is now a part of the mid-term future, not the long-term one. Still, it’s telling that no one is giving a deadline for EUV beyond “when it is ready.”

Just like GlobalFoundries said before (like other foundries), the insertion of EUV equipment into their manufacturing flow would be gradual. The company plans to install two scanners this year to use them for mass production several quarters down the road, but GlobalFoundries has not made any further announcements beyond that. Ultimately while the future for EUV is looking brighter, the technology is still not ready for prime time, and for the moment no one knows quite when it’ll finally meet all of the necessary metrics for volume production.

Finally, speaking of the 7LP platform in general, it is interesting that GlobalFoundries will be primarily targeting high-performance applications with the new technology, and not mobile SoCs like some other contract fabs. This despite the fact that the 7LP platform supports ultra-low voltages (0.65 V) and should be able to address mobile applications. So from a performance/power/area point of view, while the 7LP manufacturing process looks rather competitive, it remains to be seen just how GlobalFoundries’ partners will use the capabilities of the new process.

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FreeTail EVOKE Series CompactFlash Cards Capsule Review
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FreeTail EVOKE Series CompactFlash Cards Capsule Review

Digital cameras and camcorders employ memory cards (flash-based removable media) for storage of captured content. There are different varieties of memory cards catering to various performance levels. CompactFlash (CF) became popular in the late 90s, but, has now been overtaken by Secure Digital (SD) cards. Despite that, cameras with CF card slots are still getting introduced into the market. Today, we will be taking a look at a couple of CF cards in the EVOKE series from FreeTail Tech.

Introduction

CompactFlash (CF) was introduced back in 1994 as a mass storage device format, and it turned out to be the most successful amongst the first set of such products. Electrically, it is based on a parallel ATA (PATA) interface, which means that there is hard transfer rate cap at 167 MBps. However, this is more than sufficient even for current-day 4K video encodes.

​Having been overtaken by Secure Digital (SD) cards in terms of volume shipment, the price per GB of CF cards is not very attractive. However, certain cameras leave the consumer with no choice. FreeTail Tech is aiming to serve this market segment with the EVOKE series of CF cards – the main push is in terms of value for money.

​There are two members in the EVOKE series – the EVOKE and EVOKE Pro. The former is the 800x variant, while the Pro is the 1066x variant. There are three capacity points in each – 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB. FreeTail sent over the 800x and 1006x 256GB models for review.

Testbed Setup and Testing Methodology

Evaluation of memory cards is done on Windows with the testbed outlined in the table below. The USB 3.1 Type-C port enabled by the Intel Alpine Ridge controller is used for benchmarking purposes on the testbed side. CF cards utilize the Lexar Professional Workflow CFR1 CompactFlash UDMA 7 USB 3.0 Reader. The reader was placed in the Lexar Professional Workflow HR2 hub and uplinked through its USB 3.0 port with the help of a USB 3.0 Type-A female to Type-C male cable.

AnandTech DAS Testbed Configuration
Motherboard GIGABYTE Z170X-UD5 TH ATX
CPU Intel Core i5-6600K
Memory G.Skill Ripjaws 4 F4-2133C15-8GRR
32 GB ( 4x 8GB)
DDR4-2133 @ 15-15-15-35
OS Drive Samsung SM951 MZVPV256 NVMe 256 GB
SATA Devices Corsair Neutron XT SSD 480 GB
Intel SSD 730 Series 480 GB
Add-on Card None
Chassis Cooler Master HAF XB EVO
PSU Cooler Master V750 750 W
OS Windows 10 Pro x64
Thanks to Cooler Master, GIGABYTE, G.Skill and Intel for the build components

The full details of the reasoning behind choosing the above build components can be found here.

Sequential Accesses

FreeTail claims speeds of up to 160 MBps reads and 85 MBps writes for the 800x card. The 1066x one comes in at 160 MBps reads and 150 MBps writes. However, real-world speeds are bound to be lower. For most applications, that really doesn’t matter as long as the card is capable of sustaining the maximum possible rate at which the camera it is used in dumps data. We use fio workloads to emulate typical camera recording conditions. We run the workload on a fresh card, and also after simulating extended usage. Instantaneous bandwidth numbers are graphed. This gives an idea of performance consistency (whether there is appreciable degradation in performance as the amount of pre-existing data increases and / or the card is subject to wear and tear in terms of amount and type of NAND writes). Further justification and details of the testing parameters are available here.

Freetail 1066x 256GBFreetail 800x 256GBLexar 1066x 128GB

Freetail 1066x 256GBFreetail 800x 256GBLexar 1066x 128GB

In the fresh state, the card exhibits very good consistency. The 1066x variant shows that it can handle sustained writes at around 110 MBps, and reads around 135 MBps. The corresponding numbers for the 800x variant are 70 MBps and 130 MBps. The other card that we have evaluated before (the Lexar 1066x 128GB) shows better consistency with reads, though overall benchmark numbers are roughly the same between the two 1066x cards.

​In the used card scenario, we see that the 800x card has no trouble retaining write consistency, but the 1066x card would occasionally go down to around 80 MBps from the 110 MBps fresh performance number. The read is more interesting. Both cards start off with numbers similar to the fresh case (around 130 MBps), but, end up at around 100 MBps after reading around one-sixth of the card capacity. The Lexar 1066x card doesn’t have any such issues

AnandTech DAS Suite – Performance Consistency

The AnandTech DAS Suite involves transferring large amounts of photos and videos to and from the storage device using robocopy. This is followed by selected workloads from PCMark 8’s storage benchmark in order to evaluate scenarios such as importing media files directly into multimedia editing programs such as Adobe Photoshop. Details of these tests from the perspective of memory cards are available here.

In this subsection, we deal with performance consistency while processing the robocopy segment. The graph below shows the read and write transfer rates to the memory card while the robocopy processes took place in the background. The data for writing to the card resides in a RAM drive in the testbed. The first three sets of writes and reads correspond to the photos suite. A small gap (for the transfer of the videos suite from the primary drive to the RAM drive) is followed by three sets for the next data set. Another small RAM-drive transfer gap is followed by three sets for the Blu-ray folder. The corresponding graphs for similar cards that we have evaluated before is available via the drop-down selection.

Freetail 1066x 256GBFreetail 800x 256GBLexar 1066x 128GB

Both cards show that they can sustain 25 MBps+ even with a large number of small files. Large files (typical videos) make the card exhibit their best performance.

AnandTech DAS Suite – Bandwidth

The average transfer rates for each workload from the previous section is graphed below. Readers can get a quantitative number to compare the Freetail 1066x 256GB CF card against the ones that we have evaluated before.

robocopy - Photos Read

robocopy - Photos Write

robocopy - Videos Read

robocopy - Videos Write

robocopy - Blu-ray Folder Read

robocopy - Blu-ray Folder Write

The Lexar 1066x card has a slight edge in the write workloads, but reads often favor the FreeTail cards.

We also look at the PCMark 8 storage bench numbers in the graphs below. Note that the bandwidth number reported in the results don’t involve idle time compression. Results might appear low, but that is part of the workload characteristic. Note that the same testbed is being used for all memory cards. Therefore, comparing the numbers for each trace should be possible across different cards.

robocopy - Photoshop Light Read

robocopy - Photoshop Light Write

robocopy - Photoshop Heavy Read

robocopy - Photoshop Heavy Write

robocopy - After Effects Read

robocopy - After Effects Write

robocopy - Illustrator Read

robocopy - Illustrator Write

Performance Restoration

The traditional memory card use-case is to delete the files on it after the import process is completed. Some prefer to format the card either using the PC, or, through the options available in the camera menu. The first option is not a great one, given that flash-based storage devices run into bandwidth issues if garbage collection (processes such as TRIM) is not run regularly. Different memory cards have different ways to bring them to a fresh state.Based on our experience, CF cards have to be formatted after all the partitions are removed using the ‘clean’ command in diskpart.

In order to test out the effectiveness of the performance restoration process, we run the default sequential workloads in CrystalDiskMark before and after the formatting. Note that this is at the end of all our benchmark runs, and the card is in a used state at the beginning of the process. The corresponding screenshots for similar cards that we have evaluated before is available via the drop-down selection.

Freetail 1066x 256GBFreetail 800x 256GBLexar 1066x 128GB

We find that CF cards don’t have significant performance loss after being subject to our stress test. Therefore, the performance gain from the refresh process is also minimal across all our tested cards.

Concluding Remarks

The FreeTail 800x and 1066x cards perform as well as the Lexar 1066x cards for almost all relevant content capture workloads. The Lexar card does have the edge in some of the atypical benchmarks that are part of the PCMark 8 storage bench, but, it is highly unlikely that CF cards are going to be subject to such scenarios (SD cards are a different story, as they are often used in embedded systems and mobile devices).

In addition to raw performance and consistency, pricing is also an important aspect. This is particularly important in the casual user and semi-professional markets, where the value for money metric often trumps benchmark numbers. The table below presents the relevant data for the Freetail 1066x and 800x 256GB CF cards and other similar ones that we have evaluated before. The cards are ordered by the $/GB metric.

CF Cards – Pricing (as on June 15, 2017)
Card Model Number Capacity (GB) Street Price (USD) Price per GB (USD/GB)
FreeTail 800x 256GB FTCF256A08 256 145 0.57
FreeTail 1066x 256GB FTCF256A10 256 171 0.67
Lexar 1066x 128GB LCF128CRBNA1066 128 110 0.86

We find that the FreeTaiil cards handily beat the Lexar one in the value proposition metric. Based on our testing, we have no qualms in recommending either FreeTail card for purchase. Semi-professional and casual users will find the pricing to be very attractive.

FreeTail Tech is offering a 10% discount code on Amazon for AnandTech readers. Please enter the code ANAND101 at checkout