SK hynix Platinum P41 2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD Review – “Runs Hot, But That’s Okay” States Manufacturer

SK hynix Inc. is one of the world's premium semiconductor suppliers that offer Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM), flash memory (NAND flash), and, more recently, CMOS Image Sensors (CIS). The company contacted us at Wccftech to try the SK hynix Platinum P41 2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, offering 7000 MB/s sequential read and 6500 MB/s sequential write speeds. Just check out the product video below.

Okay. So, it is just an M.2 NVMe SSD, but there is a lot of power packed in such a small form factor.

Dune? Anybody?

Anyway, let's get back to the review, shall we?

SK hynix Platinum P41 2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs

SK hynix Platinum P41 2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs come in an M.2 2280 single-side form factor with 500 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB capacities, and measuring (22.00±0.15) x (80.00±0.15) x (Max. 2.38) mm. The SK hynix Platinum P41 2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs utilize the company's 176L 3D TLC NAND Flash technology and use a PCIe 4.0 NVMe interface with up to four lanes. The voltage level for the SSD is rated at 3.3V±5%.

On average, the SK hynix Platinum P41 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs offer a sequential read of 7,000 MB/s for all available products, 4,700 MB/s sequential write speeds on the 500 GB model and 6,500 MB/s on the 1 and 2 TB models. Random read and write performance is 960K IOPS and 1,000K IOPS, respectively, for the 500 GB drive, and 1,400K IOPS and 1,300K IOPS, respectively, with the 1 TB and 2 TB models. The drive can support 256 queues and 1,024 queue depths for each.

The SK hynix Platinum P41 2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD offers several additional features, such as:

• Trim Support
• SMART Support
• GC (Garbage Collection)
• Encryption support for AES 256-bit encryption and TCG Pyrite supported
• Device Sleep Mode support

The review title hints that this drive runs hot, and I wasn't kidding. On the website, the temperature range operation is rated from 0° C up to 70° C, which, after conversion, is 32° F up to 158° F! I was shocked when, during testing, the drive was topping at around 64° C and "in the red" on CrystalDiskInfo version 8.17.14.0. After researching and finding that it was customary for the SSD to run hotter than usual, I continued writing the review.

SK hynix Platinum P41 2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD — Unboxing and Inspection

The box shows the iridescent purple and blue diamond we saw in the above videos, with the "2 TB" labeling at the bottom. I like the packaging in both its design and matte finish. On the back, it shows the form factor and has a QR code to take you to the product website.

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Once again, I panicked a little when opening the package because the inner packaging, which is environmentally friendly, was all I saw. I thought I received a factory defect and would need to contact my representative for SK Hynix, but I found that it was only the lid, and the drive was nestled gently inside.

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On top of the drive, we see the label for the SK hynix Platinum P41 2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, which shares a similar logo and imagery as the packaging. On the flip side of the SSD, you can see the product number, serial number, power rating, and additional information. SK hynix included the package's user instructions and the company's terms and conditions.

The test PC we are using today is the same one that I use for most components and peripherals:

• Processor: Intel 12th Gen Core i7-12700K
• Graphics Card: MSI RTX 3080 LHR 10 GB GDRR6X
• DRAM: Kingston Fury Beast 16 GB DDR4-5600 RAM
• Motherboard: ASUS Prime Z690-P WiFi LGA 1700 ATX
• Operating/Secondary System Drive: Samsung SSD 870 EVO 1 TB (x 2)
• M.2 SSD: Kingston Fury Renegade 2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 2280 with an additional heat sink (tested simultaneously with this SSD)
• Power Supply: Thermaltake 850W
• Operating system: Windows 11 Pro Version 22H2, OS build 22621.1702

Installation was pretty easy. The ASUS Prime Z690-P motherboard offers three slots for M.2 form-factor drives, one under a dedicated M.2 metallic heatsink. The other two slots are located in two different locations, so I opted to place the SK hynix Platinum P41 2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD under the metallic heatsink in hopes that it would help keep the drive cool since it does not have a heatsink installed.

SK hynix Platinum P41 2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD — Performance Benchmarks

Our Senior Editor of Hardware, Hassan Mujtaba, has an extensive list of SSDs in his review of the Solidigm P41 Plus 2 TB and 1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD. The SK hynix Platinum P41 2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD fits in between the TeamGroup CARDEA A440 1 TB Gen 4, with a 4K Random Read/Write IOPS of 750K, and the MSI SPATIUM M480 2 TB Gen 4 SSD, with a 4K Random Read/Write IOPS of 700K and 650K, respectively.

AS SSD Benchmark

The AS SSD Benchmark is a Windows 10 utility application that tests the performance of solid-state drives. It will allow users to find the speed of all installed SSDs and assist with any issues during testing. The free application performs three tests to supply definitive proof of the drive's behavior while copying, reading, and writing data. Additionally, the utility will determine the access time, speed, and performance capabilities of the SSD (s).

The SK hynix Platinum P41 2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD performance in AS SSD Benchmark scored better than the Samsung 980 PRO 1 TB Gen 4 SSD, which previously scored 8.6K, but underperformed compared to the TeamGroup GARDEA A440 1 TB Gen 4, which scored 11.7K.

ATTO Disk Benchmark

ATTO is the industry's leading high-performance storage and network connectivity product provider. The company has created a widely-adopted Disk Benchmark software tool, also free, to assist in measuring storage performance. ATTO Disk Benchmark identifies performance in hard drives, SSDs, RAID arrays, and the host connection to attached storage. Leading drive manufacturers like Hitachi build and test every drive using the ATTO Disk Benchmark. It has Windows and Mac compatibility, allowing users to utilize the tool to test any manufacturer's RAID controllers, storage controllers, host bus adapters (HBAs), hard drives, and SSD drives.

For the ATTO Disk Benchmark testing, on average, the sequential read was 5820 MB/s, and the sequential read was 5690 MB/s. Compared to the MSI SPATIUM M480 2 TB Gen 4 SSD, the SK hynix Platinum P41 2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD is rated less by nearly 1280 MB/s but outshines the Samsung 980 PRO 1 TB Gen 4 SSD by 720 MB/s and 1300 MB/s, respectively.

Crystal Disk Mark 7.0.0 x64

CrystalDiskMark is considered an alternative to ATTO Disk Benchmark. It measures sequential reads/writes speed, measure random 512KB, 4 KB, 4 KB (Queue Depth=32) reads/writes speed, selects test data (Random, 0Fill, 1Fill), and much more.

Again, the SK hynix Platinum P41 2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD is comparable to the MSI SPATIUM M450 1 TB Gen 4 SSD, Inland Gaming Performance Plus 2 TB Gen 4 SSD, and the Samsung 980 PRO 1 TB Gen 4 SSD in Crystal Disk Mark 7.0.0 x64 SEQ1M Q8T1 results. In contrast, the Crystal Disk Mark 7.0.0 x64 4KiB Q1T1 testing adds the TeamGroup CARDEA A440 1 TB Gen 4 SSD to the line of other mentioned solid-state drives.

SK hynix Platinum P41 2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD — Conclusion

The SK hynix Platinum P41 2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD keeps acceptable performance with the likes of MSI, TeamGroup, and Samsung, and the temperature level was average, not only by the manufacturer but also compared to other non-heatsink SSDs.

Pricing on the SK Hynix Amazon store for the SK hynix Platinum P41 2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD is $156.99. Compared to other SSDs, Samsung's 980 PRO with the same form factor is only $139, but the 990 PRO variant is less than $30 more. It is in the Top 100 on Amazon and offers exceptional performance for a premium price. It might be worth waiting for a sale, but it is possible that the price may not change until the next generation releases.

8.5

Wccftech Rating

The SK hynix Platinum P41 2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD is a decent performaning solid-state drive in a M.2 2280 form factor. It runs hot, but with most other companies that sell non-heatsink included SSDs having the same temperature issues, the price is the only thing that would hesitate consumers into purchasing immediately.

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