LC-Power was previously only available for cases, monitors and coolers for RAM and CPU. Now the German manufacturer has also entered the SSD market segment. In addition to the Phoenix series, which comes along as SSD in the 2.5-inch format, the manufacturer offers even more powerful solid state drives. With the Phenom Pro series, LC-Power now also offers state-of-the-art NVMe-M.2 SSDs. These can be purchased in the sizes 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB. We would like to take a closer look at how fast or good these are in our test. LC-Power provided us with the Phenom Pro with 1 TB storage capacity for this purpose.
Technical details
| Capacity | 1 terabyte |
| Form factor | M.2 2280 |
| Onterface | PCIe 3.0 x 4 with NVMe 1.3 |
| Read/write MB/s | 3200/2500 |
| MTBF | 2 million hours |
| Flash type | 3D NAND TLC |
| Cache | DRAM cache |
| Dimension product | 80 x 22 x 3.8 mm |
| Price | from 136.91 Euro |
The first impression
Unlike external SSDs, internal solid state drives are of course rarely seen – assuming they work perfectly. Nevertheless, we would like to take a look at the packaging and the Phenom Pro itself.
For me it is always amazing how small a NVMe-SSD in M.2 format is. But with the changed form factor of 22 mm x 8 mm, other changes go along with it. For example, the Phenom Pro, like all other NVMe SSDs in M.2 format, does not offer a SATA connection. You’ll find the same with conventional HDDs and SSDs in the 2.5-inch form factor. You need to keep this in mind before buying a NVMe M.2 SSD. As a rule, the Phenom Pro can only be installed in modern PCs or notebooks. Your mainboard needs an M.2 port to install the Phenom Pro. The advantage in contrast to the conventional SATA port is obvious. You don’t have to use any cables or the like. All you have to do is plug in and screw the Phenom Pro and you are ready to go.
The performance test
Of course, the appearance of an SSD only plays a secondary role. This is especially true for internal SSDs, since they are very rarely seen anyway. That’s why we put the Phenom Pro through some tests and put it through its paces. As it turned out in the test, the Phenom Pro unfortunately didn’t quite reach the read (according to LC-Power: 3200 MB/s) or write (according to LC-Power: 2500 MB/s) speeds specified by the manufacturer. Nevertheless, it offered a really fast performance that should convince gamers in particular. Another downer are the occasional performance drops. This applies especially to the writing process of the Phenom Pro. Here the SSD dropped to half speed for a short time. However, these were only exceptions. The Phenom Pro quickly returned to its old speed after a slump.
Our test system
- MSI Z390I Gaming Edge AC Motherboard
- Intel Core i5-9600K processor*
- 16 GB Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO 3200 RAM*
- MSI GeForce RTX 2070 Super Ventus GP OC graphics card
- Corsair MP510 480GB SSD
- Corsair SF450 power supply
Benchmark
Conclusion
With the LC-Power Phenom Pro, the manufacturer has successfully entered the NVMe-M.2 SSD segment. Especially considering the low price of almost 140 Euro for 1 TB storage space, you really get a lot for your money. After all, the small NVMe-M.2-SSD is blazing fast. Especially PC users who have previously worked with a 2.5-inch SATA SSD or even -HDD should be pleasantly surprised. There is a gigantic difference in speed and performance.
But in a certain way you have to lower your own expectations. The Phenom Pro is not a high-end SSD that can be compared to industry leaders like Samsung. If you can accept that, then you will be very happy with the LC-Power Phenom Pro.
Conclusion
With the Phenom Pro series, LC-Power has successfully entered the market segment of NVMe-M.2 SSDs. Here you get a solid entry-level SSD that the average user will enjoy.
