Introduction
The Acer FA200 series of SSDs is a longtime value-oriented model of SSD that has been around since December 2023. These QLC-based SSDs are poised to supply speed and performance at an excellent price-to-performance ratio. The Acer FA200 series offers top-end PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe 2.0 sequential read performance at as much as 7,200MB/s for a wide selection of applications.
The Acer FA200 is a QLC-based SSD, PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe 2.0, utilizing a Maxio MAP1602A controller, YMTC Xtacking 3.0 3D NAND flash, and HMB. It has a sequential read speed of as much as 7,200MB/s and a sequential write speed of as much as 6,200MB/s in 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, and 4TB capacities. The Acer FA200 4TB has an MSRP of $229.99 ($195.49 Prime Day), the Acer FA200 2TB has an MSRP of $129.99 ($109.99 Prime Day), and the Acer FA200 1TB has an MSRP of $72.99 ($61.99 Prime Day). You should definitely click the links within the pricing widget below to see the present Prime Day pricing.
acer FA200 NVMe Gen4 SSD 1TB, PCIe 4.0, M.2 2280, Read Speeds As much as 7200MB/s, Internal Solid State Drive for Laptop, Desktop PC and PS5 Upgrade – BL.9BWWA.124
acer FA200 NVMe Gen4 SSD 2TB, PCIe 4.0, M.2 2280, Read Speeds As much as 7200MB/s, Internal Solid State Drive for Laptop, Desktop PC and PS5 Upgrade – BL.9BWWA.125
acer FA200 NVMe Gen4 SSD 4TB, PCIe 4.0, M.2 2280, Read Speeds As much as 7200MB/s, Internal Solid State Drive for Laptop, Desktop PC and PS5 Upgrade – BL.9BWWA.150
Acer’s SSD Lineup
Acer is a well known and established company within the industry. The Acer-branded storage products are designed and manufactured under official license by BIWIN Storage Technology, which does its own IC packaging and testing and is a manufacturer of flash memory, DRAM, and SSDs. We’ve previously reviewed two different Acer SSDs, the Predator GM7 and Predator GM7000, each value testing. The Acer FA200 we’re reviewing today aligns more with Acer’s general consumer SSD line, for a wider gamut of applications, reasonably than purely gamer-focused. Pricing, for instance, is friendlier attributable to this SSD being a QLC-based SSD with out a DRAM cache.
Should you browse over to Acer’s PCIe M.2 SSD offerings, you’ll find the Acer MA200, which is an M.2 2230 SSD for hardware like handhelds and ultra-thin devices. The Acer MA200 is a PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe 1.4 SSD, in 512GB and 1TB capacities, at as much as 5,200MB/s sequential read. The subsequent model up is the full-sized Acer FA200 M.2 2280 SSD series we’re reviewing today, again, hurries up to 7,200MB/s in capacities from 512GB as much as 4TB (the one we’re reviewing). There may be a lower-tier model, the Acer FA100, which is a PCIe 3.0 x4 NVMe SSD as well. From this, we are able to see the three essential tiers of Acer SSD storage, with the FA200 being the fastest QLC M.2 2280 SSD in the patron lineup.
Now, not all Acer FA200s are the identical. There may be actually a sub-difference between the models, based on the variant of controller used. While all of them use the Maxio MAP1602 controller, there are barely different variants that use different NVMe version protocols. The F1C and F2C use NVMe 1.4, while F3C uses NVMe 2.0. Also, specifically, the 4TB model we’re reviewing uses F3C U, which denotes it as specifically using the NVMe 2.0 protocol and is the very best variant available.
Acer FA200 4TB
The notable feature concerning the Acer FA200 series is that it is a QLC-based SSD, and has all the advantages and pitfalls related to that type. QLC has improved quite a bit over time, and while it had a rough start, the QLC drives of today are higher. In a nutshell, the Acer FA200 4TB is a PCIe Gen4x4 NVMe 2.0 M.2 2280 DRAM-less SSD, counting on Host Memory Buffer (HMB) and an SLC cache. With capacities of as much as 4TB, this provides numerous options for storage capacities for gaming libraries or content creation. There are some various speed differences between the capacities that try to be aware of.
The 500GB model runs as much as a sequential read speed of 6,300MB/s and a sequential write speed of as much as 3,100MB/s, with a 4K random read speed of as much as 600K IOPS and a 4K random write speed of as much as 600K IOPS. The 1TB capability model has a sequential read speed of as much as 7,200MB/s and sequential write speed of as much as 6,200MB/s, and 4K random read speed of 1000K IOPS, and 4K random write speed of as much as 586K IOPS. The 2TB capability model has a sequential read speed of as much as 7,200MB/s, a sequential write speed of as much as 6,200MB/s, a 4K random read speed of as much as 1000K IOPS, and a 4K random write performance of as much as 800K IOPS. The 4TB model that we’re reviewing today has a sequential read speed of as much as 7,100MB/s, a sequential write speed of 6,100MB/s, a 4K random read speed of as much as 1000K IOPS, and a 4K random write speed of as much as 820K IOPS.
Endurance also differs between the models, so take note. The 500GB capability model has a rated endurance of 250 TBW, the 1TB model has an endurance rating of 500 TBW, the 2TB model has an endurance rating of 1000 TBW, and the 4TB model has an endurance rating of 2000 TBW. All models have a 5-year warranty and 1.5M hours MTBF. The Acer FA200 can be importantly as a single-sided SSD, and is compatible with the PS5 and other small form factor or slim profile computer builds, or mobile.
The Acer FA200 4TB PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD is available in an appropriately coloured Acer box, with easy lettering that lets you recognize what’s inside. While it does list the performance on the back, it will not be accurate to the precise model, but reasonably shows the fastest speeds available to the series. The 4TB model now we have for review, for instance, has a max sequential read speed of seven,100MB/s and write speed of 6,100MB/s, not what the box currently states, and this may even be very different for the 500GB model if you happen to selected that option. Accurate speed rankings on the box relevant to the precise model within the box could be welcomed.
Contained in the box, you won’t discover a heatsink; there isn’t a heatsink option with this SSD, but it surely isn’t fully bare, because it uses a thermal conductivity graphene thermal pad, which isn’t an ideal option for cooling by itself. We recommend using your motherboard’s provided M.2 heatsink. What’s within the box, which is a rare breed lately, is the inclusion of an M.2 screw, which is sweet to see. What you furthermore may cannot see within the box is that Acer does provide access to download a free customized version of the Acronis cloning software, in order that could be very nice.
The Acer FA200 4TB PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD is a single-sided SSD, so it’ll make installation easy and really doable in cramped builds, small form factor, not well-ventilated computers, mobile, and the PS5. This can be a standard-sized 2280 M.2 SSD, and there really isn’t anything too fancy here to notice.
It does have the graphene thermal pad in place already, so that you don’t need to apply it, which could be very nice to see. Sometimes SSD manufacturers will keep that separate, and you have got to put in it yourself, sometimes not aligning it straight, not less than this one is already applied for you. Acer does have a thermal throttle and power management system in place. It could actually dynamically adjust SSD operating temperatures and power consumption in order that it doesn’t thermal throttle. Acer also claims high-quality wafers and production, which we all know is manufactured by BIWIN.
