User Review eVM SSD - 2.5" SATA 1 TB

This is not really going to be a detailed review, since I don't have the tools or the knowhow to do a detailed review.

I had been seeing this SSD on onlyssd.com for a while now. This is the cheapest 1 TB SSD currently available online. It cost me only 4099.

My primary purpose for this SSD is creating a backup server for my photos. My photos currently reside on my Synology NAS and a backup copy is kept on an external HDD. This purpose was currently being served by a Raspberry Pi. However, I want to move the setup to a Libre Computer. Since the Libre Computer has a 2 Amp power supply, as opposed to the Pi's 3 Amp, I felt it might not be able to safely power an HDD. I also saw this as an opportunity to test out this SSD.

I ordered this SSD yesterday morning from OnlySSD.com (PrimeABGB). Since the shop is in Mumbai, same as me, I received it in just 1 day. It came in a fairly standard packaging, hard plastic pack inside a box. The package contained nothing else other than the SSD itself (not even a warranty card).

Out of the box, the SSD feels solidly built. I have 2 other SATA SSDs with me (one from Oscoo and one from Kingston) and this one feels the most solid of the three. Not that it matters a lot for an internal SSD, but a well built product does inspire confidence.

To initialize and test it, I first connected it to my NUC via an Orico enclosure over USB 3.0. I was surprised to see the capacity as 956 GB on Windows. For a 1 TB drive, it's pretty much standard that it would be 931.5 GB. So unlike other HDDs and SSDs I've owned, which count 1 TB as 1000 GB, this one counts 1 TB as 1024 GB, hence the higher capacity. My WD Black 1 TB is also 931.5 GB.

I then fired up Crystal Disk Info, hoping to find out the internal model number, and thereby the original manufacturer of the SSD. To my surprise, it just showed EVM SSD, pointing to a clean white-labelled product. Searching for the number shown in Firmware points to Netac SSD, but I can't be entirely sure if that's the original manufacturer of this SSD. The drive or the box itself gives no indication as to the original manufacturer. It's worth noting though that the box says Country of origin: Taiwan, but Netac is a Chinese company, has no manufacturing facilities in Taiwan. It's also worth noting that eVM's website gives no indication that it is an importer and claims to sell products manufactured in India. Techies here would very well know that there are no flash drive manufacturing facilities in India as of yet.
CrystalDiskInfo_20230302210725.png


I then tried copying a 2 GB file to the SSD over USB. I got a write speed of 300 MBps for the entire file (i.e., less than 7 seconds). I will be trying out with larger files later. As of now, I didn't have any on my NUC and the SSD was not detected by my Synology NAS for some reason.

I then proceeded to run Crystal Disk Mark, the results of which are shown below:
CrystalDiskMark_20230302210310.png


The results are fairly impressive, given the price of the SSD.

Lastly, I would like to point out a few things.
  • I could not find any reviews or specs of any eVM SSD online.
  • The official website does not give a spec sheet or anything similar.
  • There is no mention of an endurance rating anywhere. It says it has 5 years warranty, so I hope it wouldn't be too bad. The warranty policy also does not mention any TBW limits.
I will be posting pictures of the SSD tomorrow.
 
I have also been thinking about buying SSDs for backing up photos. Main reason being losing data 2 times when my 2 HDDs died. Now I know better and can tell beforehand when my HDD is gonna die.

Anyways, I am thinking of buying 2*240 or 480 Gb SSDs for every year. Each SSD would be a clone of each other so even if one does, I will still have them. And then get another similar SSD to replace the dead one.
Also easier to look through memories by year.
 
I read somewhere that this SSD has a single channel controller and that using it as a boot drive causes the OS to lag. Is this true? Please shed some light on the controller used on this SSD if possible.
 
I read somewhere that this SSD has a single channel controller and that using it as a boot drive causes the OS to lag. Is this true? Please shed some light on the controller used on this SSD if possible.
Don't think it's possible to check what controller is used without dismantling the SSD. If there is, I'm not able to find it.
 
Don't think it's possible to check what controller is used without dismantling the SSD. If there is, I'm not able to find it.
You could try the SMI or Realtek flash id utility to confirm the flash and nand type. One such site I came across is this one. I had the 128 GB variant, which I gave away(I used it as an external SSD). Speed remains consistent up until it's 60% filled (typical for hmb drives) and given its uses compression, nand writes will be less but this will be detrimental as an OS drive as the speed falls below HDD speed for constant writes (even with small files). Thus I would suggest it for regular storage or a game drive.
 
I have also been thinking about buying SSDs for backing up photos. Main reason being losing data 2 times when my 2 HDDs died. Now I know better and can tell beforehand when my HDD is gonna die.

Anyways, I am thinking of buying 2*240 or 480 Gb SSDs for every year. Each SSD would be a clone of each other so even if one does, I will still have them. And then get another similar SSD to replace the dead one.
Also easier to look through memories by year.
1 TB SSDs are pretty low price these days, even the NVME ones. Better to use a 1TB drive for your main, and use another 2TB SATA hard drive for your local backup.
I personally use 2X WD 4 TB my passports for backup+1 Seagate backup Plus so that my data is secure.
 
Lastly, I would like to point out a few things.
  • I could not find any reviews or specs of any eVM SSD online.
  • The official website does not give a spec sheet or anything similar.
  • There is no mention of an endurance rating anywhere. It says it has 5 years warranty, so I hope it wouldn't be too bad. The warranty policy also does not mention any TBW limits.
I'm seeing this with a lot of the local brands. Probably these are mass imports of refurbished ssd's that can die anytime. I saw lot of negative reviews for zebronics ssd with people complaining that their ssd's didn't last more that 5 months or so. Using these for backup is taking a huge risk imo.

Nice review, thanks.
 
I'm seeing this with a lot of the local brands.
Yeah. I had a similar experience with Vu. They don't bother publishing detailed specs anywhere. Vu even removed my TV from their website before my warranty had expired. I couldn't even find the user manual.
 
I'm seeing this with a lot of the local brands. Probably these are mass imports of refurbished ssd's that can die anytime. I saw lot of negative reviews for zebronics ssd with people complaining that their ssd's didn't last more that 5 months or so. Using these for backup is taking a huge risk imo.

Nice review, thanks.
Agreed, Even branded SSDs are at par, (WD, Kingston, Crucial, Corsair, Samsung, Lexar), with just a 500-600 markup over no-name brands. I would prefer to get one that's reviewed and tested, and backed up by a good service centre network.
 
Any opinion about 2TB model which is priced 7.8k @ Only SSD and 9.5k @ Amazon IN.

Requirements is Cheap Router Attached Storage which distribute Media Files via FTP protocol on local network.

Power ON Time 24x7.
 
Any opinion about 2TB model which is priced 7.8k @ Only SSD and 9.5k @ Amazon IN.

Requirements is Cheap Router Attached Storage which distribute Media Files via FTP protocol on local network.

Power ON Time 24x7.
1679847814090.png


AS2258 is the cheapest decent controller possible so don't expect anything above avg even in best case scenario.

@gourav can you do a test with crystaldiskmark by setting test size to 8GB instead of 1GB with same 5 pass so total data written is 40GB. Btw here is the spec sheet of 1TB model.
1679848047747.png


@ibose
 
For anyone who's purchasing an SSD,
SSD costs are really low at PrimeABGB/OnlySSD these days. They had a discount on the Gigabyte Gen4 2TB which is going for 12600 or so, it's a great deal for an SSD with RAM, and has great reviews.
The Crucial P3 is less than 5K for the 1 TB model.
 
The main advantage of eVM, at the time I bought and posted the review, was that it wad considerably cheaper than others. The closest SSD from a known brand was selling at 5500.

SSD prices have dropped significantly since then and now you can find SSDs from reputed brands at very similar prices. So there's absolutely no point in buying eVM.
 
The main advantage of eVM, at the time I bought and posted the review, was that it wad considerably cheaper than others. The closest SSD from a known brand was selling at 5500.

SSD prices have dropped significantly since then and now you can find SSDs from reputed brands at very similar prices. So there's absolutely no point in buying eVM.
I am looking for something 2tb or above in budget, 1tb and below prices are cheap, above 1tb capacity, price is still relatively high
 
I am looking for something 2tb or above in budget, 1tb and below prices are cheap, above 1tb capacity, price is still relatively high
SSD prices will not match hdd prices for 2TB or above capacity at least for next few years. Also, if using it as storage for media stuff(which rely much more on sequential read speeds) then one doesn't really need ssd other than inability to install 3.5" drive due to restricted/unavailable install space within case.
 
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