by 256 reviews.
Verbatim 2TB SSD Vi5000 Review: A High-Performance Storage Solution for Gamers and Creators
If you’re in the market for a high-speed, high-capacity SSD that won’t break the bank, the Verbatim Vi5000 2TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD is worth considering. With read speeds of up to 5000MB/s and write speeds of up to 4300MB/s, this Gen 4 NVMe SSD promises to deliver exceptional performance for gaming, video editing, and other demanding tasks. But does it live up to the hype? Let’s dive into the details based on real customer experiences.
Pros and Cons: What Customers Are Saying
Performance: Speed That Impresses
One of the standout features of the Verbatim Vi5000 is its blazing-fast speeds. Customers have praised its ability to handle large file transfers, boot up systems quickly, and run games smoothly. One reviewer noted that the drive consistently hit close to its advertised speeds, achieving around 6950MB/s read and 6450MB/s write in benchmark tests. This makes it a strong contender among Gen 4 SSDs, especially for users who don’t need the absolute top-tier performance of more expensive drives.
However, some users reported occasional dips in random read/write speeds, which, while not a dealbreaker, were noticeable during testing. Still, for most daily tasks, the drive performs exceptionally well.
Storage Capacity and Value
With 2TB of storage, the Verbatim Vi5000 offers ample space for games, videos, and large applications. Customers appreciated the competitive pricing, especially when compared to other drives with similar specs. One reviewer mentioned that the drive was 20% cheaper than its competitors, making it an excellent value for the performance it delivers.
That said, the lower TBW (Terabytes Written) rating of 1400TBW for the 4TB model (and proportionally lower for the 2TB version) was a point of concern for some users. While this may not be an issue for casual users or those with light workloads, heavy users who frequently write large amounts of data might want to consider drives with higher endurance ratings.
Design and Build Quality
The included heat sink is a standout feature that many customers loved. It not only helps keep the drive cool during intense workloads but also makes it compatible with PS5 and motherboards without built-in heat spreaders. The all-black design was also praised for its sleek, understated look that blends well with various PC aesthetics.
On the flip side, some users noted that the drive requires strict cooling to maintain optimal performance. While the included heat sink does a good job, those using the drive in high-temperature environments might need to monitor temperatures closely.
Ease of Installation and Compatibility
Installation was a breeze for most users, with many praising the clear instructions and plug-and-play compatibility. Whether you’re upgrading a laptop or desktop, the M.2 2280 form factor ensures a seamless fit. One reviewer even mentioned that Windows 10 installed in just a few minutes, highlighting the drive’s speed and reliability.
Conclusion: Is the Verbatim Vi5000 Worth It?
The Verbatim Vi5000 2TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD is a solid choice for anyone looking to upgrade their storage without breaking the bank. Its impressive speeds, generous storage capacity, and included heat sink make it a great option for gamers, content creators, and power users alike.
However, the lower TBW rating and occasional dips in random read/write speeds are worth considering, especially for heavy users. If you’re primarily using the drive for gaming, video storage, or light workloads, these drawbacks are unlikely to be a major issue.
Final Verdict: For its price, the Verbatim Vi5000 offers excellent value and performance. While it may not be the fastest or most durable SSD on the market, it’s a reliable and cost-effective solution for most users. If you see it on sale, don’t hesitate to grab one!
Specification Verbatim 2TB SSD Vi5000 Internal Solid State Hard Drive PCIe NVMe M.2 2282:
Comments from Amazon:
Good quality and price, thick heat sink, fast delivery, thank you! Windows 10 has installed in a few minutes, amazing!
Very fast gaming SSD, with lots of storage space and it really stays super cool with it's quite handy heatsink as well... So, buy one of these Verbatim SSD cards and get your "Game-On" today! Cheers, - RMT, 10/22/2024
It's not the fastest on the market, but then again, most of us don't need the absolute fastest nvme drives. This one works great and I've had no issues with it so far.
Purchased this on a whim due to an awesome sale going on at the time. Easy to install. Complete compatibility. No issues over the 3 months I’ve been using it. Well worth the price, even at the standard price point. If you see this on sale again, and have been looking for more storage, I highly recommend buying!
The great features are Price + Cooler but speed not as advertised
Requiere enfriamiento estricto y hace lo que dice.
This is NOT the best M.2 SSD on the market. But what it is is high performance SSD priced very well with a ton of storage and priced well (at least when I purchased it). I needed additional storage for some of my games and videos I've been recording, and the 4 TB size was perfect to add years of storage longevity. Given I was going to be recording and editing videos, I wanted a high speed drive. Also, games are starting to use DirectStorage, and the discount to drop down to half the speed gen 3 drives is not enough to really consider unless I was looking at a 3rd drive for store and forget stuff. This was priced better than a lot of drives with similar specs, and after doing some research, the only red flag on this drive is a lower TBW rating than many similar drives (which sadly was not listed on the amazon page, I had to look it up on the actual product page). Knowing my use case, this was not a major risk for me. Of note, it's a InnoGrit IG5236 SSD Controller with a DRAM Cache. A well regarded controller and having a cache is good. Also of note, I'm aware this is slower than Gen 5 drives, but gen 5 drives are super expensive, and if you don't have a gen 5 slot, or are doing constant data transfers that will actually hit the speeds regularly, there's little performance gains once you get near the max of gen 4 speeds for most daily use cases. Pros: - Full Gen 4 PCIE Speeds - Up to 7000MB/s Read, Up to 6400MB/s Write, as advertised. It gets pretty close, which is among the top of Gen 4 PCIE drives. There are faster, but it's still twice as fast as Gen 3, and the faster drives are within 10% of these speeds, and mostly not noticeable for 95% of all users. -- Testing showed it was very close to these speeds, hitting around 6950 read and 6450 write in Crystalmark. On their website, they spec this drive at up to 6500 write speed. Those numbers are theoretical limits, so getting close is just fine. - DRam Cache - There are now solid ways around needing a DRam cache on some drives, but overall it's better to have than not to have. - Storage Value - It's worth questioning when a drive is more than 20% cheaper than similar competition. The good news is this drive is solid in every performance metric. There is a compromise, but your use case may not really matter for this. - Included heat sink - The included heat sink is great if you want to use this for a PS5, or on a motherboard without a heat spreader. It's also a nice subtle all black heat sink which goes with may different PC Aesthetics. Cons: - Low TBW - TBW, or Terabytes Written, is a rating for how long a drive is expected to last. 1400 TBW for the 4 TB mode is low. For comparison, similar 2 TB drives in the space have a 1400 TBW and 4 TB drives often have 2400 TBW or higher. Many slower drives are significantly higher, and that's generally a technical limitation (faster drives tend to be less durable). What does this mean? It means that the expected longevity for this drive is lower than some more expensive drives, or some slower drives. - Random Read/Write Speeds occasionally dip - Not sure why, but even in testing I would get occasional dips in random Read/Write speeds. Nothing major, and still great performance, it was was notable. For comparison, I have a similarly rated and well reviewed 2 TB Gen 4 SSD as my system drive. Overall, this drive tested slightly faster in everything but random reads by a very small margin (less than 5%). But overall, in daily use, I can rarely tell the difference. This drive also stays cooler, though to be fair, my main drive is mounted right by the GPU and CPU/VRMs, and we're talking 43-50C on the other drive under the MB heat spreader vs 40-44C on the Verbatum with it's own heatsink, so well within spec. So overall, for things like game storage, video storage and editing, and in general low write usage, this drive should last a long time. The only time I would really worry about the low TBW is if it was on a heavy use system drive where you do a lot of file system transfer. For reference, after 6 months of use, my main system drive has 14 TBW (so 1% of it's total rating) in about 5000 hours of use time, so honestly, unless you're a super heavy user, even the lower TBW rating of the Verbatum should be a non issue. For the price, I highly recommend this drive.