Review: KLEVV Genuine G560 2TB PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD

In early 2023, we got our first taste of the latest PCIe Gen5 NVMe SSDs, offering up to 10,000 MB/s read and write capabilities. These drives were fast but we knew that faster drives would be entering the market sooner or later as the technology matured. Furthermore, Gen5 platforms are more accessible to a wider range of audiences with the introduction of mainstream AMD & Intel motherboards.

While offering 10 GB/s speeds as a start, SSD manufacturers have quickly started rolling out faster drives by optimizing thermal designs and utilizing enhanced NAND solutions. KLEVV being one of the fastest growing SSD manufacturers unveiled its Genuine G560 SSD at Computex 2024 & now, it’s in our hands.

For today’s review, we will be taking a look at the KLEVV’s Genuine G560 2 TB SSD which comes equipped with a Phison E26 controller and is aiming at the high-end storage segment. As such, we can expect premium pricing for the storage device.

KLEVV Genuine G560 2 TB PCIe Gen5 NVMe SSD

The KLEVV Genuine G560 SSD is part of the new “Genuine” Gen5 SSD series. The Genuine Gen5 SSDs are based on the NVMe SSD form factor and feature the latest Micron 232-layer TLC 3D NAND flash which offers larger capacities of up to 4 TB, twice the performance of Gen4 drives, & full compliance with Microsoft’s DirectStorage API. The Genuine G560 series SSDs are based on the high-end Phison E26 Gen5 controller which has been the popular choice amongst high-end Gen5 SSD solutions.

FEATURES

As for the specs, the KLEVV Genuine G560 SSD comes with the standard NVMe 2.0 PCIe Gen 5 x4 interface in the M.2 2280 form factor. It will feature 1 TB, 2 TB, and up to 4 TB capacities with a rated speed of up to 14 GB/s (Sequential Read) and 12 GB/s (Sequential Write). The majority of Gen 5 drives available right now peak out at 12 GB/s Read and 11 GB/s Write speeds. One of the major features of this SSD is the use of a large heatsink which is said to reduce thermal throttling by a big margin. You also get full support for Microsoft’s DirectStorage API.

Note – The 2 TB model that we tested had a peak sequential read speed of 14,000 & a write speed of 12,000 MB/s. The Random Reads and Writes IOPS were rated at 1400K/1400K IOPS & endurance was rated at 1400 TBW.

Specification

KLEVV Genuine G560 2 TB PCIe Gen5 NVMe SSD – Unboxing and Closer Look

The KLEVV Genuine G560 2 TB SSD comes in a small package. The package is colored black/white and features a large picture of the SSD on it.

The front also lists down some features such as capacity, PCIe 5.0, and its NVMe M.2 form factor. The back of the package lists some specifications of the SSD and some performance figures which we will get to in a bit.

The SSD comes pre-attached with the rugged aluminum alloy heatsink which also features a finned aluminum array.

The top heatsink cover uses two modules, one is the rugged aluminum heatsink block which is featured on top of a secondary but larger thermal fin heatsink that makes direct contact with the components underneath it.

The white and black tone of the heatsink is definitely unique and the fact that this is a passive-cooled solution is a major plus versus the active-fan-cooled designs which can produce a bit of noise.

Both the front and back of the heatsink fully enclose the SSD PCB within it and the only exposed area is the M.2 slot connector.

The bottom of the heatsink is a cover with the standard labels on it. That’s about it as far as the outside is concerned.

The KLEVV Genuine G560 SSDs measure 80.5×23.25×17.8mm and weigh 68 grams.

The heatsink is disassembled by unscrewing four screws on the sides. One of the screws is hidden beneath the “Warranty Void” sticker. Once disassembled, you can note that both sides of the heatsink have large thermal pads underneath them that cover the entire length of the SSD from front to back.

The front of the drive has the Phison E26-52 controller with two DRAM modules offering 2 GB (each) of DDR4-2400 of cache (2 modules – one on front and one on back) and four NAND Flash dies (two on front and two on back).

On the back of the SSD, you can also note another DDR4 DRAM module along with two NAND Flash modules. This makes up a total of 8 GB of LPDDR4 cache onboard the SSD.

Test Setup

Our test platform for this review consisted of an Intel Core i9-13900K processor which ran at stock clocks on the MSI Z790 ACE motherboard. The platform was coupled with 32 GB of DDR5 memory from G.Skill (Trident Z5/ 16 GB x 2) and the MSI MEG Ai1300P PSU. For graphics, I used the MSI GeForce RTX 4090 SUPRIM X. This rounds up as a high-end platform for tests with modern-day SSDs. The MSI Z790 ACE specifically houses a single Gen 5.0 x4 NVMe slot that sources its lanes from the Raptor Lake CPU.

Wccftech SSD Test Setup 2023

KLEVV Genuine G560 2 TB Gen5 NVMe SSD Performance Benchmarks

First up, we have the official performance stats for these drives as listed by their manufacturers. You can compare these stats with the rest of the drives I tested in the following chart:

AS SSD Benchmark

AS SSD Benchmark download is a Windows 10 utility software program that tests the performance of solid-state drives. With its help, you can find out the speed of all installed SSDs and take care of any issues that the tests may reveal. The free app performs three separate tests to provide you with conclusive evidence of your driver’s general behavior while it copies, reads, and writes data.  The app determines the access time of an SSD, along with its speed and performance capabilities

ATTO 3.05 Disk Benchmark

As the industry’s leading provider of high-performance storage & network connectivity products, ATTO has created a widely-accepted Disk Benchmark freeware software to help measure storage system performance. As one of the top tools utilized in the industry, Disk Benchmark identifies performance in hard drives, solid-state drives, RAID arrays as well as the host connection to attached storage. Top drive manufacturers, like Hitachi, build and test every drive using the ATTO Disk Benchmark.

The ATTO Disk Benchmark performance measurement tool is compatible with Microsoft Windows. Use ATTO Disk Benchmark to test any manufacturer’s RAID controllers, storage controllers, host bus adapters (HBAs), hard drives, and SSD drives, and notice that ATTO products will consistently provide the highest level of performance to your storage.

Crystal Disk Mark 7.0.0 x64

CrystalDiskMark is a disk benchmark software. It measures sequential reads/writes speed, random 512KB, 4KB, 4KB (Queue Depth=32) reads/writes speed, selects test data (Random, 0Fill, 1Fill),

File Transfer Speeds (100 GB File Size)

To test the maximum average transfer speeds of the drives, I used a 100 GB file to test the limits.

PCMark 10 Storage Benchmark

The PCMark 10 Storage benchmark is designed to test the performance of SSDs, HDDs, and hybrid drives with traces recorded from Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office, and a selection of popular games. You can test the system drive or any other recognized storage device, including local external drives. Unlike synthetic storage tests, the PCMark 10 Storage benchmark highlights real-world performance differences between storage devices.

Forspoken DirectStorage Benchmark

Conclusion – Gen5 Prices Dropping Down

Last year when Gen5 SSDs were still a very new technology for PC consumers, we saw their prices hovering around the $350-$400 US mark, and that too for the 12-12.4 GB/s speeds. Now, the tech has matured to the point that 14 GB/s+ is a very common ground. They are still a premium tech but the prices have seen a lot of improvement over the past couple of months as more solutions are popping up.

As such, KLEVV’s Genuine G560 Gen5 SSD comes at a great time when the prices of these high-end storage devices are dropping below $300 US. As of right now, the SSD that we tested is listed for a price of $294.99 US which makes it a great solution for those who want to stay future-proof with a fast storage device.

In terms of performance, the KLEVV Genuine G560 Gen5 SSD is a solid performer, delivering top-notch performance and matching some of the fastest storage solutions that we have tested. The drive even comes with a heatsink solution pre-attached to the SSD, making it thermally optimal in full load and stress conditions. While there’s still a long way to go for applications and games to fully harness the potential of these drives, one should at least have the peace of mind that they’ve invested in a storage device that can be optimized further in the future as DirectStorage and other OS-level SSD enhancements come into play. In that regard, the KLEVV Genuine G560 SSD is a very strong Gen5 SSD solution with lots of performance and a great thermal package design.

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