CARDEA A440 PCIe 4.0 SSD Review – An Affordable Fast Gen 4 x4 1TB SSD for Gamers

T-FORCE CARDEA A440 M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD – An Affordable Fast Gen 4 x4 SSD for Gamers

SSD (Solid State Drive) technology is continually improving and its pricing remains reasonable as speeds and capacities increase. SSD technology has become very accessible, and gamers need significantly more capacity as games are getting larger. We received a 1TB T-FORCE CARDEA A440 from TeamGroup which is a very fast Gen 4 x4 PCIe 4.0 7,000MBps / 5,500 MBps PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD. We put the A440 through its paces against four other SSDs to see if it is an upgrade from our 2TB 5,000 MBps / 4,400 MBps NVMe Gen 4 x4 SSD for gaming.

The 1TB T-FORCE CARDEA A440 SSD is available in 1TB and 2TB capacities, and the 1TB version is at Amazon for $169.99 that puts it in a similar price range as the other fast SSDs currently available. We will see if 7,000MBps / 5,500MBps speeds make a practical difference for gamers, and we will focus on its performance by comparing it with three other NVMe/PCIe SSDs and a fast SATA III SSD: (1) a 2TB CARDEA Ceramic C440 (5,000/4400MBps Gen 4 x4), (2) the Gen 4 x3 1TB CARDEA IOPS SSD (3,400/3000MBps), (3) a now midrange TeamGroup 1TB MP33 (1,800/1,500MBps) Gen 3 x4 SSD, and a fast 1TB Delta MAX White RGB (560MBps/510MBps) SATA III SSD.

The 1TB SATA III Delta MAX is $129.99 at Amazon and it offers RGB lighting. The TeamGroup 1TB MP33 SSD is $79.97, the T-FORCE CARDEA IOPS is $119.99, the CARDEA Ceramic C440 1TB version is priced $129.99 ($259 for the 2TB version). Here are the features and specifications of the T-FORCE CARDEA A440 SSD which are taken directly from TeamGroup’s website.

FEATURES

• Enjoy the lightning speed of the PCIe Gen4 x4
• Featuring two patented heat sinks
• Effective cooling—flexible installation
• Supports the latest NVMe 1.4 standard
• Taiwan Utility Patent (number: M541645)
• Taiwan Invention Patent (number: I703921)
• China Utility Patent (number: CN 211019739 U)

Specifications

The specifications, based on CrystalDiskMark, boast up to 7,000 Read / 5,500 MB/s Write for the 1TB version and a higher Read speed to 6,900MB/s for the 2TB version which are excellent for a Gen 4 x4 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD. Although it features a SLC cache that will degrade beyond its capacity threshold and isn’t capable of sustaining its write performance until full, it is exceptional for gaming and most applications. The 1TB model is rated for up to 700TB of Write backed by a five year guarantee and it features S.M.A.R.T and Trim support.

Next we unbox the T-FORCE A440 CARDEA SSD and take a closer look at it.

Unboxing, Heatsink installation, and Temperatures Under Load

The TeamGroup T-FORCE A440 CARDEA SSD comes in a small box that advertises PCIe 4.0 and two heatsinks as pictured on the front.

Here is the back of the box which warns the buyer that the up to 7,000 / 6,900 MB/s transfer speeds can vary according to hardware/software conditions and are only to be used for basic reference. It offers a 5-year warranty and demonstrates the two heatsinks – a thin Graphene copper foil that will allow the SSD to be placed behind a video card, and a thicker finned heatsink for maximum cooling.

Here is a closer look at the T-FORCE A440 CARDEA SSD in its packaging next to the box. The front of the CARDEA A440 carries a sticker which warns that the warranty may be void if removed. It’s meaningless as there is only a bare PCB below the sticker.

The ICs are on one side of the PCB and the A440 uses Phison’s E18 and Micron’s 96L TLC to achieve its rated speeds.

The A440 comes with two heatsinks. The Graphene heatsink is covered with a lot of unnecessary text, but it is designed to be thin and hidden behind a video card. It would also be ideal for installation in a PlayStation 5.

The finned heatsink is good-looking and easily attaches to a NVMe SSD.

Installing the heatsink is simple as shown in TeamGroup’s video.

It is important to use a heatsink as temperatures will easily exceed 70C without one. Using the graphene heatsink behind a video card drops temperatures to a manageable below-65C, but using the finned heatsink drops temperatures well below 60C. Stressing the A440 by copying 100GB over and over only resulted in temps of 58C, and using AIDA64’s drive torture test, it only reached 60C. Unlike the CARDEA Ceramic C440 (5,000MBps/4400MBps) that has ICs on both side of its PCB, the A440 only uses ICs on one side and it’s relatively easy to cool. We measured the temperatures using Crystal Disk Info and Hardware Info 64 which were in agreement.

The A440 looks good installed in a PC using the finned heatsink.

If your motherboard has an integrated NVMe heatsink, you may wish to use it instead. Either way, the A440 will remain cool under its most stressful conditions.

After installing the CARDEA A440, the user may need to format it before use. If you are planning to clone it, make sure both disks are GUID or convert one of them first. Lets look at our test configuration next.

Test Configuration – Hardware

• Intel Core i9-12900KF (HyperThreading and Turbo boost at stock settings)..
• ASUS Prime PD-4 motherboard (Intel Z690 chipset, latest BIOS with Resizable BAR enabled, PCIe 5.0/4.0/3.1/3.1 – USB 4.0 Type-C specification)
• T-FORCE Dark Z 2x16GB DDR4 3600MHz CL18, supplied by TeamGroup
• GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, supplied by NVIDIA
• T-FORCE CARDEA A440 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD, supplied by TeamGroup
• T-FORCE CARDEA Ceramic C440 2TB PCIe Gen 4 x4 NVMe SSD
• T-FORCE CARDEA IOPS 1TB PCIe Gen 4 x3 NVMe SSD, supplied by TeamGroup
• TeamGroup MP33 1TB NVMe Gen 3 x4 PCIe SSD
• T-FORCE DELTA MAX White 1TB SATA III SSD, supplied by TeamGroup
• Super Flower LedEx, 1200W Platinum 80+ power supply unit
• MSI MAG Series CORELIQUID 360R (AIO) 360mm liquid CPU cooler
• Corsair 5000D ATX mid-tower (plus 1 x 140mm fan; 2 x 120mm Noctua fans)
• BenQ EW3270U 32? 4K HDR 60Hz FreeSync monitor

Test Configuration – Software

• Gaming results show loading time in seconds and lower is better
• Windows 11 Professional edition; latest updates/build
• Latest DirectX
• All benchmarking programs are updated to their latest versions
• IOmeter
• S.M.A.R.T. Tool (TeamGroup)

PC Game & Level Loading Suite

• PCMark 8 (World of Warcraft & Battlefield 3)
• Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers Benchmark – loading times of five different levels
• Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker Benchmark – loading times of five different levels
• 3DMark Storage Benchmark (Battlefield V, Call of Duty, Overwatch)

Synthetic Benching Tests & Suites

• SiSoft Sandra 2020/2021
• AIDA64
• PCMark 10 Pro version courtesy of UL (Full Storage Benchmark, Express, Extended)
• PCMark 8
• SPECworkstation3 (3.0.4) Benchmarks
• Anvil’s Storage Utilities
• CrystalDiskMark
• TxBENCH Basic
• HD Tune
• AS SSD
• ATTO
• HD Tach
• 100GB File Copy Timed Test

Let’s head to our benching results.

Benchmarking the CARDEA A440

Benchmarking SSDs are not an exact science as there is variability between runs, and different benchmarks may show different results depending on how they run their tests and how up-to-date the benchmarks are. However, by using enough real world and synthetic tests, it may be possible to get a good idea of the relative performance across all five tested drives. For benchmark results, the drives are listed in the following order on the charts:

1. T-FORCE CARDEA A440 M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 Gen 4 x4 SSD
2. T-FORCE CARDEA Ceramic C440 1TB PCIe 4.0 Gen 4 x4 NVMe SSD
3. T-FORCE CARDEA IOPS 1TB PCIe Gen 3 x4 NVMe SSD
4. TeamGroup MP33 1TB NVMe Gen 3 x4 PCIe SSD
5. T-FORCE Delta MAX SATA III 1TB SSD

We did not set up Windows on the DELTA MAX SSD, so not all of the benchmarks could be run on it. All of the drives will have their results summarized in multiple charts. Let’s start first with TeamGroup’s own S.M.A.R.T. utility to get information on each SSD tested.

S.M.A.R.T.

This TeamGroup S.M.A.R.T. utility tests each drive using two different sets of tests.

First up, the CARDEA A440 dual performance tests starting with MB/s.

Next the CARDEA A440 performance dual test results given in IOPS.

S.M.A.R.T. also measures the CARDEA A440 latency.

Next, the performance tests in MB/s for the T-FORCE CARDEA Ceramic C440.

Next the CARDEA Ceramic performance dual test results given in IOPS

Finally, the S.M.A.R.T. tool measures latency for the CARDEA Ceramic C440.

Here are the dual performance tests in MB/s for the T-FORCE CARDEA IOPS.

Next we look at the performance tests in IOPS for the CARDEA IOPS

S.M.A.R.T. next measures latency for the CARDEA IOPS.

Next we look at the performance tests in MB/s for the TeamGroup MP33 SSD.

Next we look at the performance tests in IOPS for the TeamGroup MP33 SSD

Now the dual latency tests for the MP33 SSD.

Next, the Delta MAX dual performance tests starting with MB/s.

We look at the performance tests in IOPS for the Delta MAX.

Finally, S.M.A.R.T. measures the Delta MAX SATA III SSD latency.

S.M.A.R.T. clearly shows the PCIe NVMe CARDEA A440 is the fastest SSD, followed by the CARDEA Ceramic C440, the CARDEA IOPS, then the TeamGroup MP33 SSD, and in last place, the SATA III SSD – the Delta MAX SSD.

TeamGroup’s S.M.A.R.T. tool is a great place to start, so let’s see what other synthetic and real world tests show. Let’s begin with 3DMark’s storage benchmark.

3DMark Storage Benchmark

3DMark’s Professional version by UL includes a Storage Benchmark (optional in the Advanced version) which also measures the time it takes to load several popular games.

First, the CARDEA Cermic A440 results with 3844.

The CARDEA Ceramic C440 scores 3009.

Next up, the CARDEA IOPS manages 2587.

The TeamGroup MP33 SSD gets 1538.

And in last place, the Delta MAX SATA III SSD gets 1005.

Here’s the summary chart.

It’s clear that the CARDEA A440 is the fastest SSD followed by the C440, the IOPS, the MP33, and the DELTA MAX.

Next up, another important UL benchmark suite, PCMark 10 including the full benching suites – Express, Extended, and the Full System Drive Benchmark.

PCMark 10 Professional

UL (formerly Futuremark) has been a developer and publisher of PC benchmark applications for nearly two decades. Although PCMark benches are synthetic suites, they provide a good measure of system performance. PCMark 10 was primarily developed for Windows 10 and it builds upon the PCMark 8 suite for a package of vendor-neutral home and office benchmarks.

The regular version of PCMark 10 misses several key elements such as detailed storage testing, but the Professional version, which we use courtesy of UL, includes a storage benchmark and a full system drive benchmark. In addition, We use both PCMark 10’s Express and Extended suite also. First up is the Full System Drive Benchmark.

Full System Drive Benchmark

First we test the CARDEA A440 which scores 3474.

Next the CARDEA Ceramic results give 2223.

The CARDEA IOPS SSD scores 2027.

Finally, the MP33 SSD manages 1187.

The Delta MAX SSD could not be tested since Windows was not set up on it.

Here’s the summary chart.

Again, we see the NVMe PCIe SSDs line up in their expected order from fastest (left) to slowest (right).

The PCMark 10 Express benchmark suite is best suited for office tasks while the Extended benchmarks are for power users. To properly compare the PCMark 10 scores, look at the detailed results. All of the SSD results are presented as screenshots. Open the images in separate tabs for easy individual test result comparisons. These will be summarized after all of the screenshots are presented.

PCMark 10 Express

First up, the CARDEA A440 Express score with 7480.

Now the online validated score which gives more detailed results.

Next, the CARDEA Ceramic C440 Express score is 7188

Now online results.

Next up is the CARDEA IOPS Express score with 7484.

Online details are next.

The Team Group MP33 Express score is given below with 7348

The online details follow.

Delta Max could not be tested since windows is not set up on it.

The summary chart is presented after the Extended scores.

PCMark 10 Extended

First up, the CARDEA A440 Extended score is 13452.

Here are the online details.

The CARDEA Ceramic C440 Extended score is 13384.

The online details are below.

Next up is the CARDEA IOPS Extended score with 13304

The online details are below.

The TeamGroup MP33 SSD manages 13210.

Finally, the online results are detailed.

The Delta MAX SATA III SSD could not be tested since Windows is not set up on it.

Here’s the summary chart.

The CARDEA IOPS SSD actually scores highest followed by the A440, the MP33, and then the C440 in the least demanding office Extended Office benchmarks, but the more demanding Extended suite lines up the SSDs in their expected order.

Let’s check out the older PCMark 8 benchmark suite which also uses dedicated storage tests.

PCMARK 8

All of the SSDs load games and levels quickly and the PCIe SSDs are the quickest with the CARDEA A440 just edging out the CARDEA C440 and IOPS, and the MP33 is faster than the Delta MAX SATA SSD by about a second. The fastest PCIe SSD loads 2-3 seconds faster than the SATA III SSD. However, using a FireCuda 2TB SSHD, it takes nearly twice as long to load the same games. It’s past time to relegate HDDs to storage-only.

Next up, the C440 Ceramic SSD Read tests.

Next the CARDEA IOPS Read tests are shown below.

Next, the MP33 series of benchmarks are presented below.

Finally, the Delta MAX SATA III series of benches are below.

Here is the summary chart comparing our five tested drives where higher is better except for the Average Read Access where lower is better.

Again the CARDEA A440 leads the C440 in most of the tests, followed by the CARDEA IOPS and then the MP33 SSD which is well ahead of the Delta MAX SATA III SSD.

First we test the CARDEA A440.

Next, we test the CARDEA Ceramic C440 SSD.

Below are the TeamGroup MP33 SSD results.

Finally, we test the 1TB T-Force DELTA MAX SATA III.

Below is presented the summary chart.

Next are the CARDEA IOPS SSD results:

Next the MP33 SSD.

Finally the Delta MAX SATA III results.

TxBENCH

TxBENCH is similar to CrystalDiskMark but with additional features including secure erase. According to the website, “It not only measures the performance of storage easily but also performs detailed speed measurements based on specified access patterns and long-period speed measurements. It also allows you to see each drive’s supported features, enabled features, and S.M.A.R.T. information.”

First we test the A440.

Next the CARDEA Ceramic C440 results.

The T-FORCE CARDEA IOPS SSD results are shown below.

Finally, we test the 1TB T-FORCE Delta MAX SATA III SSD.

Here are the HD Tune benches summarized by the chart below.

Below are the T-FORCE CARDEA A440 AS SSD results showing the results in MB/s next to IOPS, and below them, the copy speeds.

Next are the T-FORCE CARDEA Ceramic C440AS SSD results.

Below are the T-FORCE CARDEA IOPSAS SSD benchmark results.

Finally, the T-FORCE Delta MAX SATA III SSD results also showing MB/s next to IOPS and below them, copy speeds.

Again, the CARDEA A440 stands out. The CARDEA C4400 is next followed by the IOPS, the MP33 and finally the Delta MAX.

The T-FORCE CARDEA A440 ATTO results are first.

HD Tach

HD Tach is a low level hardware benchmark for random access read/write storage devices that was developed by Simpli Software. HD Tach uses custom device drivers and low level Windows interfaces to determine the physical performance of the device. It is no longer supported and needs to be run in compatibility mode for Windows 10.

We present the benchmarks first with the Quick benchmark (8MB zones) on the left and the Long benchmark (32MB zones) on the Right.

Here are the A440 HD Tach results with an average read of 2212.5MB/s for the Quick bench and 2308.1MB/s for the Long bench.

The T-FORCE CARDEA Ceramic C440 HD Tach results give an average read of 2321.0MB/s for the Quick bench and 2150.7MB/s for the Long bench.

Below are the T-FORCE CARDEA IOPS HD Tach results with an average read of 2079.7MB/s for the Quick bench and 1822.5MB/s for the Long bench.

Next, the TeamGroup MP33 HD Tach results show an average read of 1265.8MB/s for the Quick bench and 1198.2MB/s for the Long bench.

Here are the Delta MAX SATA III HD Tach results with an average read of 409.8MB/s for the Quick bench and 405.8MB/s for the Long bench.

Here are the HD Tach Disk benches summarized in a chart comparing our five drives. For read speeds, higher is better but for access times, lower is better.

The CARDEA A440 again generally scores the fastest in HD Tach although the CARDEA C440 trades blows followed by the IOPS, then by the MP33 SSD, while the SATA III Delta MAX takes last place as usual.

Next we look at game/level loading speeds.

The Game/Level Loading Timed Results – FFXIV

Game and game level loading time results are difficult to measure precisely but generally SSDs perform similarly with regard to game loading times and they all load significantly faster than any HDD. Even SSHDs require loading the same level or program over-and-over to get quicker. We tested 5 levels and overall loading times accurately by using the Final Fantasy XIV: Stormbringer & Endwalker benchmarks.

Shadowbringers Benchmark

The Shadowbringers Benchmark will not only give you accurate framerates averages, it precisely times how long it takes to load each of 5 different levels and the total loading time. We used maximum settings.

Let’s start with the Shadowbringer benchmark – first with the A440. Total Loading times are 7.659 seconds.

We also use the newer Endwalker benchmark and then summarize the results of our five tested SSDs.

Endwalker Benchmark

The Endwalker benchmark is also just as detailed as Shadowbringers and is a very accurate test of loading game and level times.

Let’s begin with the Endwalker benchmark by first using the A440. Total Loading times are 7.608 seconds.

Here is the summary chart and we also include PCMark 8’s game loading tests.

For all 4 games and multiple levels tested, the CARDEA A440 stands out, followed generally by the C440, the IOPS, the MP33 and then the Delta MAX. We see a 2-3 second difference between our fastest SSD and our slowest SATA III SSD. It does make an immersion difference for getting right back into the game. When we played God of War, although we use the C440 for our boot drive, we set the game up on the A440 and the loading times were blazing fast.

However, until developers start to target SSDs for PC game storage, then we may see SSDs fully achieve the game loading performance they are capable of on Windows. In the meantime, PS5 gamers can take full advantage of the A440’s fast loading speeds. No matter what, faster is better when a gamer wants to load or get back into a game.

Lets look at file copy speeds next.

File Copy 102GB

File copy speeds are important to gamers especially when they want to quickly transfer their game files from one location to another. We copy a 102GB folder containing Horizon 5 from its Steam folder to a desktop folder which is something we do regularly when setting up Steam games on multiple PCs. Pay careful attention to the charts (in green) that show the consistency and speed of file copies. They tend to show the ups and downs where each SSD runs out of cache and how long it takes to empty and refill it.

102GB File Copy

The A440 took 1 minutes and 44.0 seconds. to copy 102GB.

The Ceramic C440 took 1 minutes and 59 seconds for the same copy.

The Delta Max SATA III SSD took 9 minutes 49 seconds for the same copy

The CARDEA A440 SSD excels at copying along with the other Gen 4 x4 SSD, the C440, compared to any of our other tested SSDs. The IOPS comes in second place well ahead of the MP33 SSDs which is in turn faster than the Delta MAX SATA III SSD. Yet no matter how you look at it, even a SATA III SSD is much faster than any HDD or SSHD for copying large files. Consider taking a nap if you are going to copy 102GB using a hard drive.

Finally, let’s revisit game/level loading times plus all of our Summary charts and then reach our conclusion.

Summary Charts and Conclusion

Here are all of the gaming and summary charts again for easy reference followed by our conclusion.

The Game/Level Loading Time Results

Game and game level loading time results are difficult to measure precisely (such as by using a stopwatch) but our tests are far more consistent. Here are the World of Warcraft and Battlefield 3 loading times again as measured precisely by PCMark 8’s storage test and accurately by Final Fantasy XIV: Stormbringer/Endwalker’s benchmarks. Lower (quicker/faster) loading times (measured in seconds) are better.

PCMark’s Storage Benchmark also provides precise SSD bandwidth, loading times, game record, install, and save time comparisons.

All five SSDs load games quickly but the two Generation 4 x4 PCIe SSDs stand out from the Generation 3 x4 and especially SATA III SSD. When PC game developers start to target SSDs for game storage, only then may we see SSDs achieve the super-fast game loading performance they are capable of. Until then PlayStation 5 gamers can take full advantage of the CARDEA A440’s fast loading speeds.

Non-Gaming Summary Charts

Here are all of the summary charts presented again in one place.

A gamer who wishes to have the very fastest PC will choose an internal PCIe 4.0 Gen 4 x4 NVMe SSD, and the CARDEA Ceramic A440 SSD is the fastest drive, and noticeably faster than the CARDEA A440. The CARDEA IOPS slots into third place well ahead of the TeamGroup MP33 SSD, and finally the Delta MAX SATA III SSD is always in last place.

For gaming and for regular tasks on current Intel platforms, any SSD will provide decent game and level loading performance well above that of mechanical hard drives or even hybrid (SSHD)drives, but a PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 x4 will provide the highest performance. Let’s head for our conclusion.

The Conclusion & Verdict

We would suggest that 1TB has become the minimum storage capacity for a gamer that includes the operating system since PC games have grown so large although 512GB may be acceptable. It still is not mandatory to have a SSD if you only use your PC for gaming and have a ton of patience. Games do not perform significantly better on SSDs since most PC developers still target HDDs for game performance optimization. However, games usually take significantly longer to load from a HDD or SSHD than they do from any internal SATA III drive or even from an external USB 3.0 SSD.

If a gamer wants to get right back into the game, any SSD will improve immersion and decrease frustration compared with using a HDD or SSHD. Windows 10/11 have become positively painful to use when installed on a mechanical or even on a hybrid solid state/hard disk drive. Indexing, Search, or Anti-malware Windows programs often saturate the bandwidth of a mechanical drive, and even downloading or updating Steam games will slow your PC to an irritating crawl. This will not happen using a SATA III SSD. But for maximum performance with the least frustration, using a PCIe NVMe SSD is the only way to fly. HDDs should be relegated only for storage and for back-up.

Let’s recap pricing. The 1TB SATA III DELTA MAX is $129.99 at Amazon and it offers RGB lighting. The TeamGroup 1TB MP33 SSD is $79.97, the T-FORCE CARDEA IOPS is $119.99, the CARDEA Ceramic C440 1TB version is priced $129.99 and the 1TB T-FORCE CARDEA A440 SSD can be purchased at Amazon for $169.99. We believe that spending the extra $40 is worth it for a super-fast 1TB NVMe PCIe Gen 4 x4 SSD as long as your motherboard supports PCIe 4.0. If not, the CARDEA IOPs is an excellent choice.

Of course, gamers on a budget should also look for sales. Because of today’s close pricing and competition, choosing an SSD is easier than ever. Based on performance and price, we will recommend the T-FORCE CARDEA A440 SSD as a competitively-priced, fast, cool-running, and good looking SSD.

A five year warranty backed by TeamGroup insures that a player will enjoy fast performance for years to come. Having a choce of two heatsinks sweetens the deal to give the gamer a choice to display the SSD or hide it behind a video card while still keeping it cool.

Pros

• 5-year warranty backed by TeamGroup support
• Blazing fast game/level loading speeds and very fast large file copy speeds
• Choice of two heatsinks to keep the A440 cool. It may be hidden behind a video card or used in a PS5 and it will stay cool using the Graphene heatsink, or it can be used and displayed with the finned aluminum heatsink for a cool look and for even cooler operating temperatures
• The A440 is priced competitively and not much higher than slower Gen 4 x3 SSDs

Cons

• None.

The Verdict

Stay tuned as Rodrigo is currently working on his Adrenalin 22.1.2 Optional (WHQL) driver performance analysis. We will follow it up mid-week with a RTX 3050 review focusing on VR before we return to our DDR5 series featuring the T-FORCE Delta 6400 CL40 2x16GBB kit. We’ll compare it with the G.Skill Trident Z5 6000 CL36 kit using our 31-game benchmark suite and extensive suite of applications.

Happy Gaming!