SPECworkstation 3.0.2 Storage Benchmark
SPECworkstation benchmark is an excellent benchmark to test systems using workstation-type workloads. In this test, we only ran the Storage component, which is fifteen separate tests.
The S770 was terrible in SPECworkstation, and the S880 is generally even worse. The S880 does not suffer from the catastrophically low product development score that the S770 received, but in almost every other subtest the S880 loses to the S770. SPEC is definitely not a strong point for Fanxiang.
Sustained Write Performance
This is not necessarily a benchmark so much as trying to catch the post-cache write speed of the drive. While I am filling the drive with data to the 85% mark with ten simultaneous write threads, I monitor the drive for the write performance to dip to the lowest steady point and grab a screenshot.
The sustained write performance of the S880 is around 880 MB/s, which is fine and better than the S770. Lots of drives that I have not included in this chart come in significantly lower, so the S880 is absolutely fine here.
Direct Comparisons
Let us look at the S880 compared to the S770.
Despite having the bigger model number, generally speaking, the S770 has a better showing, winning 12 of the benchmarks. In general, the drives are fairly similar in terms of read performance with the S770 taking the edge in write tasks, which is typical for a DRAM-equipped drive.
Temperatures – A Great Asterisk
Normally we monitor the idle and maximum temperature during testing with HWMonitor to get some idea of the thermal performance and requirements of the drive. When I tested the S770, I discovered that drive was not properly reporting its own thermals, and that continues to be the case with the Fanxiang S880.
As you can see, according to HWMonitor at no point does the S880 ever break 48C during my testing. That is absolutely a load of junk. To the FLIR!
I did not catch the drive quite as hot as the S770 got, but it was still well north of the reported temperatures. There is almost always a differential between what I observe with a thermal camera and what drives self-report for thermals, with FLIR results almost always trending higher. However, those differences are typically 3-7 C, not 20+ C.
As a result, these results here are a bit of a guesstimate.
At 70 C (or hotter) under full load, the S880 might require a heatsink depending on how hard you hit it. I put a heatsink on for testing just to be safe.
Final Words
The Fanxiang S880 2TB box is $90 on Amazon. By comparison, the S770 is also $90 and comes bundled with a heatsink. Both prices are very low, but the S770 is a better deal than the S880. Almost all competing big-brand drives like the Crucial P5 Plus come in higher at $110 or more.
The S770 and S880 have their model numbers reversed, and I wish I had reviewed them in the other order. The S770 is a better drive, with a better bundle in that it comes with a heatsink. They both suffer from wildly inaccurate thermal reporting, and they both come from Fanxiang, which is essentially a no-name brand as far as much of our readership will be concerned. With that said, both drives are fast and incredibly inexpensive. If you are in the market for fast and cheap, buy an S770. If it is out of stock, you can buy the S880!
Where to Buy
When we originally started seeing these drives in the STH Mini PC series, we could not find them actually thinking the company name was “ranxiana” given the strange brand logo. Then these drives were on AliExpress. Believe it or not, these are actually being sold on Amazon now. Here are affiliate links for which we may earn a small commission:
The Lexar NM790 1/2/4TB uses the same exact NAND and controller as this does
It appears I can’t find S880 in china either. I assume it has become the S790
Somehow I couldn’t find a link to the Fanxiang S770 review in the article. Google found it.
I’m struck by the poor performance on SPECworkstation for a the drive that performs at par on CrystalDiskMark. Is it possible the firmware might have been tuned to a common synthetic benchmark? If so, it would appear application workloads are not amenable to such tuning.
When the review concludes, “If you are in the market for fast and cheap, buy an S770. If it is out of stock, you can buy the S880!” If I have a $90 budget and look at other drives in that price range in the US, I see PCIe 3 drives from Intel and Samsung as well as PCIe 4 drives branded Western Digital, Crucial Micron, PNY, MSI, Kingston and Team Group. Many of these drives are actually less than $80. How do they compare?