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Acer FA100 vs Sabrent Rocket 5: Comparison
What is the difference between Acer FA100 and Sabrent Rocket 5?
On sequential read the spread is 76%, Acer FA100 3300 MB/s against Sabrent Rocket 5 14000 MB/s, so Sabrent Rocket 5 takes it. Measured rather than claimed: in Speed Score the Sabrent Rocket 5 returns 9.7 against 6.4, a 34% lead. Sabrent Rocket 5 also leads on sequential write, 2700 MB/s on the Acer FA100 versus 12300 MB/s on the Sabrent Rocket 5. Bus interface is not the same on both, PCIe 3.0 x4 on the Acer FA100 versus PCIe 5.0 x4, NVMe on the Sabrent Rocket 5. They differ on nand type too, TLC on the Acer FA100 versus TLC with DRAM Cache on the Sabrent Rocket 5.
Acer FA100 vs Sabrent Rocket 5: which one fits your build
The Acer FA100 suits everyday laptops and desktops with a PCIe 3.0 M.2 slot. The same goes for budget upgrades needing 2000 GB of NVMe storage in a standard M.2 2280 slot. It is the wrong buy for anyone wanting PCIe 4.0 speeds, since this drive tops out at 3300 MB/s reads. Take the Sabrent Rocket 5 for buyers with a new PCIe 5.0 motherboard who want to actually use that bandwidth. This drive is built specifically to saturate a Gen 5 x4 slot. It is equally the pick for video editors and 3D artists moving very large project files regularly. The write speed advantage over Gen 4 drives shows up directly in export and transfer times. Avoid it for anyone still on a PCIe 4.0 or older motherboard. A Gen 4 slot caps this drive at roughly half its rated speed, wasting the premium. Our rating of the Sabrent Rocket 5 (8.5/10): A legitimate Gen 5 flagship at a more competitive price than the big-name alternatives, provided your motherboard can actually feed it.
Specs and benchmarks
Speed Score
- Acer FA100
- 6.4/10-34%
- Sabrent Rocket 5
- 9.7/10Best
How fast this drive is, rated from its read and write speeds, cache and NAND type. 10 is the fastest.
Brand
- Acer FA100
- Acer
- Sabrent Rocket 5
- Sabrent
Model Number
- Acer FA100
- Acer FA100 (Micron B27B)
- Sabrent Rocket 5
- Rocket 5
Series
- Acer FA100
- FA100
- Sabrent Rocket 5
- Rocket 5
Bus Interface
- Acer FA100
- PCIe 3.0 x4
- Sabrent Rocket 5
- PCIe 5.0 x4, NVMe
Sequential Read
- Acer FA100
- 3300 MB/s-76%
- Sabrent Rocket 5
- 14000 MB/s
Sequential Write
- Acer FA100
- 2700 MB/s-78%
- Sabrent Rocket 5
- 12300 MB/s
NAND Type
- Acer FA100
- TLC
- Sabrent Rocket 5
- TLC with DRAM Cache
Which one should you pick?
Choose Acer FA100 if you already have it on hand or find it at a lower price.
Choose Sabrent Rocket 5 if you want the higher speed score (9.7 vs 6.4), the higher sequential read (14000 MB/s vs 3300 MB/s) and the higher sequential write (12300 MB/s vs 2700 MB/s).
Verdict
Sabrent Rocket 5
8.5 / 10 Expert Rating
A legitimate Gen 5 flagship at a more competitive price than the big-name alternatives, provided your motherboard can actually feed it.