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Acer FA100 vs XPG MARS 970 PLUS SSD: Comparison

What is the difference between Acer FA100 and XPG MARS 970 PLUS SSD?

Sequential read is where these two genuinely part company, Acer FA100 3300 MB/s against XPG MARS 970 PLUS SSD 11000 MB/s, a 70% lead for XPG MARS 970 PLUS SSD. Measured rather than claimed: in Speed Score the XPG MARS 970 PLUS SSD returns 8.5 against 6.4, a 25% lead. XPG MARS 970 PLUS SSD also leads on sequential write, 2700 MB/s on the Acer FA100 versus 10000 MB/s on the XPG MARS 970 PLUS SSD. There is a split on bus interface as well, PCIe 3.0 x4 on the Acer FA100 versus PCIe 5.0 x4 on the XPG MARS 970 PLUS SSD. They differ on dram cache too, DRAM-less on the Acer FA100 versus DRAM-less with HMB on the XPG MARS 970 PLUS SSD.

Which should you buy, Acer FA100 or XPG MARS 970 PLUS SSD?

Buy the Acer FA100 for everyday laptops and desktops with a PCIe 3.0 M.2 slot. It also earns its place with budget upgrades needing 2000 GB of NVMe storage in a standard M.2 2280 slot. Avoid it for anyone wanting PCIe 4.0 speeds, since this drive tops out at 3300 MB/s reads.

What Acer FA100 and XPG MARS 970 PLUS SSD have in common

The common ground is wider than the gap: nand type, form factor and drive type are identical here.

Specs and benchmarks

  • Speed Score

    Acer FA100
    6.4/10-25%
    XPG MARS 970 PLUS SSD
    8.5/10Best

    How fast this drive is, rated from its read and write speeds, cache and NAND type. 10 is the fastest.

  • Brand

    Acer FA100
    Acer
    XPG MARS 970 PLUS SSD
    XPG
  • Model Number

    Acer FA100
    Acer FA100 (Micron B27B)
    XPG MARS 970 PLUS SSD
    XPG MARS 970 PLUS
  • Series

    Acer FA100
    FA100
    XPG MARS 970 PLUS SSD
    MARS 970 PLUS
  • Drive Type

    Acer FA100
    Internal
    XPG MARS 970 PLUS SSD
    Internal
  • Bus Interface

    Acer FA100
    PCIe 3.0 x4
    XPG MARS 970 PLUS SSD
    PCIe 5.0 x4
  • Form Factor

    Acer FA100
    M.2 2280
    XPG MARS 970 PLUS SSD
    M.2 2280
  • Sequential Read

    Acer FA100
    3300 MB/s-70%
    XPG MARS 970 PLUS SSD
    11000 MB/s
  • Sequential Write

    Acer FA100
    2700 MB/s-73%
    XPG MARS 970 PLUS SSD
    10000 MB/s
  • DRAM Cache

    Acer FA100
    DRAM-less (HMB)
    XPG MARS 970 PLUS SSD
    DRAM-less with HMB
  • NAND Type

    Acer FA100
    TLC
    XPG MARS 970 PLUS SSD
    TLC

    Which one should you pick?

    Choose Acer FA100 if you already have it on hand or find it at a lower price.

    Choose XPG MARS 970 PLUS SSD if you want the higher speed score (8.5 vs 6.4), the higher sequential read (11000 MB/s vs 3300 MB/s) and the higher sequential write (10000 MB/s vs 2700 MB/s).

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