The name Hynix is not unfamiliar to everyone when it comes to memory products, especially DRAMs. This time we take a look at the Platinum P41, which Hynix claims is the high-performance PCIe 4.0 NVMe solid-state drive that offers some of the fastest data transfer speeds currently available. As this is the first Hynix SSD we’ve gotten our hands on, let’s see what it’s really capable of and if it can deliver the performance as advertised.
Specifications
| Capacity | 500GB | 1TB | 2TB |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 | ||
| Interface / Protocol | PCIe 4.0 x4 / NVMe 1.4 | ||
| Controller | SK hynix Aries | ||
| DRAM | SK hynix LPDDR4 | ||
| Memory | SK hynix 176L TLC | ||
| Sequential Read / Sequential Write | 7,000 MBps / 4,700 MBps | 7,000 MBps / 6,500 MBps | |
| Random Read / Random Write | 960,000 IOPS / 1,000,000 IOPS | 1,300,000 IOPS / 1,300,000 IOPS | |
| Security | AES-256 | ||
| Endurance (TBW) | 500TBW | 750TBW | 1200TBW |
| Part Number | SHPP41-500GM | SHPP41-1000GM | SHPP41-2000GM |
| Pricing | $82.99 | $129.99 | $179.99 |
| Warranty | 5-Year | ||
overview
The Platinum P41 ships in a simple box but upon taking a closer look at the seal label, we can see a rather unusual message that says ‘return the product within 30 days of purchase if you do not agree with the terms’. Inside the box, you’ll find the user instructions, terms and conditions, and the SSD that is sandwiched in between the cardboard box.
Looking at the SSD, we can see that it doesn’t come with any heatsink but it’s not really an issue because we have come across plenty of PCIe Gen4 SSDs that don’t ship with a heatsink as well. The Platinum P41 we got here is the 1TB model, so you’ll only find the NAND chips on one side of the PCB.
As for the components, the Platinum P41 is fit with a Hynix ACNS075 controller, two Hynix 176-layer 512Gb TLC NAND flash chips, and one Hynix LPDDR4-4266 2GB DRAM as cache. Just like Samsung SSDS, everything on the Platinum P41 comes from Hynix, which is developed and manufactured by itself.
Benchmarks
For the benchmark, we’ve tested the Legend 970 using the following specs to eliminate any potential bottleneck:
| CPU | Intel Core i9-14900K |
| Motherboard | ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 APEX ENCORE |
| Memory | Kingston Fury Renegade DDR5 RGB@7200MHz CL32 (24GB x2) |
| Graphics Card | Gigabyte GeForce RTX 4060 Ti Gaming OC 16G |
| Power Supply | Cooler Master M2000 Platinum |
| Primary Storage | Kingston KC3000 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD 2TB |
| CPU Cooler | Cooler MasterLiquid PL360 Flux |
| Chassis | Streacom Open Benchtable BC1 V2 |
| Operating System | Windows 11 Pro 64-bit 22H2 |
We’ve gathered the performance data using commonly used tools like CrystalDiskMark, ATTO Disk Benchmark, and AS SSD Benchmark for the base performance numbers as shown below:
As Hynix claims that not having a heatsink will not affect the performance much, the benchmarks are also done separately with and without a heatsink in order to verify that claim. From the test results, we can see that the numbers are pretty much the same in the majority of the tests, which confirms Hynix’s claim.
Moving on to the sustained write performance, the Platinum P41 faired quite well with an average write speed of 4,255MB/s throughout the process, one of the highest we’ve seen to date. However, that’s not the only impressive thing about the Platinum P41 as we can see that the write performance remained high around 4500~5000MB/s until the 72% mark before it dropped to about 1600-1800MB/s range as the cache fills up. We can see the attempt to recover the speed back to 5000MB/s range at around the 88% mark, which is rather impressive and we didn’t expect to see this during the test.
What really impresses us is that the performance impact is almost negligible even though there’s still a 5°C difference in the peak load temperature. Despite not seeing any signs of thermal throttle after repeating the same set of tests a couple of times, we still recommend using a heatsink whenever possible to ensure the longevity of the SSD itself.
Final Thoughts
Overall, the SK Hynix Platinum P41 is a top-tier SSD that caters to users who prioritize speed and performance. From the tests we have conducted, it exceeds our expectations with ease, especially the sustained write performance that comes in useful in write-heavy operations. It’s a great choice for gamers, creative professionals, or anyone who works with large files regularly.
Other than the blazing-fast sequential read and write speeds which translate to significantly faster loading times for applications, games, and files, its capability of running at the best performance possible even without a heatsink is an impressive feat we don’t get to see very often on a PCIe Gen4 SSD. This also makes the Platinum P41 a great choice for compact devices with limited clearance for M.2 SSD slot i.e mini PC or laptops.
Price-wise, the Platinum P41 was rather expensive when it was first launched but the price has gone down significantly now and it’s much more reasonable now albeit it’s still on the higher side. For the price of $129.99 for the 1TB model and $179.99 for the 2TB model, I’d say they’re both reasonable prices if you’re willing to fork out a little bit more for it.
