Apacer Panther AS350 AP240GAS350-1 240 GB

Black Panther

Apacer AS350 Panther is one of the most affordable solid-state drives in the domestic retail market, and if you only consider models from reputable brands (Apacer is a subsidiary of Acer), it is the cheapest. As expected for a budget SSD, it is built on TLC memory (planar SanDisk) with three bits per cell and average endurance (3,000 write cycles). For comparison, two-bit MLC withstands up to 10,000 cycles, while four-bit QLC only 1,000.

Smart and Sensible

The AS350 is managed by a "smart" Silicon Motion SM2258 controller. Theoretically, its speed characteristics can reach 560 and 520 MB/s for sequential read and write respectively (this is the maximum for SATA 3 interface). But in practice, Apacer has software-limited the speeds to 450 and 350 MB/s, so that the AS350 model does not interfere with the sales of more expensive and faster models in the Panther series. However, it should be noted that, traditionally for TLC memory and Silicon Motion controllers, the SLC cache size (software combination of cells into a single array) is one-third of the disk's volume. If you write a larger file or there is less free space on the disk than three times the file size, the write speed will drop to 70 MB/s.

Not for Programmers

What definitely reveals the budget nature of the Apacer AS350 Panther SSD is the low read and write speed of 4K blocks — 28,000 IOPS (though it can be even less). More expensive solid-state drives can boast twice or even three times better IOPS performance. This parameter is primarily important for programmers who create databases and websites consisting of a huge number of very, very small files. For professionals in this field, the Apacer AS350 Panther is categorically contraindicated. For other budget-conscious users who do not need ultra-high speed and durability, the AS350 will be a great replacement or addition to a slow HDD.