The Acer Predator GM3500 is your run-of-the-mill PCIe 3.0 SSD. It uses old hardware and doesn’t try anything new. Its limited capacity range makes it ideal for cheap builds or upgrades that don’t require anything fancy. It has enough performance to get the job done, but it’s not as fast or efficient as newer drives. Acer backs it up with a fair warranty and some software, so it’s a good choice if the price is right. But otherwise, there’s nothing too exciting here.
The ‘gold’ standard for PCIe 3.0 SSDs remains the SK hynix Gold P31, with the exception of the Samsung 970 Evo Plus. The Evo Plus has seen some hardware changes in the last year or so, and it’s also had some hot sales, so it’s back in contention. It still feels cumbersome compared to efficient 4-channel drives like the Gold P31 and less powerful options like the Sabrent Rocket and this GM3500 (which tend to run cooler). A more direct impact is the availability of new DRAM-less drives, especially PCIe 4.0 capable drives. This makes PCIe 3.0 SSDs with DRAM feel obsolete.
Of course, the appeal of PCIe 3.0 SSDs like the Gold P31 is the fact that they’re often a little cheaper. This makes a drive like the GM3500 a great replacement when selling if you’re just upgrading an older machine or adding a cheaper build. It’s a mature, proven technology that’s “fast enough” for most important things. This is good because the GM3500 takes no risks. You don’t always want the latest technology, especially when it comes to his NVMe storage. Of course, the SATA option exists, but innovation there has stagnated. Also, those who expect the highest possible reliability should look to a technology that is still being actively developed and improved.
specification
| product | 512GB | 1TB |
|---|---|---|
| price | $54.99 | $94.99 |
| Capacity (User / Raw) | 512GB / 512GB | 1024GB / 1024GB |
| form factor | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 |
| interface/protocol | PCIe3.0×4 | PCIe3.0×4 |
| controller | SM2262EN | SM2262EN |
| DRAM | DDR4 | DDR4 |
| flash memory | 96-layer micron TLC | 96-layer micron TLC |
| Sequential read | 3,400MBps | 3,400MBps |
| Sequential write | 2,400MBps | 3,000MBps |
| random read | 190K | 320K |
| random write | 350K | 350K |
| safety | none | none |
| Endurance (TBW) | 300TB | 600TB |
| part number | BL.9BWWR.101 | BL.9BWWR.102 |
| guarantee | 5 years | 5 years |
The Acer GM3500 is only available in two capacities, 512GB and 1TB. This may seem restrictive, but if you just need a basic drive for your OS, it should be enough. Since this is a PCIe 3.0 drive, sequential read and write speeds are limited to around 3.4/3.0GBps. IOPS are lackluster, as expected from using older hardware. However, Acer backs it up with his 5-year warranty and 600 TB writes per 1 TB capacity.
The real problem with this drive is that it’s priced very close to mid-range PCIe 4.0 drives at the time of review. Options such as the WD SN770, HP FX900, and Silicon Power UD90 are DRAM-less. Drives such as the Crucial P3 and P3 Plus offer greater capacities. It’s also DRAM-less, but with QLC. All of these drives use newer hardware that easily compensates for the lack of DRAM, which puts the GM3500 in a slightly awkward position.
Software and accessories
Acer offers an OEM version of Acronis True Image on this drive. This is convenient and convenient for cloning, which is common during storage upgrades.
look carefully
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This is a basic drive without fancy cooling or styling. Under the top label, you will see two NAND packages, a controller, and one DRAM package. This layout is a little different than usual, especially since it is single sided.
This controller used in the past had a different physical configuration in terms of components and was usually double sided even if the capacity was small. So the GM3500 is easier to cool and may work better in some machines such as laptops that are limited to single sided drives.
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The controller is the SMI SM2262EN, an outdated but effective design. In some respects this has been improved in SM2267. adata S50 light, but that controller was never widely used. The SM2262EN and its predecessor his SM2262, along with Phison’s E12 (later his E12S) controller, were key in tapping into his consumer NVMe market. The SM2262EN isn’t as efficient or powerful as newer controller designs, but it does offer a mature platform for those who don’t need the fastest tech.
The DRAM is 1GB of DDR4, perfect for 1TB of storage.
The flash is labeled BW29F4T08EMLCE. It is managed by Biwin who has worked with his HP on SSD products. The rest of the code, in turn, shows this his Micron NAND placed in his 4Tb or 512GB module in 8-bit configuration. The last part is similar to the flash we saw on the HP FX900 Pro, but not exactly the same. This shows his two generations in different generations, especially when comparing ‘C’ and ‘E’. His 128-layer generation of Micron was never common, but 96-layer here and 176-layer there.
Micron actually had multiple configurations of this 96-layer TLC, but the most common is the later B27B. Some early drives with the SM2262EN controller used he B27A instead. More commonly, 64-layer B17A was used. B27B has some changes like faster I/O speed and smaller block size than B27A. This isn’t a big deal, but it does suggest that the flash the GM3500 uses has better endurance and performance.
There are also drives with this controller that use the old 64-layer TLC, as made famous by the Adata SX8200 Pro hardware swap. These drives are most likely now using 96 layers or higher as 64 layers are no longer in stock.
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