YANSEN 2TB 2.5” SATA SSD (YSS25P2YT02TCNNNN) Benchmark on Arch Linux

I recently got my hands on the YANSEN 2TB 2.5” SATA SSD (model YSS25P2YT02TCNNNN). This drive is based on their YSISXXX-P330 series, and I decided to put it through its paces on my Arch Linux setup to see how it performs against its official specs.

Here’s a detailed breakdown of my findings.

1. Manufacturer Specifications

First, let’s look at the specs provided on the official datasheet.

The specs look solid on paper, especially the high endurance rating (TBW) and top-tier sequential speeds for a SATA drive.

2. Testbed Configuration

All benchmarks were run on the following system to ensure transparency.

• OS: Arch Linux
• Kernel: 6.17.5-arch1-1
• CPU: Intel(R) N150 (Low-power processor)
• RAM: 32GB DDR4 (Single Channel)
• Tools: hdparm, fio
• Filesystem: EXT4

3. Benchmark Results & Analysis

Here’s a summary of the advertised specs versus my measured results.

Sequential Performance

Sequential speeds are crucial for handling large files, like video editing, game installations, or transferring disk images.

• Sequential Read: The drive achieved an impressive 563 MB/s, exceeding the manufacturer’s maximum advertised speed.
• Sequential Write: It delivered a solid 530 MB/s, sitting comfortably within the official spec range of 500-550 MB/s.

These results are excellent. For large file operations, this drive pushes the SATA III interface to its absolute limit.

Random 4K Performance (IOPS)

Random 4K performance is a key indicator of real-world responsiveness, affecting OS boot times, application loading, and web browsing.

• 4K Random Read: I measured 40.3k IOPS.
• 4K Random Write: The result was 79.6k IOPS.

These figures, while decent, are noticeably lower than the advertised specs. I strongly suspect this performance gap is due to my testbed’s configuration. The Intel N150 is a low-power processor, and the system is running single-channel DDR4 memory. High-intensity benchmarks like 4K random I/O are sensitive not just to the drive itself, but also to the CPU’s ability to handle the high interrupt load and the available memory bandwidth.

It’s highly probable that on a more powerful desktop system (e.g., a Core i5 or higher with dual-channel memory), these IOPS figures would be much closer to the official specifications.

4. Final Verdict

The YANSEN 2TB 2.5” SSD (YSS25P2YT02TCNNNN) proved to be a very capable drive.

The Good:

• Excellent sequential read and write performance that meets and even exceeds official claims.
• A high endurance rating of 2000 TBW and a 5-year warranty inspire confidence in its longevity.

The Caveat:

• Random 4K performance was likely bottlenecked by our low-power test system. Its full potential was not realized in this specific setup.

Overall, this SSD is a solid choice for anyone needing a high-capacity SATA drive for mass storage, a game library, or even as a primary OS drive. While its full random I/O potential was held back by my hardware, its sequential performance is top-tier for the interface. On a more powerful rig, it should perform even better.

Appendix: Full Benchmark Logs

For full transparency, here are the raw commands and outputs from my tests.

hdparm

$ sudo hdparm -T /dev/sda

/dev/sda:
 Timing cached reads:   18786 MB in  2.00 seconds = 9412.80 MB/sec

$ sudo hdparm -t /dev/sda

/dev/sda:
 Timing buffered disk reads: 1440 MB in  3.00 seconds = 479.93 MB/sec

fio - Sequential Read

$ sudo fio --name=seq-read --ioengine=libaio --rw=read --bs=1M --size=2G --direct=1 --iodepth=32 --numjobs=1 --directory=/mnt/test_ssd --group_reporting --runtime=60
...
  read: IOPS=536, BW=537MiB/s (563MB/s)(2048MiB/3815msec)
...
Run status group 0 (all jobs):
   READ: bw=537MiB/s (563MB/s), 537MiB/s-537MiB/s (563MB/s-563MB/s), io=2048MiB (2147MB), run=3815-3815msec

fio - Sequential Write

$ sudo fio --name=seq-write --ioengine=libaio --rw=write --bs=1M --size=2G --direct=1 --iodepth=32 --numjobs=1 --directory=/mnt/test_ssd --group_reporting --runtime=60
...
  write: IOPS=505, BW=505MiB/s (530MB/s)(2048MiB/4054msec); 0 zone resets
...
Run status group 0 (all jobs):
  WRITE: bw=505MiB/s (530MB/s), 505MiB/s-505MiB/s (530MB/s-530MB/s), io=2048MiB (2147MB), run=4054-4054msec

fio - 4K Random Read

$ sudo fio --name=rand-read --ioengine=libaio --rw=randread --bs=4k --size=2G --direct=1 --iodepth=64 --numjobs=4 --directory=/mnt/test_ssd --group_reporting --runtime=60
...
  read: IOPS=40.3k, BW=157MiB/s (165MB/s)(8192MiB/52030msec)
...
Run status group 0 (all jobs):
   READ: bw=157MiB/s (165MB/s), 157MiB/s-157MiB/s (165MB/s-165MB/s), io=8192MiB (8590MB), run=52030-52030msec

fio - 4K Random Write

$ sudo fio --name=rand-write --ioengine=libaio --rw=randwrite --bs=4k --size=2G --direct=1 --iodepth=64 --numjobs=4 --directory=/mnt/test_ssd --group_reporting --runtime=60
...
  write: IOPS=79.6k, BW=311MiB/s (326MB/s)(8192MiB/26338msec); 0 zone resets
...
Run status group 0 (all jobs):
  WRITE: bw=311MiB/s (326MB/s), 311MiB/s-311MiB/s (326MB/s-326MB/s), io=8192MiB (8590MB), run=26338-26338msec