XPG is ADATA’s gaming-oriented brand, and its RGB-equipped NVMe M.2 SSD XPG Spectrix S40G is looking to appeal to gaming PC builders who enjoy light shows. Under the luminous hood, the S40G can be considered an upper mid-range PCIe Gen3 drive that offers high sequential performance but can not quite keep up with high-end M.2 SSDs such as ADATA’s own SX8200 Pro in other areas.
Overview: Memory Type, Controller, and Cache
Like most M.2 NVMe SSDs outside of the budget segment, the XPG Spectrix S40G uses 3D (layered) TLC (triple-level cell) NAND memory. This is paired with a DDR3 DRAM cache buffer that helps improve performance as well as endurance by reducing the amount of data shuffling directly on the NAND.
The controller used in the S40G – Realtek’s RTS5726 – was the flagship NVMe 1.3-compliant Gen3 x4 SSD controller from Realtek in 2019. While this controller is capable of saturating its PCIe 3.0 interface as measured in sequential throughput it is, of course, limited compared to later SSDs that utilize the double bandwidth of PCIe 4.0.
Like other high-end SSDs using TLC NAND, the XPG Spectrix S40G employs an SLC (single-level cell) mode cache to achieve performance at the advertised levels. Once the drive runs out of its SLC cache, it will have to resort to writing directly to the comparatively much slower TLC memory. This typically involves writing amounts of data well beyond what is normal in a consumer PC and so is rarely an issue.
Performance & Detailed Specifications
Starting from the 1GB capacity, the S40G’s sequential transfer rates max out at 3500 MB/s (read) and 3000 MB/s (write), meaning that the PCIe 3.0 x4 interface is mostly saturated. This puts the drive on par with many other SSDs from the same generation, such as the Samsung 970 EVO Plus or ADATA’s own SX 8200 Pro. Random performance is however lower compared to some other high-end Gen3 SSDs.
Specs: XPG Spectrix S40G
ADATA XPG
Spectrix S40G
256 GB
512GB
1TB
Form Factor
M.2 2280
M.2 2280
M.2 2280
Interface/
Protocol
PCIe 3.0 x4/
NVMe 1.3
PCIe 3.0 x4/
NVMe 1.3
PCIe 3.0 x4/
NVMe 1.3
Controller
Realtek
RTS5726
Realtek
RTS5726
Realtek
RTS5726
DRAM Cache
DDR3
DDR3
DDR3
Memory
3D TLC
3D TLC
3D TLC
Sequential Read
3,500 MB/s
3,500 MB/s
3,500 MB/s
Sequential Write
1,200 MB/s
2,400 MB/s
3,000 MB/s
Random Read
210K IOPS
300K IOPS
290K IOPS
Random Write
230K IOPS
240K IOPS
240K IOPS
Endurance
160 TBW
320 TBW
640 TBW
Warranty
5 Years
5 Years
5 Years
The XPG Spectrix S40G is also available in a 2TB and 4TB capacity, both of which offer about the same performance as the 1TB model according to the official specifications. These specs translate into average real-world performance, mainly due to the low random throughput compared to higher-end alternatives like the WD SN750.
What makes the ADATA XPG Spectrix S40G stand out in the crowd of mainstream M.2 SSDs is, of course, the drive’s RGB LEDs. The PCB is equipped with eight separately adjustable LEDs that can be controlled using ADATA’s RGB software, which lets you adjust the colors to suit your other components or select from a range of predefined light patterns.
Power Consumption
Idle power consumption 0.14 W, while the typical active power draw is 0.33 W. Due to its RGB additions, the XPG S40G is obviously not intended for use in a laptop.
Warranty and Endurance Rating
The S40G comes with a 5-year warranty and endurance ratings in TBW (terabytes written) that align with industry standards. Write endurance for the different capacities are:
160 TBW (256 GB)
320 TBW for (512 GB)
640 TBW for (1 TB)
1,280 TBW (2 TB)
2,560 WBT (4 TB)
For more information on the top-ranking M.2 solid state drive, see our frequently updated ranking here. or our overall SSD top list here.