Disclosure: (2) Review Sample
Rhinotech has provided a sample product for review, but has not incentivized a positive review.
Overview
This is a review of the P4500 2.0TB U.2 NVMe SSD, recently featured in #marketplace:tech-deals here for $170.02 with free shipping.
The SSD was shipped overnight on 1/13/21 and received on 1/14/21 without incident. Standard packaging included an oversized box, ample amounts of foam, and an anti-static bag.
Overnight shipping is not standard and adds an additional fee.
Standard shipping is free.
Specifications
Source: Intel Ark
Package Contents
Original HP Enterprise warranty information
The drive is pre-mounted in a HPE caddy, obviously we will be removing it.
Stickers include HPE part numbers and serial information.
One upside of a U.2 SSD is the huge heatsink on the bottom of the drive.
Looks like the drive sled has a little bit of brains to it - presumably the connectors are for LED(s) and possibly a reset button.
Setup
With the DLINKER PCIe x4 adapter, Windows detects the drive immediately.
The card is pure PCIe passthrough.
The drive is secured with 4 screws (included) on the back of the card.
Notice the huge cutout for the heatsink.
Brand new, 2 power on count (presumably one was from initial testing). 0GB read/written. Notice TRIM is enabled, whereas it is not enabled on my 6.4TB Intel SSD with Oracle firmware.
Testing
Conclusion
The Intel DC P4500 U.2 2TB is a fantastic NVMe SSD for just about any purpose. It has above average endurance compared to consumer SSDs, an included heatsink, and great performance. Unfortunately, its U.2 form factor can make it a little challenging to use in some cases, and there is a bit of additional cost if you need an adaptor. If you can stomach those small issues, I would recommend the DC P4500 over any consumer 2TB NVMe on the market. 2TB of extremely reliable and fast NVMe storage for significantly less than $200 is a great price point.