KLEVV is an impressive brand and has not had any product that has failed us yet, so much more so from their top of the line products. Today, we’re again putting that to the test with a pair of new SSD products from KLEVV. In the lab, we have the KLEVV CRAS C920 and the CRAS C720. A Gen4 and Gen3 NVMe M.2 SSD.
In this review we’ll be covering the PCIe Gen3 SSD from KLEVV: the CRAS C720. This is an annual upgrade to the previous C710 which featured an SLC-backed, DRAMless SM2263XT-equipped drive which offered good value for money but has now been bumped to a more mid-mainstream level due to the rapid progress of SSDs. KLEVV aims to keep up with the release of the CRAS C720.
In this review we’ll check out the KLEVV CRAS C720. Much like the CRAS 920 to their PCIe Gen4 line, the CRAS C720 exists to fill in the top PCIe Gen3.0 choice for KLEVV. Read on to find out more.
Features & Specifications
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| KLEVV CRAS C920 | KLEVV CRAS C720 | |
| Form Factor | M.2 | M.2 |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 NVMe x4 | PCIe 3.0 NVMe x4 |
| Size/Capacity | 1TB, 2TB | 256GB, 512GB, 1TB, 2TB |
| Controller | Phison E18 | Phison E12S |
| NAND Type | 3D TLC | 3D TLC |
| Sequential R/W | 1TB – 7000/5500MB/s 2TB – 7000/6850MB/s |
256GB – 3200/1300MB/s 512GB -3400/2400MB/s 1TB – 3400/3100MB/s 2TB – 3400/3100MB/s |
| Total Bytes Written | 1TB – 700TBW 2TB – 1400TBW |
256GB – 170TBW 512GB – 280TBW 1TB – 565TBW 2TB – 1550TBW |
| Warranty | 5-year | 5-year |
- Utilizes the PCI Express® Gen3 x4 interface supported by NVMe™ 1.3
- DRAM buffer to extend SSD lifespan, enhance runtime performance, and strengthen the durability all at once
- Intelligent SLC caching algorithm for high endurance and performance improvement
- Powerful Hardware LDPC ECC Engine for endurance and retention improvement
- End to end data path protection with CRC parity
- SRAM error handling on major memory buffers
- Support Global Wear Leveling for SSD lifespan extension
- Thermal throttling algorithm to protect the SSD integrity
- Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.)
Closer Look
Performance Testing – KLEVV CRAS C720
Test Setup
Processor: Intel Core i9-11900K
Motherboard: ROG Maximus XIII EXTREME
Memory: G.Skill TridentZ Royale DDR4-4000 CL14 16GBx2 (32GB)
Storage: Patriot Viper VP4100 1TB (OS), tested drive as listed
PSU:Â Seasonic Platinum 1050w
Cooling: Corsair H150i 360mm AIO
Monitor: ROG PG27UQ
VGA: ZOTAC GTX 1050 Ti
Our sample for this test is the KLEVV CRAS C720 1TB
Potential Performance (ATTO Disk Benchmark)
ATTO Disk Benchmark benchmarks a drive’s read and write speeds with increasing file sizes and graphs them. This benchmark shows a good range of how fast an SSD is at a particular size and should give a good image of what to expect from the storage device.
AIDA64 Disk Benchmark
AIDA64 features an internal storage benchmarking tool. It has a large suite of read and write tests that will measure both linear (sequential) and random disk performance in both transfer rate and access times. AIDA64’s write tests are destructive and will destroy all drive data. Linear write testing in AIDA64 is what I use as a stress for our thermal capture. The random read benchmark here shows us how consistent the read performance is in varying sizes and location on the disk the data is written.
Linear Write
The KLEVV CRAS C720 utilizes a pseudo-SLC cache with the E12S DRAM buffer to provide quick bursts of write speeds of around 2GB and then fall back to a more relaxed 1100MB/s write speed.
Anvil’s Storage Utilities
This benchmark features a dedicated SSD benchmark which measures disk transfer rate as well as IO speed. The benchmark serves to compliment the other sequential tests in this review to show consistency.
AS SSD
Another SSD benchmark oriented towards sequential and 4K transfer performance. This benchmark also features a compression and file copy benchmark for more specific testing.
CrystalDiskMark
CrystalDIskMark has been the most actively updated disk benchmark amongst all the ones we use and is effectively the most reliable. Unfortunately, version to version results are not comparable which limits the ability to extrapolate comparative data. Still its a reliable and direct benchmark. Like the previous, it allows control over test data pattern, the test data size, amount of passes and individual benchmark control.
User Experience & Conclusion
Our charts may put the CRAS C720 at just the middle of the pack of our review samples but to put that in more context, the majority of drive in the charts are PCIe Gen 4 drives. Even the Gammix S50 Lite is a PCIe Gen4 drive, albeit aimed to compete with PCIe Gen3 drive. Still, the KLEVV CRAS C720 proves to be a competent performance rival to the more accessible PCIe Gen4 drives.
This actually puts forth the question if you really need a PCIe Gen4 drive. To be absolutely honest, you really don’t. In most cases, if you’ve already saturated your upgrade paths, a Gen4 drive upgrade would the more logical choice but for any PC coming from a factory SSD or your first SSD build with a SATA drive installed, jumping to an PCIe 3.0 drive would be in most cases, an underwhelming experience. With that in mind, if your primary use is just a storage upgrade for your PC, whether its work or play or for both, the difference would be quite unfelt unless you’re really looking closely with benchmarks etc.
With that said, the KLEVV CRAS C720 compliments KLEVV’s SSD offering by providing a contrasting value option for the impressive CRAS 920 yet maintain a very impressive performance offering. At the time of review, the KLEVV CRAS C720 is around PHP4000 for the 512GB model and the 1TB just over PHP8000. It competes heavily wit Samsung’s 970 EVO Plus and Sandisk Extreme but is mostly plagued by lower priced offerings from ADATA and their gaming brand XPG. Ultimately, this will boil down to value and brand preference and I’m here to tell you that KLEVV is a brand that I respect and a brand I can put my confidence in. KLEVV is officially and locally distributed in the Philippines and has been so for a couple of years now so aftersales support is assured.
If you’re looking for a value drive, you may find better offering elsewhere but if you want the best PCIe Gen3.0 offering for now, its hard to ignore the KLEVV CRAS C720.
KLEVV backs the CRAS C720 with a 5-year warranty. I give it the B2G Recommended Seal!
