Teamgroup is currently aiming towards being the very best SSD maker in the world with their brand new innovative M.2 cooling designs. Their latest release Teamgroup T-Force Cardea Zero Z340 M.2 NVMe SSD is the industry’s first M.2 SSD featuring a graphene foil cooling shield on top of the SSD offering a much more efficient cooling solution and this ultimately leading to higher speeds even after continuous use. This SSD is specially targeted towards gaming use and for that, we already know that temperatures play an important role. This is our review of the brand new T-Force Cardea Zero Z340 M.2 NVMe SSD by Teamgroup.
Technical Specs
Starting with the technical specs of the T-Force Cardea Zero Z340 M.2 NVMe SSD, it features a graphene foil cooling shield which is less than 1mm in thickness and allows to fit in any M.2 slot easily. It supports the latest PCIe Gen3x4 interface and features NVMe 1.3 standard. You can use them with both AMD and Intel processors without any sort of compatibility issues. Some of the features straight from Teamgroup include S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology), TRIM command, and LDPC ECC error correction mechanism. You have the option of choosing between 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage spaces. For this review, Teamgroup sent us the 512GB Cardea Zero Z340 variant of the M.2 SSD.
What’s in the Box?
Teamgroup T-Force Cardea Zero Z340 M.2 NVMe SSD comes in standard packaging where you can clearly see which variant of the SSD you went for. Apart from the SSD in the pack, you get a T-Force sticker that you can put on your gaming chassis.
Test Bench
Our test bench for this particular SSD was a middle-range build with the following specs:
- Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 3600x
- Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX X570-E
- Graphics Card: AMD Radeon 5700 XT
- Memory: G. Skill Trident Z 16GB (2 X 8GB) DDR4 3600MHZ CAS16
- PSU: Corsair RM850x
Benchmarks
Below we have some benchmarks regarding the performance of the Teamgroup T-Force Cardea Zero Z340 M.2 NVMe SSD. The file transfer was done from another M.2 NVMe SSD that is around 3 years old. I am pretty sure that the transfer speed could have been even higher if the source NVMe was a much newer one but even with an older version, the results are pretty good.
ATTO
ATTO
Crystal Mark
In our press release, Teamgroup officially stated that the Cardea Zero Z340 M.2 NVMe SSD is capable of reaching read/write speed of 3400/2100. As you can see from our Crystal Mark benchmark, the write speed is slightly higher than what we were told officially while the read speed is clearly attainable at SEQ1M Q8T1.
HD Tune Pro
HD Tune Pro
HD Tune Pro
HD Tune Pro
Windows File Transfer
The windows file transfer is yet again an estimate since our source M.2 SSD is not as fast as the newest gen Cardea Zero Z340 M.2 NVMe SSD. this speed can be even higher with a newer and modern gen M.2 SSD.
Here’s a direct visual comparison between the Samsung V-Nand SSD 970 Evo Plus NVMe M.2 and the Teamgroup T-Force Cardea Zero Z340 M.2 NVMe SSD. T-Force graphene copper foil certainly offers a much better heat dissipation solution and is more suited for longer gaming sessions. It also looks much better in your gaming rig if you have to use it in a slot that comes without an SSD shield. However, it is also a little more fragile than the traditional M.2 heatsinks so you will need to be a little extra careful and try not to put too much pressure on the front side as I managed to bend mine slightly from the top side.
Final Verdict:
Teamgroup has been making some of the best memory and storage products for a long time and their latest release T-Force Cardea Zero Z340 M.2 NVMe SSD is proof that Teamgroup is not planning to stop innovating anytime soon. In our test bench, the Z340 is currently the fastest M.2 SSD and also the prettiest one. Even if you have to use it without the motherboard’s SSD shield, you have a pretty efficient graphene copper foil cooling modules that offer superior cooling than any competition offered currently in the market with premium price tags. Teamgroup T-Force Cardea Zero Z340 NVMe SSD is not only a price-efficient option but it also delivers a solid performance that is far superior to its competition. Combine that with a 5-year warranty and you have yourself a solid SSD for gaming. This might change in the future since T-Force is releasing the industry’s very first Ceramic cooled M.2 SSD which might offer even better cooling options and speed but for the time being, if you are looking for a solid performing SSD, especially for gaming, I can recommend that you go for Teamgroup T-Force Cardea Zero Z340 M.2 NVMe SSD without a question.
