SK hynix Platinum P41 2TB NVMe drive review — Another gem

Good drives can improve your gameplay experience. In my recent PC build, I installed two NVMe drives, and I’m moving away from using my Samsung SSD for gaming. I wasn’t sure just how big of a jump I’d get, but I should have known how well the SK hynix P41 2TB drive would do just from our review of their portable drive (that review here). I’ve done a little bit of investigating, and it’s easy to see that you should swap over to an NVMe drive, and especially one from SK hynix.

Inside the beautifully designed box is the SK hynix Platinum P41 2TB NVMe. That’s it. It’s also all you need, although if you’re concerned about heat and your PC doesn’t have a heatsink already on the motherboard, that might be worth an additional purchase. Otherwise, the box is well-packed with the P41 sandwiched between plastic packaging. It’s not going anywhere, which is exactly what you want when your drive could be bouncing around in a mail truck for days.

[Unlock the True Potential of your PC]@SKhynix's Platinum P41 SSD completes next-generation computing systems with industry-leading performance.

Reaching up to 7,000MB/s, it delivers unmatched data transfer speed and performance to your computer#SKhynix #SSD #Platinum41 #P41 pic.twitter.com/lscSJwR2Lp

— SK hynix (@SKhynix) December 7, 2023

The P41 NVMe is a tiny thing, so make sure you are ready to install it as soon as it leaves the box. Just as with any other NVMe, it’s an easy thing to do, inserting it into the slot and screwing it down to the pylon. The P41 is plug and play as well, simply requiring a format to be recognized. I did have an initial issue with my computer not showing it, but hopping into the Computer Management tab on my PC had things fixed in a jiffy.

Once you’re done, it’s on to checking out the space and speeds. I had about 1.8TB of the 2TB drive available, which is a chunk but understandable. It’s not uncommon for manufacturers to measure with 1000kb instead of 1040kb, meaning that they end up with slightly less than the full capacity. You can learn all about that here.

As for speeds, we jumped right into our faithful programs, ATTO Benchmark and CrystalMark. As you see, these readings show this drive can read info insanely fast. One area I was a little confused with was the writing, where it would oddly max out on ATTO around 5.5GB. I’m assuming this must just be my PC throttling something or ATTO misreading, but in any case it’s still speedy. I don’t see that issue on CrystalMark, with write speeds coming in at 6.6GB.

While statistics help you form an opinion, the real testing involves simply using the drive. I had 480GB worth of video games on my Samsung SSD that needed to be transferred, as the SK hynix P41 was becoming my main gaming drive. To my surprise, it took less than 30 minutes to move this gargantuan half a terabyte of data. Trying to push the limits even further, I took 150GBs and moved it to my main/OS NVMe drive and moved them to the P41. Even faster results, as it all transferred in two minutes. These findings are simply astounding, even if I shouldn’t be surprised after how well their X31 Beetle functioned.

Further testing involved loading speeds on video games. Most know I play a lot of Call of Duty, so it’s extremely important to me how quickly I’m in the fight. My PS5 was faster than my previous NVMe (which is admittedly a cheaper, four year old Sabrent), with that drive loading me into action in 23 seconds. Given that result, I’d bet other forms of in-game loading are also running slower.

With the Sk hynix P41, Call of Duty loads from the desktop in TEN seconds – a full 13 seconds faster than my older model Sabrent NVMe. That mark is incredible compared to my previous drive, and is impressive considering the amount of data Call of Duty has flowing in its processes (we all know how big Call of Duty games have become). Also of note, arguably the most technically demanding game of last year, Alan Wake 2, cold boots in SIX seconds. Again, jaw dropping numbers that point to the technical excellence of the P41 NVMe drive.

As for using this drive on PS5, the stats tell you it will work well. It easily meets and exceeds the 5,500MB/s requirement. The only thing you’ll have to grab is a heatsink, which will keep your drive in good shape inside the PS5’s NVMe bay.

All of this in mind, my only drawback with the P41 is the price. The 1TB sits at $119.99 on Amazon, and $169.99 for the 2TB. It’s a fantastic product and worth the price, but you can at least get similar performance for a pretty decent discount. I’ve seen these drives discounted before (I’m pretty sure the X31 Beetle was on special when I reviewed it), but at full MSRP you’ll have to make a tough decision. On the plus side, they do have a five year limited warranty attached, where most others cap out at three, so your purchase is protected for longer – perhaps making the protection worth the additional price.

See below for our list of partners and affiliates: