The new FireCuda Gaming SSD from Seagate is one more option to store and run games for our computer, with a function that makes it much faster than the rest, if we can use it.
Now that video games have settled into 4K, the storage requirements have changed a lot; They are programs that occupy more and more space, and especially, that require high data transfers to run correctly.
If your gaming computer is having trouble loading textures, or loading times are too long, you may have a storage bottleneck . Of course, that means that you will have to change the internal SSD, or opt for a simpler and just as fast solution, an SSD based on NVMe technology, which uses the same data bus as PCIe cards to obtain absurd speeds.
A ‘brick’ with RGB
But before that, the design is the part that amazes the most at first with the FireCuda Gaming SSD. I can’t help but define it as a ‘brick’, a black rectangle with sharp corners that can hurt a lot if you drop it on your foot. In addition, it weighs a lot (100 grams) for its small size, so it gives the feeling of being very dense.
The only two design elements we see are the Seagate logo, and the line at the end; that’s where we have RGB lighting, as is mandatory in a gaming device. We can configure it with the Seagate Toolkit program (which we must download, since it is not stored in the unit), with different effects and colors; The best thing is that it is compatible with Razer Chroma , so if we use the Synapse program, we can make it synchronize with our Razer mice or other devices, a great detail.
We only need a cable, the USB-C that is included in the box to connect it with our computer; We do not have an adapter to USB-A, and the truth is that it is not recommended to use one, since you really want to connect this SSD to the fastest port that your computer has. Trust me, he’s going to take advantage of it.
Fast, if you can take it
The FireCuda Gaming SSD is one of these models, one of the fastest that I have been able to test; in fact, it is so fast that your computer may not be able to fully support it.
Lets start by the beginning. The FireCuda houses a small SSD, based on NAND memory and with an NVMe connection taken advantage of by a USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 port ; This last part is the important one, since it is what allows this SSD to reach transfer speeds of 2,000 MB / s.
Everyone knows USB 3.1, which is capable of speeds of 1,000MB / s, and some may be aware of USB 3.2. The version that this SSD uses is Gen 2×2, also known as SuperSpeed USB 20 Gbps , and the name says it all: thanks to a higher speed per lane and a more advanced encoding system, this standard is able to take full advantage of the memory of the SSD.
That translates to lightning-fast transfers and instant load times; this is one of the fastest SSDs on the market, hands down, but it’s hard to take advantage of.
The problem is in the USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 standard, which came at a somewhat complicated time, right in the middle of USB 3.1 and the announcement of USB4, the new version that also allows obtaining speeds of 20 Gbps in one of its versions.
This is where the mess begins: just because a computer has USB4 does not mean that it can support USB 3.2 Gen 2×2; the USB4 specification states that 20Gbps USB 3.2 support is optional, not mandatory. So most new computers with Thunderbolt 4 and USB4 are not able to really take advantage of this SSD.
It’s something I’ve learned the hard way when testing this SSD. Although I have used it with several gaming laptops with Thunderbolt 4 and USB4, none have been able to take full advantage of it, reaching an approximate cap of 1,000 MB / s ; Specifically, CrystalMark has achieved 1,078 MB / s of sequential read, and 1,052 MB / s of sequential write, on average in several consecutive tests. That’s really fast, enough to make us forget about the USB mess.
I was more surprised by the actual performance of this SSD. The random read and write tests were very good, averaging 300MB / s in both cases, and that translates to excellent transfer rates when copying a lot of files; as for example, when we load games installed on the SSD . Yes, instead of using this external drive to store your games, I recommend installing them directly there to enjoy the maximum possible speed. And when we copy large files, they are around 700 MB / s.
Fast, even when ‘caked’
It may seem somewhat disappointing to buy this SSD and not be able to take advantage of the speed that USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 offers, but on the contrary, I would say that it can be a good investment for the future. If you don’t have a laptop to support it, you can take better advantage of it when the standard is better adopted by manufacturers.
Even with computers with USB4 or USB 3.1 connections, the performance is very good; in fact, it is much better than with other SSDs designed for those ports, as it has more room for improvement. It is something that we notice with the real performance, with transfers of many files and the loading of video games.
The Seagate FireCuda Gaming SSD is a great storage gaming device, but it will cost you. The 500 GB version costs 134.99 euros, the 1 TB, 214.99 euros and the 2 TB, no less than 359.99 euros. It is already available in stores in Spain.
