Sony's SV-GS48 is not just any old SSD for any old type of customer.
With a retail cost nearly five times as high as other competitors in the SATA SSD space ($315.47 for our 480GB test sample), the SV-GS48 commands a high price for one reason and one reason alone: durability, inside and out.
With this family of 2.5-inch SATA SSDs, the increased toughness is meant to offset the considerable upfront investment, but this is still a very specialized drive for a very specific type of user.
The vast majority of standard SSD buyers out there can give it a pass, but for those who need a SATA drive that they can insert and reinsert constantly, and write and erase on a massive scale, it's just what the cinematographer ordered.
This SSD's Ready for Its Close-Up
Anyone who lays their eyes on the pricing of the Sony SV-GS48 (65 cents per gig, for PC Labs' test unit) will surely ask: Why so pricey? What about this SSD sets it so high above the rest?
It's all about the TBW, baby.
Where many internal SATA SSDs at this capacity might sport a terabytes written (TBW) rating of anywhere between 80TBW and 200TB TBW, the SV-GS48 shoots right to the top of the leaderboard with a staggering 1,200TBW in the 480GB model and 2,400TBW in Sony's 960GB version of the drive.
To give that some context: While this drive may be as much as five or six times the price of budget-SSD options such as the Crucial BX500 ($47.99 at Amazon) , it's also rated for 10 times the write life.
Once you exceed a drive's rated write life, the NAND's cells may start to shut down or "decommission," reducing the size and potentially the reliability of the drive.
(For a primer on SSD lingo, see our SSD dejargonizer.) That means you can really get your money's worth over the long haul if you use these drives in pro-level video environs, in which the drives are hit with tens or hundreds of gigabytes per day.
(More on that in a moment.)
Sony achieves this feat of fortitude through what the company calls a "unique, advanced Error Correction Code (ECC) technology," which serves a dual purpose in this case.
Not only does it add to the durability rating of the drive, but it also guarantees that no data might be lost due to an error that pops up during the write process.
Plus, if for whatever reason the drive does start to fail on you within its rated life, Sony backs up its wildly high durability rating with an equally long warranty period: 10 years.
But who out there needs this kind of durability in an SSD? Who's transferring so many gigabytes, even terabytes, per day?
Specific Drives, Specific Jobs
In Sony's marketing materials for the SV-GS48, the company makes it clear that this is not an SSD made for everyday PC builds or laptop upgrades.
In fact, it's one that's made for a slim sliver of users and uses: IT pros, enterprise applications, and filmmakers.
That last one is the laser-focused target of this drive, for both its inner and outer durability.
In the age of digital movie making, what used to be a process of physically changing out massive cartridges packed tightly with film has since shifted into swapping out hard drives on the fly.
As 4K and 8K video recording have moved more mainstream, the amount of bandwidth and storage space required to fit even a 20-minute movie has skyrocketed.
This means filmmakers are usually swapping out multiple drives on the cameras at a time, offloading them in between shots, and then reconnecting them.
As such, the drives they use need to have fast speeds, strong connectors (to withstand the rigors of set life), and durable outer shells that can take a hit in case a stunt goes awry.
Sony's ECC tech in particular is a vital feature for filmmakers who need to be sure they won't lose takes during the process of backing up the day's footage.
No one wants to get the lighting just right, with the perfect performance from your cast, only to have it all go down the tubes due to a technical error with your storage solution.
In this same vein, Sony also includes a feature in the SV-GS48 it only vaguely refers to as "data protection technology." I did some digging but wasn't able to come up with any specifics, outside of the claim that it's able to protect the data on the drive in case of power outages, early removal of the drive from the camera, or trauma to the unit from an outside source (again, think a car blowing up at the wrong time and taking the hard drive with it).
Throughput for Filmmakers
On all counts, the Sony SV-GS48 lives up to the task it was made to handle.
Even at 8K resolution with HDRX activated, most major pro-grade cameras, like anything made by RED or Alexa, won't record video sequentially at a rate of more than 280MBps.
The Crystal DiskMark Sequential tests that PC Labs uses simulate best-case, straight-line transfers of large files; in contrast, the 4K (or "random read/write") tests simulate typical processes involved in program/game loads or bootup sequences.
In our transfer tests, the SV-GS48 nearly doubled that 280MBps figure with write speeds of 507MBps, and 553MBps on reads.
The 507MBps score was a bit lower than some other representative SATA SSDs tested here at a fraction of the cost, but this may well be down to some of the ECC functionality and is not a serious difference given the drive's typical use case.
The same was true for the 4K write test, which saw scores of 79MBps, versus 100MBps or higher on the same metric with the other drives.
PCMark 8's Storage test, a subtest of the larger PCMark 8 suite, simulates everyday styles of disk access via "traces." The Storage test result was very slightly behind the pack, as well, at 4,880, but this is a trivial difference, not one that would be noticeable to the naked eye.
Finally, in our copy tests using the AS-SSD benchmarking utility, the Sony SSD was generally competitive with the rest of this pack.
In these tests, the SSD copies an ISO file, a program folder, and a game folder from one location on the drive to another.
Outside of its scores, the drive physically feels light but durable.
This makes it the perfect companion to any drive-compatible handheld camera rig, and it also makes it easy for production assistants to carry multiple drives on their belts as they follow camerapeople and directors around set.
With that in mind, Sony claims the connectors on the SV-GS48 are capable of withstanding more than 3,000 connections and disconnections before possibly wearing out, as opposed to the mere six that are the SATA standard.
This is important when drives are constantly being swapped off cameras, offloaded to backup banks, and re-inserted for the next shot, and not always gently.
I didn't have the opportunity with pro video equipment (or the physical endurance!) to challenge this figure firsthand.
But given the solid build quality of the rest of the drive, I think we can take Sony at its word with this one.
A Hollywood SSD at 5-Star Prices
For the 99 percent of shoppers out there who need a new SSD, the Sony SV-GS48 is beyond overkill.
It's made for one type of job, but it fits that job well, thanks to its impressive TBW rating and durable casing.
If you record a lot of 4K or 8K video, the transfer speeds of the SV-GS48 are enough to keep up.
And while it could be a lot easier on the pocketbook, if you're buying SSDs to last you the long haul while you're shooting takes upon takes of the potential next big summer blockbuster, you won't find one that stands up to your shooting schedule better than this.
Pros
Very high rating for lifetime writes.
Solid, light body.
SATA connectors rated for exceptional durability.
Whopping 10-year warranty.
View More
The Bottom Line
Sony's SV-GS48 is a workhorse SATA SSD for filmmakers and movie sets, with pro-level pricing to match.
Its durability and write endurance complement compatible cameras in the field or on the safety of a soundstage.
Sony's SV-GS48 is not just any old SSD for any old type of customer.
With a retail cost nearly five times as high as other competitors in the SATA SSD space ($315.47 for our 480GB test sample), the SV-GS48 commands a high price for one reason and one reason alone: durability, inside and out.
With this family of 2.5-inch SATA SSDs, the increased toughness is meant to offset the considerable upfront investment, but this is still a very specialized drive for a very specific type of user.
The vast majority of standard SSD buyers out there can give it a pass, but for those who need a SATA drive that they can insert and reinsert constantly, and write and erase on a massive scale, it's just what the cinematographer ordered.
This SSD's Ready for Its Close-Up
Anyone who lays their eyes on the pricing of the Sony SV-GS48 (65 cents per gig, for PC Labs' test unit) will surely ask: Why so pricey? What about this SSD sets it so high above the rest?
It's all about the TBW, baby.
Where many internal SATA SSDs at this capacity might sport a terabytes written (TBW) rating of anywhere between 80TBW and 200TB TBW, the SV-GS48 shoots right to the top of the leaderboard with a staggering 1,200TBW in the 480GB model and 2,400TBW in Sony's 960GB version of the drive.
To give that some context: While this drive may be as much as five or six times the price of budget-SSD options such as the Crucial BX500 ($47.99 at Amazon) , it's also rated for 10 times the write life.
Once you exceed a drive's rated write life, the NAND's cells may start to shut down or "decommission," reducing the size and potentially the reliability of the drive.
(For a primer on SSD lingo, see our SSD dejargonizer.) That means you can really get your money's worth over the long haul if you use these drives in pro-level video environs, in which the drives are hit with tens or hundreds of gigabytes per day.
(More on that in a moment.)
Sony achieves this feat of fortitude through what the company calls a "unique, advanced Error Correction Code (ECC) technology," which serves a dual purpose in this case.
Not only does it add to the durability rating of the drive, but it also guarantees that no data might be lost due to an error that pops up during the write process.
Plus, if for whatever reason the drive does start to fail on you within its rated life, Sony backs up its wildly high durability rating with an equally long warranty period: 10 years.
But who out there needs this kind of durability in an SSD? Who's transferring so many gigabytes, even terabytes, per day?
Specific Drives, Specific Jobs
In Sony's marketing materials for the SV-GS48, the company makes it clear that this is not an SSD made for everyday PC builds or laptop upgrades.
In fact, it's one that's made for a slim sliver of users and uses: IT pros, enterprise applications, and filmmakers.
That last one is the laser-focused target of this drive, for both its inner and outer durability.
In the age of digital movie making, what used to be a process of physically changing out massive cartridges packed tightly with film has since shifted into swapping out hard drives on the fly.
As 4K and 8K video recording have moved more mainstream, the amount of bandwidth and storage space required to fit even a 20-minute movie has skyrocketed.
This means filmmakers are usually swapping out multiple drives on the cameras at a time, offloading them in between shots, and then reconnecting them.
As such, the drives they use need to have fast speeds, strong connectors (to withstand the rigors of set life), and durable outer shells that can take a hit in case a stunt goes awry.
Sony's ECC tech in particular is a vital feature for filmmakers who need to be sure they won't lose takes during the process of backing up the day's footage.
No one wants to get the lighting just right, with the perfect performance from your cast, only to have it all go down the tubes due to a technical error with your storage solution.
In this same vein, Sony also includes a feature in the SV-GS48 it only vaguely refers to as "data protection technology." I did some digging but wasn't able to come up with any specifics, outside of the claim that it's able to protect the data on the drive in case of power outages, early removal of the drive from the camera, or trauma to the unit from an outside source (again, think a car blowing up at the wrong time and taking the hard drive with it).
Throughput for Filmmakers
On all counts, the Sony SV-GS48 lives up to the task it was made to handle.
Even at 8K resolution with HDRX activated, most major pro-grade cameras, like anything made by RED or Alexa, won't record video sequentially at a rate of more than 280MBps.
The Crystal DiskMark Sequential tests that PC Labs uses simulate best-case, straight-line transfers of large files; in contrast, the 4K (or "random read/write") tests simulate typical processes involved in program/game loads or bootup sequences.
In our transfer tests, the SV-GS48 nearly doubled that 280MBps figure with write speeds of 507MBps, and 553MBps on reads.
The 507MBps score was a bit lower than some other representative SATA SSDs tested here at a fraction of the cost, but this may well be down to some of the ECC functionality and is not a serious difference given the drive's typical use case.
The same was true for the 4K write test, which saw scores of 79MBps, versus 100MBps or higher on the same metric with the other drives.
PCMark 8's Storage test, a subtest of the larger PCMark 8 suite, simulates everyday styles of disk access via "traces." The Storage test result was very slightly behind the pack, as well, at 4,880, but this is a trivial difference, not one that would be noticeable to the naked eye.
Finally, in our copy tests using the AS-SSD benchmarking utility, the Sony SSD was generally competitive with the rest of this pack.
In these tests, the SSD copies an ISO file, a program folder, and a game folder from one location on the drive to another.
Outside of its scores, the drive physically feels light but durable.
This makes it the perfect companion to any drive-compatible handheld camera rig, and it also makes it easy for production assistants to carry multiple drives on their belts as they follow camerapeople and directors around set.
With that in mind, Sony claims the connectors on the SV-GS48 are capable of withstanding more than 3,000 connections and disconnections before possibly wearing out, as opposed to the mere six that are the SATA standard.
This is important when drives are constantly being swapped off cameras, offloaded to backup banks, and re-inserted for the next shot, and not always gently.
I didn't have the opportunity with pro video equipment (or the physical endurance!) to challenge this figure firsthand.
But given the solid build quality of the rest of the drive, I think we can take Sony at its word with this one.
A Hollywood SSD at 5-Star Prices
For the 99 percent of shoppers out there who need a new SSD, the Sony SV-GS48 is beyond overkill.
It's made for one type of job, but it fits that job well, thanks to its impressive TBW rating and durable casing.
If you record a lot of 4K or 8K video, the transfer speeds of the SV-GS48 are enough to keep up.
And while it could be a lot easier on the pocketbook, if you're buying SSDs to last you the long haul while you're shooting takes upon takes of the potential next big summer blockbuster, you won't find one that stands up to your shooting schedule better than this.
Pros
Very high rating for lifetime writes.
Solid, light body.
SATA connectors rated for exceptional durability.
Whopping 10-year warranty.
View More
The Bottom Line
Sony's SV-GS48 is a workhorse SATA SSD for filmmakers and movie sets, with pro-level pricing to match.
Its durability and write endurance complement compatible cameras in the field or on the safety of a soundstage.
