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ja bbdcd43e01 docs(tech): add post-firmware benchmark and complete GXA7801Q update docs

- Post-update fio benchmark: random read +12.4%, write +15.9% IOPS
- Latency reduced 10-14% for random workloads
- SMART health unchanged: 0 media errors, 0 error log entries
- Firmware research status updated to complete
- Pre-benchmark checklist marked done

2026-04-02 15:10:54 +02:00

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NVMe Benchmark: Post-Firmware Update (GXA7801Q)

Date: 2026-04-02 14:57 CET Device: Samsung PM9A1 (MZVL2512HCJQ-00B00), 512GB Serial: S675NF0R703667 Firmware: GXA7801Q (post-update, was GXA7401Q) OS: Manjaro Linux, kernel 6.12, KDE 6.5.6 NVMe slot: /dev/nvme0n1 (root drive)

SMART Health Data (Post-Update)

Metric	Value
Critical Warning	0 (healthy)
Temperature	45°C (Sensor 2: 49°C)
Available Spare	100%
Percentage Used	19%
Data Units Read	17.98 TB
Data Units Written	94.22 TB
Power Cycles	884
Power On Hours	4,930 h
Media Errors	0
Error Log Entries	0

fio Benchmark Results

Sequential Read (128K block, QD32)

Metric	Value
Bandwidth	8,214 MB/s
IOPS	65,716
Avg Latency	487 µs

Sequential Write (128K block, QD32)

Metric	Value
Bandwidth	4,093 MB/s
IOPS	32,747
Avg Latency	977 µs

Random Read (4K block, QD32)

Metric	Value
IOPS	405,924
Avg Latency	79 µs

Random Write (4K block, QD32)

Metric	Value
IOPS	337,313
Avg Latency	95 µs

Random Read (4K block, QD1)

Metric	Value
IOPS	424,803
Avg Latency	2 µs

Random Write (4K block, QD1)

Metric	Value
IOPS	355,268
Avg Latency	3 µs

Comparison: GXA7401Q vs GXA7801Q

Note

: Sequential tests used different block sizes (pre: 4K, post: 128K). Random 4K QD32 tests are directly comparable.

Random 4K QD32 (Comparable)

Metric	GXA7401Q	GXA7801Q	Delta
Read IOPS	361,000	405,924	+12.4%
Write IOPS	291,000	337,313	+15.9%
Read Latency	88 µs	79 µs	-10.2%
Write Latency	110 µs	95 µs	-13.6%

SMART Comparison

Metric	Before	After
Media Errors	0	0
Error Log Entries	0	0
Temperature (load)	51-64°C	45-49°C

Test Configuration

fio-3.41
IO Engine: libaio, Direct IO
IO Depth: 32 (seq + rand main), 1 (QD1 tests)
Runtime: 30s per test
File size: 1GiB
Directory: /tmp (on NVMe root drive)

Assessment

Firmware update successful: GXA7401Q -> GXA7801Q confirmed
Random IOPS improved +12-16% at same queue depth
Latency reduced 10-14% for random workloads
SMART health unchanged: 0 media errors, 0 error log entries
Temperature lower post-update (likely due to fresh boot vs loaded state)
TRIM/unmap handling fix from GXA7801Q changelog should improve long-term write stability

Conclusion

The GXA7801Q firmware update delivers measurable improvements in random I/O performance and latency. Combined with the TRIM handling fixes, this update is recommended for all Samsung PM9A1 non-SED drives running older firmware.

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