TEAMGROUP T-FORCE GC Pro 2TB Gen5 SSD with DARK AirFlow I Cooler Review

The storage market has seen a major leap in performance with the arrival of PCIe Gen5 SSDs, bringing faster speeds and improved efficiency for modern systems. TeamGroup has been steadily growing its T-Force range to keep up with these advancements, offering a variety of models that cater to different performance needs. After the release of the CARDEA Z540, the company has continued to refine its products, and the new GC PRO aims to deliver strong Gen5 performance with efficient cooling for heavy workloads.

The T-Force GC PRO PCIe 5.0 SSD is available in 2TB and 4TB capacities, with an optional Dark AirFlow Cooler for better temperature control. It uses a PCIe Gen5x4 interface and delivers sequential read speeds of up to 12,500 MB/s and write speeds of up to 11,000 MB/s. The drive features TEAMGROUP’s ultra-thin graphene heat spreader, allowing it to work well with most motherboard M.2 heatsinks while maintaining effective heat dissipation. Other highlights include Security Isolation to help protect data and 4K LDPC error correction to improve durability and extend the drive’s life.

For our performance and thermal testing of the T-FORCE GC PRO, we used the T-FORCE Dark Airflow I SSD cooler. This active cooling unit features a 40mm PWM-controlled fan, dual 5mm copper heat pipes, and layered aluminium alloy fins to manage heat from high-speed SSDs. It also incorporates a patented double-layer graphene structure to improve heat dissipation, helping maintain consistent speeds and reducing the risk of thermal throttling during extended operation.

For this review, we will be testing the T-Force GC PRO PCIe 5.0 2TB SSD with the T-FORCE DARK AirFlow I SSD Cooler to see how it performs under sustained workloads. We will check its speed in different scenarios, monitor temperature levels, and assess whether the cooling design is effective enough to maintain consistent performance. This will help determine if the GC PRO is a solid choice in today’s competitive Gen5 SSD market.

Specifications

Unboxing

The TEAMGROUP T-FORCE GC PRO M.2 2280 Gen5 PCIe NVMe SSD comes in a black and red box with a clean, organized layout. The front features a picture of the SSD at the bottom center, the T-FORCE logo in the top left corner, and “GC PRO” printed in bold white letters in the middle. Just below, “PCIe Gen5 | GRAPHENE” is shown in smaller text, while the “2 TB” capacity is clearly marked inside a white box on the right side. On the back, the box lists key specifications in the top left section, including the interface, voltage, operating and storage temperature ranges, read/write performance, and warranty coverage. The design keeps everything easy to read and straightforward for quick reference.

The T-FORCE DARK AirFlow I comes in a straightforward package that focuses on essential information. The front displays the T-FORCE logo and product name in bold, with a note on PCIe Gen5 compatibility and an image of the M.2 NVMe dual cooler featuring a 40mm fan. The back provides a breakdown of the DARK AirFlow I Combo Heatsink’s specifications, including 13 aluminum fins, two heat pipes, and an aluminum alloy construction. Details on the fan, dimensions, and weight are also listed, giving a clear view of what’s inside before opening the box.

The T-FORCE GC PRO SSD is packaged in a sturdy paperboard box, with the drive and graphene thermal pad placed securely in a clear plastic tray. The T-FORCE DARK AirFlow I cooler comes in a similarly practical box, with installation instructions printed directly on the inside of the lid for quick access. Alongside the cooler, the package includes a compact screwdriver and two thermal pads designed to improve heat dissipation on both sides of the SSD. All components are well-organized, ensuring a straightforward and hassle-free installation process.

Closer Look

This SSD uses the M.2 2280 form factor, measuring 22 mm wide and 80 mm long, and comes with a black PCB, which gives it a cleaner look than the blue PCBs found on some mainstream models. It does not include a pre-installed heatsink, but T-FORCE provides a separate patented graphene sheet that can be applied if needed. The drive’s height stays within the 11.25 mm limit, making it suitable for PlayStation 5 installation. On the back, there is a label with the part number, serial number, and storage capacity, and removing it will void the warranty. The tested model offers 2 TB (2000 GB) of storage space.

The T-FORCE GE PRO 2 TB is built with a double-sided design, placing components on both sides of the PCB. It uses the InnoGrit IG5666 PCIe Gen5 controller, manufactured on a 12 nm process, and pairs it with four YMTC 232-layer 3D TLC NAND Flash modules. Two SK Hynix DDR4-3200 DRAM chips provide 2 GB of total cache, which is half the amount found in many PCIe 5.0 models based on Phison controllers. Beneath the label are two NAND packages and one of the DRAM chips, arranged to keep the design efficient while maintaining solid performance.

The T-FORCE GE PRO 2 TB SSD comes with support for S.M.A.R.T., TRIM, E.C.C., and 4K LDPC, ensuring consistent performance and reliability during daily use. The TRIM advanced full equalization mode works alongside active garbage collection to maintain drive efficiency and extend its service life. It also features a data security isolation mechanism that helps protect files from unauthorized access or potential damage.

T-FORCE DARK AirFlow I Design

The Dark AirFlow I is a compact single-section tower cooler built for M.2 2280 drives. It uses two 4 mm pure copper heat pipes to improve heat transfer and cooling efficiency. The cooler features multilayer aluminum alloy fins, with 13 plates that are 0.5 mm thick and spaced 2 mm apart, allowing smooth airflow from a small fan. This cooler helps keep SSD temperatures under control during heavy use, making it a solid choice for consistent and effective cooling.

The 40 mm fan is fixed at the center of the radiator with four screws for a stable mount. It uses nine matte black plastic blades and can reach speeds of up to 7,500 RPM. Power is supplied through a 4-pin connector, with PWM support for adjustable speed control. The 30 cm cable provides enough length for convenient placement inside most setups.

The radiator features a direct-contact layout, with heat pipes touching the SSD’s surface through a thermal pad to improve heat dissipation. The pipes are pressed to form a smooth, even surface with almost no gaps. The lower removable section is a slim metal tray that holds the SSD from the back, equipped with four mounting holes and finished in black. A bottom printed the full model name.

Installing the radiator proved challenging due to the drive’s double-sided chip layout, which made it too thick when paired with a graphene radiator and two thermal pads. This required removing the entire radiator and the lower thermal pad, leaving the chips on the back of the PCB without sufficient cooling. The heat pipes connect to the drive through a thermal pad, but only a limited section of the radiator base makes contact with the controller, which can reduce heat dissipation efficiency.

Benchmark Test

The TEAMGROUP T-FORCE GC Pro 2TB Gen5 SSD was tested in the primary Gen5 M.2 slot of the MSI MPG Z790 CARBON MAX WIFI II motherboard, paired with an Intel Core i7-13700K processor. This slot connects directly to the CPU and delivers full PCIe 5.0 x4 bandwidth, removing any risk of performance loss from chipset routing. Testing included both synthetic benchmarks and real-world file transfers to measure maximum throughput and everyday performance. All tests were carried out under controlled conditions with stable cooling to maintain consistent results.

Before running the benchmarks, CrystalDiskInfo was used to confirm drive details. The firmware version was listed as 050g0554, with the interface showing NVMe 2.0 running at PCIe 5.0 x4 speeds. Supported functions include S.M.A.R.T., TRIM, and Volatile Write Cache. Thermal readings showed idle temperatures of about 45°C when using the T-FORCE DARK AirFlow I SSD Cooler, and 72°C without it. Under heavy load, peak temperatures reached 76°C with the cooler and 87°C without it. The 2TB model offers 1,863.0GB of usable capacity, and all benchmarks were completed on a freshly formatted drive.

This setup ensured accurate measurement of both speed and sustained performance, as well as a clear view of thermal behavior during demanding workloads.

In CrystalDiskMark, the T-FORCE GC Pro delivered sequential read speeds of 13,239.76 MB/s and write speeds of 12,024.17 MB/s, exceeding its rated specifications. Random 4K results reached 188,049.32 IOPS for reads and 165,440.43 IOPS for writes, reflecting strong responsiveness for multitasking and small file operations. Access times measured 164.71 µs for reads and 187.06 µs for writes, with QD32T1 4K throughput of 770.25 MB/s read and 677.64 MB/s write. These results confirm the drive’s ability to sustain high speeds under varied workloads.

AS SSD benchmark results further reinforced the drive’s capabilities. Sequential performance measured 9029.07 MB/s read and 9998.35 MB/s write, while 4K random speeds reached 89.28 MB/s read and 315.31 MB/s write. In the 4K-64Thrd test, the SSD achieved 3794.22 MB/s read and 5159.09 MB/s write, equivalent to over 1.3 million IOPS in writes. Copy tests produced 4715.80 MB/s for ISO files, 1683.30 MB/s for program files, and 3577.01 MB/s for game files. Access times were recorded at 0.012 ms for reads and 0.122 ms for writes, contributing to a total score of 13,747.

The ATTO Disk Benchmark confirmed stable performance across varying block sizes. With Direct I/O enabled, a 256 MB test size, and a queue depth of 4, the drive peaked at 12.41 GB/s for reads and 11.44 GB/s for writes at larger block sizes. Even at 4 KB blocks, it maintained 164.38K IOPS for reads and 161.96K IOPS for writes, indicating consistent performance from small to large data transfers.

TxBENCH testing recorded sequential read speeds of 11,477.83 MB/s and write speeds of 11,545.78 MB/s. Random performance for 512K QD1 reached 2128.206 MB/s read and 8093.179 MB/s write, while 4K QD1 results measured 89.039 MB/s read and 284.447 MB/s write. At QD32, 4K throughput reached 459.733 MB/s read and 427.870 MB/s write, demonstrating the drive’s ability to scale with queue depth. These results confirm the T-FORCE GC Pro’s consistency across multiple benchmarking tools, making it well-suited for both professional workloads and high-end gaming systems.

Here’s the benchmark performance graph showing the read and write speeds across all tests for the TEAMGROUP T-FORCE GC Pro 2TB Gen5 SSD. It visually compares results from CrystalDiskMark, AS SSD, ATTO, and TxBENCH.

Conclusion