Breaking The PCIe Speed Barrier
The introduction of AMD's Ryzen 3000 series processors marks the arrival of the industry's first PCIe 4.0 platform, offering increased bandwidth for all PCIe devices, such as GPUs and storage. But is there really a need for a faster interface and up to 5GB/s of remarkable throughput from the latest SSDs, especially considering the costs associated with upgrading to PCIe 4.0-equipped X570 platforms?
Phison PS5016-E16 PCIe 4.0 SSDs: Random Read/Write Performance
We have Phison's new PCIe 4.0 reference SSD, which shares the same design as the first wave of new SSDs entering the market, in our labs to investigate.
Phison PS5016-E16 PCIe 4.0 SSDs: Random Read/Write Performance
We observed Phison PS5016-E16-based SSDs from more than half a dozen companies at Computex several weeks ago, and we are confident that many more will follow. While nearly all vendors highlighted the peak sequential read/write performance figures of their upcoming drives, none displayed random read/write performance metrics. Last week, the Japan-based CFD company introduced its PS5016-E16-based drives and finally disclosed all the details about their speed.
Since all Phison PS5016-E16-powered SSDs feature a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface, it is expected that they offer sequential read/write speeds of up to 5.0/4.4 GB/s, which significantly surpass the performance of current high-end drives with a PCIe 3.0 x4 interface. However, in real-world scenarios, random read/write performance has a much greater impact on user experience than peak sequential read/write speeds, and these figures for PS5016-E16-based drives had not been revealed until recently.
Model | CFD PG3VNF 500 GB | CFD PG3VNF 1 TB | CFD PG3VNF 2 TB | Corsair MP600 | Corsair MP510 |
Form Factor | double-sided M.2 2280 |
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| double-sided M.2 2280 (with heatsink) | double-sided M.2 2280 |
Interface | NVMe, PCIe 4.0 x4 | NVMe, PCIe 3.0 x4 | |||
Controller | Phison PS5016-E16 | Phison PS5012-E12 | |||
NAND Flash | Toshiba BiCS4 3D TLC | undisclosed 3D TLC | Toshiba 64-layer 3D TLC | ||
Capacities | 500 GB | 1 TB | 2 TB | ? | 240GB–1920GB |
Sequential Read (max) | 5000 MB/s | 4950 MB/s | 3480 MB/s | ||
Sequential Write (max) | 2500 MB/s | 4400 MB/s | 4250 MB/s | 3000 MB/s | |
Random Read (max) | 400K IOPS | 600K IOPS | ? | 610K IOPS | |
Random Write (max) | 550K IOPS | 500K IOPS | ? | 570K IOPS | |
Warranty | 5 years | ||||
Write Endurance | ? | ? | ? | ? | 1.0 DWPD |
TBW | 850 TBW | 1800 TBW | 3600 TBW | ? | ? |
Release Date | July 2019 | October 2018 |
Given that the Phison PS5016-E16 controller is basically the PS5012-E12 controller with a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface, it's unsurprising that the new drives show little improvement in random read and write speeds. However, since the SSDs provide significantly higher sequential read and write speeds, they will still offer advantages over current drives.
SSDs using the Phison PS5016-E16 controller will be launched later in July after AMD and its partners begin selling platforms that support PCIe 4.0 technology.
Phison PS5016-E16 PCIe 4.0 SSDs: Random Read/Write Performance
Storage is a clear use-case that can gain from the increased throughput of the faster interface. Flash has transformed storage, but this once-innovative technology quickly surpassed the bandwidth limits of the 6Gb/s SATA interface long ago. This prompted a shift to the PCIe interface and the rapid NVMe protocol, but now the newest flash devices also max out the PCIe 3.0 x4 interface, and a surplus of flash has driven prices down, allowing you to get incredibly fast SSDs at low prices.
Phison PS5016-E16 PCIe 4.0 SSDs: Random Read/Write Performance
But what if you want more? AMD is introducing its PCIe 4.0 Navi graphics cards alongside the X570 chipset, but we don't anticipate the broader PCIe 4.0 bandwidth will significantly affect GPU gaming performance. The key is to supply that bandwidth with faster data transfers, which is where the new range of PCIe 4.0 SSDs will come into play.
The new interface allows for more adaptable lane width settings and speed choices while doubling the potential bandwidth, which is significant. This means we can expect up to approximately 2GB/s per PCIe lane compared to the ~1 GB/s available with the PCIe 3.0 interface. PCIe 4.0 retains the same 128b/130b encoding as PCIe 3.0, ensuring minimal bandwidth loss to protocol overhead.
As NAND and controller designs advance, we might see SSDs achieving upwards of ~8 GB/s (in each direction) in throughput, or even more.
Phison has consistently been quick to market with its controllers, and this instance is no different. At CES 2019, Phison showcased early PCIe 4.0 SSD engineering samples operating at ~4GB/s speeds when used with Toshiba BiCS3 64-Layer TLC flash, although the flash actually hindered the controller's performance: At that time, Phison claimed it could reach ~4.8 GB/s with faster flash.
Phison designed the E16 with newer 3D TLC and QLC flash in mind. The chip supports eight NAND channels with 32 chip enables (CE) at up to 800 MT/s speeds, allowing for up to 2TB of total capacity. The E12 can theoretically support up to 8TB of flash, but due to insufficient demand for such large SSDs, Phison optimized its latest controller to support mainstream capacities.
A Closer Look
Since Phison developed the E16 based on the E12, the PCB design remains largely unchanged. Our double-sided 1TB M.2 2280 form factor sample resembles existing SSDs in the market, with one exception: similar to Silicon Motion, Phison now applies a nickel finish to the controller to aid in heat dissipation. This is a welcome improvement, but it is hoped that vendors will eliminate the engineering sample's blue PCB.
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