INTRODUCTION

    PCI Express Gen5 solid state drives represent the latest step in consumer storage performance, pushing sequential transfer speeds into territory that was once reserved for enterprise hardware. Early Gen5 SSDs arrived with controllers that prioritized raw speed above all else, often resulting in substantial power consumption and thermal output that required large heatsinks or even active cooling solutions to maintain peak performance. As the technology matured, newer controller generations focused on improving efficiency alongside throughput, delivering comparable or higher speeds while generating less heat and placing less strain on system cooling. This evolution has helped make Gen5 storage a more practical option for enthusiasts, content creators, and professionals seeking faster data access without the compromises that accompanied first-generation designs. One such example is the KIOXIA EXCERIA G3 4TB, a high-capacity Gen5 NVMe SSD that brings KIOXIA's latest storage technologies into the increasingly competitive enthusiast SSD market.

    KIOXIA is a world leader in memory solutions, dedicated to the development, production and sale of flash memory and solid-state drives (SSDs). In April 2017, its predecessor Toshiba Memory was spun off from Toshiba Corporation, the company that invented NAND flash memory in 1987. KIOXIA is committed to uplifting the world with "memory" by offering products, services and systems that create choice for customers and memory-based value for society. KIOXIA's innovative 3D flash memory technology, BiCS FLASH™, is shaping the future of storage in high-density applications, including advanced smartphones, PCs, automotive systems, data centers and generative AI systems.

    The EXCERIA G3 is currently available in three capacities (1/2/4TB) and is based on the DRAM-less PS5031-E31 (E31T) NAND flash controller by PHISON which KIOXIA has paired with their very own BiCS8 218-layer 3D QLC NAND flash. The PS5031-E31 (E31T) is a single core, quad-channel PCIe Gen5x4 NVMe 2.0 NAND controller (16 CEs) based on TSMC’s 7nm process technology and packs several features including PHISON's 7th generation LDPC ECC & RAID ECC engine with end-to-end data path protection, thermal monitoring, L1.2 low power state and host memory buffer (HMB) architecture support (uses a fraction of your PC's system memory to cache mapping tables). It also fully supports the ASPM/APST low-power consumption mechanisms, real time AES 256-bit encryption, hardware SHA384512 and RSA4096, TCG OPAL 2.01, Pyrite 2.01, Toggle 5.1 and ONFi 5.1. As for warranty KIOXIA covers the entire EXCERIA G3 line with a 5-year limited warranty and for endurance they report an MTTF of 1.5 million hours for all models and a TBW of 600 for the 1TB capacity, 1200 for the 2TB capacity and 2400 for the 4TB capacity.