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Even current graphics cards have yet to fully utilize PCIe 5.0, and PCIe 5.0 SSDs are few and far between, with multiple reasons behind this, primarily revolving around speed and cost-effectiveness.
Excess Speed at Present
The speed of each PCIe standard generation has doubled. For instance, the single-lane speed of PCIe 3.0 and PCIe 4.0 is 8GT/s and 16GT/s respectively, translating to 984.6 MB/s and 1969 MB/s. PCIe SSDs typically utilize 4 lanes, meaning the speed limit can exceed 3500MB/s and 7000MB/s.Limitations of PCIe 5.0 SSDsSimilar situations persist with the PCIe 5.0 standard, where single-lane speed doubles to 32GT/s. Thus, for conventional NVMe 4-channel SSDs, the speed limit should be around 15,000MB/s. However, looking at some PCIe 5.0 SSD products currently on the market, you can see that they still have quite a way to go to reach this theoretical limit.
PCIe BandwidthDuring the initial phase of implementing the PCIe 5.0 standard, the performance calibration for popular SSD products is at 10,000MB/s and 12,400MB/s. Notable names include the MP700 and MP700 PRO from CORSAIR.MP700 essentially belongs to the first generation of PCIe 5.0, utilizing the Phison PS5026-E26 controller, one of the rare commercial PCIe 5.0 controllers in the market. It's equipped with independent LPDDR4 cache and Micron 3D TLC 232 layers. The highest sequential read and write speeds reach 10000MB/s.
CORSAIR MP700Furthermore, its random 4K performance is rated at 1500K IOPS read and 1700K IOPS write, a significant improvement over typical PCIe 4.0 products.But this is still not the full performance that the Phison E26 controller can achieve. According to specifications, the Phison E26 can achieve maximum sequential read and write speeds of 14000MB/s and 12000MB/s. Random 4K read, like the nominal MP700, and random 4K write can reach up to 2000K IOPS.
Insight into Phison E26So, what about the MP700 PRO? Unfortunately, while the hardware configuration remains virtually unchanged, it only sees a slight improvement in sequential read and write performance, reaching 12400MB/s and 11800MB/s. The random 4K performance, especially write performance, is only 1600K IOPS, with an additional 4TB variant.Discovering Crucial T700
As of 2023, PCIe 5.0 SSDs are still struggling to survive and cannot effectively compete with previous PCIe 4.0 or even 3.0 products. Part of the reason is its own hardware performance still not being optimized and not delivering a significantly superior experience compared to the two previous generations, while the prices are much higher.The Future of PCIe 5.0 SSDsHeat is a Major Concern
Due to their extremely high speeds, addressing the heat issue is definitely a problem that needs to be solved early on. Current PCIe 4 SSDs are already too hot. To achieve the maximum speed that PCIe Gen 4 offers, most SSDs require additional cooling solutions, or else they will run quite hot when operating at maximum capacity for extended periods.
PCIe Gen 5 SSDs Require Active CoolingUnfortunately, at present,
The Phison E26, the only commercial controller available on the market that supports PCIe 5, is still manufactured on a 12nm process. This means that energy efficiency is still equivalent to the previous generation E18 controller. Equivalent energy efficiency but double the speed, or at least 1.5 times the speed, you can imagine how much heat will be generated.Certainly, E26 is an older product that has been on the market for almost 2 years. To make PCIe 5.0 SSDs more competitive, it will undoubtedly require new solutions.The Future of PCIe 5.0 SSDs
As 2024 approaches, many major controller brands have finally unveiled their products for the PCIe 5.0 era, including Phison's E26 and the premium E26 Max14um with a sequential read speed of up to 14700MB/s, nearly reaching the theoretical speed limit of PCIe 5.Furthermore, the low-power PCIe 5.0 master E31T, manufactured on a 7nm process, has also been introduced. It utilizes a DRAMless design to achieve a balance between performance, temperature, power consumption, and cost. This could lead to the emergence of PCIe 5.0 solid-state drives suitable for a wider range of consumers.
Introducing Phison E31TAdditionally, there's another brand
another controller - Huironghas provided new information about the previously launched SM2508 PCIe 5.0 controller, including the use of TSMC's 6nm EUV process, a new architecture, and low-power optimization. Channel speed can reach up to 3600MT/s. Its nominal sequential read and write speeds can reach up to 14.5GB/s and 14GB/s, respectively, while random read and write speeds can reach up to 2500K IOPS.CES 2024 is approaching, and it's likely that more controller and SSD manufacturers will introduce additional solutions, leveraging the high bandwidth of PCIe 5.0. However, the most crucial issue manufacturers need to address is temperature and stability. If these two issues aren't resolved, using PCIe 5.0 SSDs for laptops will be nearly impossible. As for desktop computers, active cooling for SSDs could be a solution to achieve maximum performance, but clearly, shrinking and optimizing the manufacturing process remains paramount.
Samsung is also a highly anticipated nameOnce PCIe 5.0 SSDs are widespread, every experience will be elevated to a new level. When combined with Thunderbolt 5 or USB4 Gen 2 for 80Gbps bandwidth, data copying and transmission will be extremely fast. Boot speed, application launch, and many other tasks will be significantly accelerated. For laptops that can't upgrade RAM, using virtual RAM on PCIe 5 SSDs may also bring significant improvements in user experience.
Are you looking forward to PCIe 5.0 SSDs becoming mainstream?
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