We spotted Phison PS5016-E16-based SSDs from over half of a dozen of companies at Computex several weeks ago and we are sure there are many more to come. While almost all suppliers demonstrated peak sequential read/write performance numbers of their upcoming drives, nobody showcased random read/write performance numbers. Last week Japan-based CFD company introduced its PS5016-E16-based drives and finally revealed all the information about their speed.

Because all Phison PS5016-E16-powered SSDs feature a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface, it is natural that they offer sequential read/write speeds of up to 5.0/4.4 GB/s which significantly exceed performance of contemporary high-end drives featuring a PCIe 3.0 x4 interface. Meanwhile, in real life random read/write performance affects user experience far more substantially than peak sequential read/write speeds and yet these numbers in case of PS5016-E16-based drives have never been disclosed until recently.

Fortunately, CFD published all the details about its PG3VNF SSDs, including random read and write performance numbers. As it appears, 1 TB and 2 TB versions of the drives offer up to 600K IOPS random read as well as up to 500K IOPS random write speeds. When compared to Phison PS5012-E12-based Corsair’s MP510, the new drives are not necessarily faster.

Phison-Based SSD Comparison
Model CFD PG3VNF
500 GB
CFD PG3VNF
1 TB
CFD PG3VNF
2 TB
Corsair MP600 Corsair MP510
Form Factor double-sided
M.2 2280
    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

Considering the fact that the Phison PS5016-E16 controller is essentially the PS5012-E12 controller with a PCIe 4.0 x4 interface, it is not surprising that the new drives hardly offer any improvement when it comes to random read and write speeds. On the other hand, since the SSDs offer substantially higher sequential read and write speeds, they will still provide advantages over existing drives.

SSDs powered by the Phison PS5016-E16 controller will be released later in July after AMD and its partners start to sell platforms that support the PCIe 4.0 technology.

Related Reading:

Source: CFD (via PC Watch)

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  • tipoo - Tuesday, July 2, 2019 - link

    This was rumored to be the SSD controller Sony is starting with before customization, it would be funny because "PS5" is sitting right there in the name, even if it's for unrelated reasons.
  • SkOrPn - Tuesday, July 2, 2019 - link

    Lol, yeah that is a remarkable coincidence to say the least and quite hilarious to boot, pun intended.
  • PeachNCream - Tuesday, July 2, 2019 - link

    It has a dragon on the box so it must be fast. The only thing faster than a dragon is a brand-deprived 3D render of a sports car and an insufficiently dressed woman brandishing combat implements. Specs, at this point, are unimportant since the image tells us its performance tier.
  • Dug - Tuesday, July 2, 2019 - link

    You are correct. But place that brand-deprived 3D render of a sports car and show it coming out of a monitor, to make it super ultra fast.
  • magreen - Tuesday, July 2, 2019 - link

    Don't forget the letters G, T, X, and O in random number and order for ludicrous speed.
  • rems - Wednesday, July 3, 2019 - link

    I thought DWPD was TBW/warranty? That gives 2DWPD for the CFD PG3VNF 2 TB, half for the 1TB and 1/4 for the 500GB which makes sense, no?
  • TheUnhandledException - Wednesday, July 3, 2019 - link

    All of the drives are ~1 DWPD.
    850 TB / (5 * 365 * 0.5) = 1 DWPD (well technically 0.931)
    1800 TB / (5 * 365 * 1) = 1 DWPD (well technically 0.986)
    3600 TB / (5 * 365 * 2) = 1 DWPD (well technically 0.986)
  • LionelGeek - Monday, July 8, 2019 - link

    So, the real question is when can we expect a true PCIe 4.0 controller (which is what we thought we we getting with this launch).
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