When it comes to storage drives, particularly solid state drives, then NVMe SSDs are the fastest of all. They are almost four to five times faster than the best SATA solid states drives, which is just incredible because even the top SATA SSDs offer great performance and are five times faster than a mechanical hard drive. NVMe SSDs use the PCI-Express bus for transferring data, which is a must faster interface compared to the SATA. The fastest SATA interface, which is SATA III operates at 6Gbps or 750 MB/s and PCIe 3.0 x4 at 3.94 GB/s (~4GB/s). This gap is now further widened with the launch of the new PCIe 4.0 standard that is twice as fast as PCIe 3.0. The PCIe 4.0 x4 interface delivers a bandwidth of about 7.88 GB/s, which is double the bandwidth offered by PCIe 3.0 x4.
| Interface | SATA III | PCIe 3.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Bandwidth | 750 MB/s | 3.94 GB/s | 7.88 GB/s |
To utilize the PCIe 4.0 x4 bandwidth, you need an NVMe SSD that is capable of running at PCIe 4.0 x4. This is now possible with the launch of the NVMe PCIe Gen4 solid state drives that run faster than the PCIe 3.0 NVMe drives. These PCIe Gen4 drives offer tremendous performance at ultra-fast speed and due to this, they get very hot. This is why almost all of them come with a heatsink/heatspreader for cooling, and it is not recommended to use them without proper cooling. Also, these drives cost more than the PCIe Gen3 drives. Because of their top-end performance and higher price, these drives remain the choice of enthusiasts only, who always want the fastest available hardware out there in the market, whether it is a processor, graphics card, memory, or even an SSD. So, if you are one of those people and want the fastest NVMe drive for your high-end PC, then here are some of the best options out there in the market.
SATA vs NVMe PCIe Gen3 vs NVME PCIe Gen4 Performance
Below you can see the speed comparison of the high-end SATA, NVMe PCIe Gen3, and NVMe PCIe Gen4 solid state drives. Here, you can clearly see that the PCIe Gen4 drive is around 40% faster in Read and 30% faster in Write speeds over the top-end PCIe Gen3 drive.
Note: Currently, only X570 motherboards from AMD support the PCI-E 4.0 interface. So, if you want to take the advantage of the high speeds offered by NVMe PCIe Gen4 solid state drives then you need an X570 motherboard for that otherwise the PCIe Gen4 drive will run at PCIe 3.0 x4 speeds.
Best M.2 NVMe PCI-E 4.0 x4 SSD
Here are the high-speed NVMe solid state drives that run at PCIe 4.0 x4 and offer blazingly fast performance.
Corsair MP600 NVMe Gen4 PCIe SSD
[Reliability & Trust of Corsair]
Corsair MP600 is one of the most popular PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSDs in the market. The SSD comes in capacities of 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB. It uses 3D TLC NAND memory and has a form factor of M.2 2280. The controller used in this SSD is Phison PS5016-E16, which is the first PCIe 4.0 compliant SSD controller and is manufactured with a 28mm process. The 1TB and 2TB variants have sequential read and write speeds of 4950 MB/s and 4250 MB/s respectively, which is significantly higher than some of the best PCIe Gen2 NVMe SSDs available in the market, which include Samsung 970 EVO Plus, Plextor M9Pe, Corsair MP510. This Corsair MP600 NVMe SSD is about 30% to 40% faster than a high-end PCIe Gen3 SSD, which is just lethal and easily blows them out of the competition.
The operating temperature range for this PCIe Gen4 SSD is between 0°C to +70°C and it does remain well within the junction temperature, even at heavy workloads, given that you have good airflow in your computer case. The SSD comes with an aluminum heatsink for cooling, because if it gets too hot then it throttles down to lower speeds, which then affects its performance. The heatsink is relatively bigger and may interfere with the second PCIe x16 slot on some motherboards, and may cause issues when you want to use two graphics cards in multi-GPU mode. Also, you have to remove the heatsink if your motherboard M.2 slot comes with an M.2 heatsink. This also avoids the clearance issue for the second PCI-E slot. The SSD works great and can achieve its rated advertised speeds too. If you are into video editing or work with 4K or 8K projects then this SSD will certainly help in enhancing productivity and performance. However, in gaming and normal tasks, you won’t notice any performance improvement over the regular PCIe Gen3 SSDs. Corsair MP600 is backward compatible with PCIe 3.0 x4 interface and runs on it without any issues. The drive supports AES 256-bit Encryption and is shock-resistant (1500 G). The Endurance rating of this SSD is 1800 TBW (for 1TB) and it carries a 5-year warranty with it. You can monitor the drive performance, get drive info information, update the firmware and perform various important operations (clone, overprovisioning, wipe) on it using the Corsair SSD Toolbox software, which you can download for free from the Corsair’s official website.
| Corsair MP600 NVMe Gen4 PCIe SSD Specifications |
|
| Capacity | 500GB, 1TB, 2TB |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Flash Memory Type | 3D TLC NAND |
| Read Speed | 4950 MB/s |
| Write Speed | 4250 MB/s |
| Endurance Rating | 1800 TBW (for 1TB) |
| Warranty | 5 year |
Buy Corsair MP600 NVMe Gen4 PCIe SSD
Sabrent Rocket NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD
[Great Value for Money, Superb Performance, Efficient Heatsink]
Sabrent is a lesser-known American brand but it makes high-quality computer products that also include solid state drives. Here we have Sabrent Rocket NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD that is as good or even better than the above-mentioned Corsair MP600 SSD in terms of performance. It is available in 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacities and has M.2 2280 form factor. The SSD uses the same Phison PS5016-E16 controller and the memory chip used here is TLC NAND (Toshiba BiCS4 96L TLC NAND). It has a read speed of 5000 MB/s for all variants, but the write speed is slower in the 500GB variant. 1TB and 2TB come with DDR4 cache and can reach a write speed of up to 4400 MB/s, while the 500GB version lacks DDR4 cache and has a write speed of only 2500 MB/s. The speeds mentioned are not gimmicked as they can reach the advertised read/write speeds easily when used with a motherboard and processor that supports the PCIe Gen4 interface.
The SSD is available with and without a heatsink. If your motherboard has M.2 heatsink or heatspreader then you can buy only the SSD, but if your motherboard does not come with M.2 heatsinks then it is better to buy it with heatsink because these ultra-fast PCI-E Gen4 SSDs get hot pretty quickly under load, and then they throttle down to lower speeds due to overheating. The heatsink of this SSD is very efficient and better than the competition because it comes with copper heatpipes that are attached to the aluminum heatsink and heatspreader for better heat transfer and heat dissipation. However, it should be noted that the heatsink is on the bigger side so it may cause clearance issues with the second PCIe slot. The SSD has an operating temperature of 0°C to +70°C and has an endurance rating of 1800TBW for 1TB and 3600TBW for TBW. It is 1500G shock-resistant, is backward compatible with PCIe 3.0, and comes with a 5-year warranty. The SSD supports SMART, TRIM commands, ONFi 2.3, ONFi 3.0, ONFi 3.2, and ONFi 4.0 interface and has features like Advanced Wear Leveling, Bad Block Management, Error Correction Code, Upgradable Firmware, and Over-Provision. Overall, a great PCIe Gen4 SSD that is even better than some popular brands and costs less than them. Highly Recommended by me.
=> Download Sabrent Rocket NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD Software
| Sabrent Rocket NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD Specifications |
|
| Capacity | 500GB, 1TB, 2TB |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Flash Memory Type | TLC NAND |
| Read Speed | 5000 MB/s |
| Write Speed | 4400 MB/s |
| Endurance Rating | 1800 TBW (for 1TB) |
| Warranty | 5-year |
Buy Sabrent Rocket NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD
Gigabyte AORUS NVMe Gen4 SSD
[All Copper Heatsink/Heatspreader]
An extremely good-looking PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD from Gigabyte but is a bit costlier than the competition. The SSD comes with a full copper heatsink and heatspreader that works great because of the higher thermal conductivity of copper over aluminum. The heatsink prevents the SSD from overheating and losing out on performance and lifespan. The drive uses the Phison PS5016-E16 PCIe 4.0×4 Controller, external DDR4 cache, and Toshiba BiCS4 TLC NAND Flash memory. Like other Gen4 NVMe drives, it is available in capacities of 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB. It can reach a sequential read speed of up to 5000 MB/s and write speed up to 4400 MB/s for 1TB/2TB variants while the 500GB has a slower write speed of only 2500 MB/s.
The operating temperature for the SSD is 0°C to 70°C and the drive is shock resistant (1500G). The endurance rating is 1800TBW for 1GB and 3600TBW for 2TB variant. The performance of the drive is great as it can hit the advertised speeds and does remain cool under heavy workloads. It is way faster than the top-end PCIe Gen3 drives that include Samsung 970 Pro, and Samsung 970 Evo Plus. It is backward compatible with PCIe 3.0 x4 interface. The drive supports TRIM, S.M.A.R.T, and features like Wear Leveling, and Over-Provision technologies. You can monitor various parameters (health, temperature, model, etc.), upgrade the firmware and tweak the performance settings of this NVMe SSD using the SSD Tool Box software that can be downloaded for free from the Gigabyte’s website. Overall, a super-fast high-quality SSD that runs cool and is great for heavy content creators and enthusiasts who value performance over anything.
| Gigabyte AORUS NVMe Gen4 SSD Specifications | |
| Capacity | 500GB, 1TB, 2TB |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Flash Memory Type | 3D TLC NAND |
| Read Speed | 5000 MB/s |
| Write Speed | 4400 MB/s |
| Endurance Rating | 1800TBW (for 1TB) |
| Warranty | 5-year |
Buy Gigabyte AORUS NVMe Gen4 SSD [1TB]
Buy Gigabyte AORUS NVMe Gen4 SSD [2TB]
Inland Performance PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe SSD
[Budget PCIe Gen4 SSD, Performs similar to other Gen4 SSDs]
This is probably the cheapest PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD that you can buy for your computer. It is a product of Microcenter, which is a very popular computer store in America. The SSD uses the 3D TLC NAND Flash memory and the Phison PS5016-E16 controller, along with the DDR4 cache. It offers read and write speeds of up to 5000 MB/s and up to 4300 MB/s respectively. The drive is available in 1TB and 2TB capacities and has an endurance rating of 1800 TBW and 3600 TBW respectively.
The SSD comes equipped with a black heatsink that is on the bigger side and it keeps the SSD cool during continuous operation under heavy loads. The heatsink can be removed if your motherboard already comes with an M.2 heatspreader or heatsink. The performance of the SSD is very good and can reach the rated speeds on a motherboard with PCIe 4.0 support. Like other PCIe Gen4 drives, it is also backward compatible with PCIe 3.0 interface. To keep the price of the SSD low, there is no firmware update option as it lacks drive management software, and it also carries a lesser warranty of 3-year compared to the competition. You can get this SSD at the price of a high-end PCIe 3.0 SSD, such as the Samsung 970 Evo.
| Inland Performance PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe SSD Specifications | |
| Capacity | 1TB, 2TB |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Flash Memory Type | 3D TLC NAND |
| Read Speed | 5000 MB/s |
| Write Speed | 4300 MB/s |
| Endurance Rating | 1800 TBW |
| Warranty | 3-year |
Buy Inland Performance PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe SSD
Seagate FireCuda 520 PCIe Gen4 SSD
[Great Performance in all departments]
Seagate, the world leader in hard drives has now come with FireCuda 520, which is an ultra-fast and high-performance PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD having M.2 2280 form factor. It has got a Phison E16 controller and uses 96-layer TLC NAND memory from Toshiba. This PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD comes in 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacities where the 1TB and 2TB variants have Read and Write speeds of 5000 MB/s and 4400 MB/s respectively while the write speed of the 500GB version is limited to 2500 MB/s only, which is also pretty fast. Surprisingly, the SSD comes without any heatsink and this may be due to fact that most of the PCIe Gen4 motherboards come with M.2 heatsink built-in. The 1TB version has an endurance rating of 1800 TBW and the operating temperature range for the SSD is 0°C to +70°C.
When it comes to performance then it is neck and neck with the Corsair MP600, which is also a PCIe Gen4 SSD from Corsair and most probably the first one with PCIe 4.0 interface. In some benchmarks and tests, FireCuda 520 even surpasses the Corsair MP600 by a small margin. You can monitor performance, diagnose, perform important operations and update the firmware using the SeaTools SSD utility, which can be downloaded for free from the Seagate’s official website. The SSD supports features such as S.M.A.R.T. data reporting, Trim and secure erase using the Format NVM command. However, it does lack the support AES 256-bit hardware encryption, which is supported in Corsair MP600. The only slightly negative thing about this SSD is that it is slightly costlier than the other PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs, but the good thing is that it is a solid performer and does deliver blazingly fast performance.
| Seagate FireCuda 520 PCIe Gen4 SSD Specifications | |
| Capacity | 500GB, 1TB, 2TB |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Flash Memory Type | 3D TLC NAND |
| Read Speed | 5000 MB/s |
| Write Speed | 4400 MB/s |
| Endurance Rating | 1800 TBW |
| Warranty | 5 years limited |
Buy Seagate FireCuda 520 PCIe Gen4 SSD
Note: M.2 2280 form factor means the M.2 SSD is 22mm in width and 80mm in length.
Tip: Always get the 1TB or 2TB variants of any PCIe Gen4 SSD as the 500GB variants offer a slow write speed of 2500 MB/s, while the higher capacities can deliver a write speed of over 4000 MB/s. To fit the heatsink on the M.2 SSD properly, always get a high thermal conductivity thermal pad of proper thickness.
XPG GAMMIX S50 PCIe Gen4x4 SSD
[Good Looks, Great Performance, and Features]
XPG (Xtreme Performance Gear) is a gaming division or brand of ADATA that offers high-performance components, peripherals, and accessories. Here we have XPG GAMMIX S50, which is a high-performance PCIe Gen4 solid-state drive that delivers read/write speeds of up to 5000/4400MB per second and random read/write speed of up to 750K/750K IOPS. The SSD uses 3D TLC NAND Flash memory, supports NVMe 1.3 standard, and is available in 1TB and 2TB capacities. For cooling, it comes with a super stylish, fancy, and slim aluminum heatsink (sports-car-inspired design) that is claimed to reduce temperatures by up to 10 degrees to enhance stability during higher workloads. The operating temperature of the SSD ranges from 0°C to 70°C.
The NVMe SSD uses the Phison PS5016-E16 controller, which is the PCI-E Gen4 controller used in almost all Gen4 NVMe solid-state drives. The salient features include SLC caching, a DRAM cache buffer, End-to-End Data Protection, and low-density parity-check (LDPC) error correcting code technology. The lifespan or endurance rating for the 1TB model is 1800 TBW, and for 2TB, it is 3600 TBW. Using the ADATA SSD ToolBox software, you can check the SSD’s health, view information about it, update its firmware, erase data on it in a secure manner, perform optimization, diagnose it, and more. You also get a free license of the Acronis True Image HD, which is a very popular and highly reputed disk cloning software. This super cool-looking high-performance PCI-E Gen4 solid-state drive is ideal for gamers, PC enthusiasts, and professionals.
| XPG GAMMIX S50 PCIe Gen4x4 SSD Specifications | |
| Capacity | 1TB, 2TB |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Flash Memory Type | 3D TLC NAND Flash |
| Read Speed | 5000 MB/s |
| Write Speed | 4400 MB/s |
| Endurance Rating | 1800 TBW |
| Warranty | 5 years |
Buy XPG GAMMIX S50 PCIe Gen4x4 SSD
Samsung 980 Pro
[One of the Fastest PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs]
Samsung 980 Pro is the fastest PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD you can get in the market right now. While other PCIe Gen4 SSDs offer read and write speeds of 5000 MB/s and 4400 MB/s, Samsung 980 Pro can deliver read and write speeds of up to 7000 MB/s and 5000 MB/s (for 1TB version). The SSD comes in 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB capacities, and uses Samsung Elpis Controller and Samsung V-NAND 3bit MLC memory chip. The Samsung 980 PRO uses nickel coating to manage the controller’s heat level and a heat spreader label to deliver effective thermal control of the NAND chip. The SSD also uses Samsung’s cutting-edge thermal control algorithm that enables the Samsung 980 PRO to manage heat on its own to deliver durable and reliable performance. To minimize performance fluctuations in the long haul, Samsung’s Dynamic Thermal Guard technology maintains the 980 PRO’s temperature at optimal levels.
The SSD’s operating temperature is 0°C to 70°C and the endurance rating for the 500GB variant is 300TBW, which is a little less compared to other PCIe 4.0 NVMe drives. Using the Samsung Magician Software, you can monitor drive health, benchmark, optimize performance, protect data, and upgrade the firmware to its latest. The SSD does not come with a heatsink, which means you have to buy it separately if you want to keep the temperature under normal levels. If you are looking for the fastest PCIe 4.0 NVMe drive from a reputed brand, you cannot get better than this. It costs more than the other PCIe Gen4 solid-state drives, but its performance and reliability justify it.
Check out: Best M.2 Heatsinks for NVMe Solid State Drives
| Samsung 980 Pro Specifications | |
| Capacity | 250GB, 500GB, 1TB |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Flash Memory Type | Samsung V-NAND 3bit MLC |
| Read Speed | 6900 MB/s |
| Write Speed | 5000 MB/s |
| Endurance Rating | 300TBW |
| Warranty | 5 years limited |
WD Black SN850 NVMe SSD
[Fastest NVMe SSD]
If there is an SSD that can beat the Samsung 980 Pro then it is WD Black SN850. It is unarguably the fastest NVMe SSD in the world right now. It uses a PCIe Gen4 x4 interface and comes in 500GB, 1TB, and 1TB capacities. The 1TB version is the fastest of all and has got a Read speed of 7000 MB/s and a Write speed of 5300 MB/s. The Read speed of 500TB and 2TB models is also 7000 MB/s but their Write speeds are 4100 MB/s and 5100 MB/s respectively. The endurance rating of the 1TB model is rated at 600TBW while the 500GB and 2TB models have the endurance of 300TBW and 1200TBW respectively. All the models carry a 5-year warranty.
WD Black SN850 uses a new PCIe Gen 4 controller named WD G2. The memory chips used on the SSD is Toshiba 96-layer 3D TLC NAND. The SSD does not come with a heatsink which is quite surprising given its super-fast speeds. You need to invest in a good M.2 heatsink because the SSD can get very hot without it at heavy loads. The form factor associated with the SSD is M.2 2280 and it can easily fit on any motherboard. Using the Western Digital SSD Dashboard software, you can monitor the health of the drive, optimize performance, update firmware and tweak other settings.
Note: A heatsink model of this SSD is also available and it includes RGB Lighting support.
| WD Black SN850 NVMe SSD Specifications | |
| Capacity | 500GB, 1TB, 2TB |
| Form Factor | M.2 2280 |
| Interface | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
| Flash Memory Type | Toshiba 96-layer 3D TLC NAND |
| Read Speed | 7000 MB/s |
| Write Speed | 5300 MB/s |
| Endurance Rating | 600 TBW |
| Warranty | 5 years |
Other Good PCIe Gen 4 SSDs
Below are some more PCIe Gen4 SSDs that are very good and worth checking.
- Crucial P5 Plus PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD
- PNY XLR8 CS3040 M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen4 x4 SSD
- TEAMGROUP T-Force CARDEA Zero Z440 PCIe Gen4 SSD
See also:
- Best PCIe Gen5 Solid State Drives for Gaming and Work
- Best M.2 2230 SSDs for Steam Deck, Microsoft Surface Laptops
Final Words
There is no doubt that PCIe Gen4 solid-state drives offer amazing speed and performance, but they come with premium pricing. Also, they need dedicated cooling in the form of a heatsink or heatspreader. Your case should have good airflow because they get very hot under continuous operation and heavy loads. In gaming and normal workloads, you will not notice any performance improvement over a regular PCIe Gen3 SSD, but if you are an enthusiast or a professional who works with 8K projects or runs lots of heavy-duty tasks concurrently, then it is worth investing in such ultra-fast Gen4 NVMe drives, given that you have motherboard supports PCIe 4.0 bus interface. If you have any queries then please ask in the comment section below.
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Have you tried any of these on PCIe Gen 3 MBs? If so, do they get anywhere above 3.4 or 3.8 GB/s sequential writes?
On PCIe 3.0 motherboard they are limited to at around 3.5 GB/s.
Don’t you also have to have a Ryzen 3000 series cpu?
Any idea of the result with an optane 905 P ?
These are way faster than Optane 905P.
Very interresting. Even if both were set in RAID 0 ?
Yes I think so.
Do you have results of crystalmark 7 for these drives ?
Not right now.
Has anyone done a good performance shootout ranking these PCIe 4.0 SSDs? Preferably the 2tB models?
I have the Gigabyte AORUS 2tB and I’d like to know how it stacks up against the others. I bought it because the specs looked so good, and I am VERY impressed with its performance. Windows 10 boots up lightning fast, and games are super speedy too.
Shouldn’t you take a look at the samung 980 pro?
Yes, it will be added shortly.
Question about using NVME Raid bost total speed up to around (I assume ) 28 gb/sec. How twould his impact gamming performance while using for example p RTX-3080TI (20 gig) or RX6900 video card, would the extra bandwidth have much of an impact?
just to add to the above post look at ASUS Hyper M.2 X16 PCIe 4.0 X4 Expansion Card Supports 4 NVMe M.2 (2242/2260/2280/22110) up to 256Gbps for AMD 3rd Ryzen sTRX40, AM4 Socket, and Intel VROC NVMe Raid. along with 4 Samsung 980 pros
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B084HMHGSP/
to accomplish this
Well, these kind of cards do have serious comparability issues and they do not work with all motherboards.
Maybe you will have faster load times in games.
Have you tried them on virtual raid [Intel® VROC]?
No
PNY XLR8 CS3140 (M280CS3140)
The NVMe PCIe Gen4 x4 interface delivers exceptional performance of up to 7,500MB/s seq. read and 5,650MB/s seq. write speeds;
Any known issues for this with MSI x570 tomahawk ?
I am not aware of any issues with the MSI X570 Tomahawk.
Good article.
Needs to be mentioned that the bottleneck in today’s games loading times is the single core performance of the CPU and the latency of the associated RAM memory.
Even a normal SATA SSD has “waiting times” during loading of the games, so those super fast drives will just…. wait more. Except on PS5 that has a DirectAccess controller.
The PC games will have to be re-written to take advantage of those speeds.