Phison reveals its fastest PCIe 4.0 SSD controller yet, details the E29T at FMS 2024
During the Future of Memory and Storage 2024 (FMS 2024) conference (previously Flash Memory Summit), Phison debuted its latest Gen4 SSD controller, the Phison PS5023-E29T. This SSD controller is targeted at upcoming NVMe Gen4 drives in the M.2-2280 and M.2-2230 form factors and is now nearly the fastest SSD controller in Phison’s lineup, beating all of them in sequential read performance and only beaten by the enterprise-grade PS5020-X1 controller for U.2 and U.3 SSDs, which has a slight advantage in sequential write performance and (of course) exponentially higher maximum capacity.
Phison PS5029-E29T SSD Controller Specifications vs Other Phison PCIe Gen 4 Controllers
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Interface | Form Factor | Capacity | Maximum Sequential Read/Write | Maximum Random Read/Write (in IOPS) |
| PS5029-E29T | PCIe Gen 4 | M.2 2280 and M.2 2230 | Up to 8 TB | 7400 MB/s Read; 6800 MB/s Write | 1200K IOPS Both |
| PS5018-E18 | PCIe Gen 4 | M.2 2280-S2 | Up to 8 TB | 7200 MB/s Read; 6850 MB/s Write | 1000K IOPS Both |
| PS5025-E25 | PCIe Gen 4 | M.2 2280 | Up to 4 TB | 7200 MB/s Read; 7000 MB/s Write | 1200K IOPS Both |
| PS5019-E19T | PCIe Gen 4 | M.2 2280-S2 and M.2 2280-D2 | Up to 2 TB | 3600 MB/s Read; 3000 MB/s Write | 500K IOPS Read; 600K IOPS Write |
| PS5021-E21T | PCIe Gen 4 | M.2 2280, 2242, 2230 and BGA and CFX | Up to 4 TB | 5000 MB/s Read; 4800 MB/s Write | 800K IOPS Read; 950K IOPS Write |
| PS5021-E21TI | PCIe Gen 4 | M.2 2280, 2230, and BGA Type 1620 or BGA-to-M.2 2230 | Up to 2 TB | 4700 MB/s Read; 3900 MB/s Write | 600K IOPS Both |
| PS5018-E18DI | PCIe Gen 4 | M.2 22110 and M.2 2280 | Up to 3840 GB | 7200 MB/s Read; 6400 MB/s Write | 750K IOPS Read; 1000K IOPS Write |
| PS5018-E18DC | PCIe Gen 4 | M.2 22110, 2280, and E1.S | Up to 3480 GB | 6600 MB/s Read; 1400 MB/s Write | 640K IOPS Read; 50K IOPS Write |
| PS5020-X1 | PCIe Gen 4 | U.3 and U.2 | Up to 30.72 TB | 7400 MB/s Read; 6900 MB/s Write | 1000K IOPS Both |
| PS5027-E27T | PCIe Gen 4 | M.2 2280 and M.2 2230 | Up to 8 TB | 7400 MB/s Read; 6500 MB/s Write | 1200K IOPS Both |
In the overall lineup, it seems clear that the Phison PS5029-E29T SSD controller is meant to occupy the new high-end for M.2 NVMe SSDs, particularly those in “standard” size (M.2-2280) and the low-profile M.2 drives (M.2-2230) that have become more commonplace in laptops, mini PCs, and handheld PCs like Steam Deck.
We previously covered the very similar Phison PS5027-E27T in January, which also used the TSMC 12nm process to target similar devices but is slightly slower than the newer controller, managing only 6,700 MB/s write compared to the E29T’s faster 6,800 MB/s write speeds, though read speeds are identical at 7,400 MB/s. Of note for Steam Deck and its class of handheld PCs is that these faster Gen4 M.2-2230 NVMe drives will only be helpful in devices that actually support NVMe Gen4 — as the Steam Deck and many others are still on Gen3.
Finally, the Phison PS5029-E29T also utilizes a DRAM-less design like its E27T predecessor and is driven by an ARM Cortex R5 CPU. The E29T supports both 3D TLC and 3D QLC NAND, with TLC (Triple-Level Cells vs Quad-Level Cells), of course, being faster and offering greater durability. NAND flash speeds on the E29T will top out at 3,600 MT/s either way, though, just like the E27T.
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