Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD

9/10 (Expert Score)
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Meta-review: At launch, and when used in combination with an X570 motherboard and Ryzen 3000-series CPU, editors agree that this M.2 SSD is very hard to beat.

Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD
Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD

Description

Gigabyte was one of the first manufacturers to launch SSDs that take advantage of the additional bandwidth in the PCI Express 4.0 (PCIe 4) interface. As of 2019, the Aorus Gen4 is, therefore, one of a few M.2 SSDs to offer 5 GB/s sequential read transfer rates. Only AMD platforms (3rd-gen Ryzen and Threadripper) support PCIe 4 on the consumer market initially.

Overview: Memory Type, Controller, and Cache

The initial batch of M.2 drives to offer support for the PCIe 4.0 interface all used the same controller/NAND combination, namely the Phison E16 controller and 96-layer Toshiba TLC NAND memory modules. In other words, the Aorus Gen4 offers about the same performance as competing drives from Corsair and Sabrent Rocket Gen4.

All of the initial PCIe 4 M.2 SSDs also use a DDR4 DRAM buffer to speed up transfers along with an SLC-mode cache.

Aorus Gen4 Vs. Sabrent Rocket Vs. Corsair MP600

Phison E16 PCIe 4.0 SSD ComparisonGigabyte Aorus Gen4 1TBSabrent Rocket Gen4 1TBCorsair Force MP600 1TB
ControllerPhison E16Phison E16Phison E16
Form Factor (Interface)M.2 2280 (PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe 1.3)M.2 2280 (PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe 1.3)M.2 2280 (PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe 1.3)
NAND Flash typeToshiba 96-layer 3D TLCToshiba 96-layer 3D TLCToshiba 96-layer 3D TLC
Random Read750K IOPS750K IOPS680K IOPS
Random Write700K IOPS750K IOPS600K IOPS
Sequential Read (max)5,000 MB/s5,000 MB/s4,950 MB/s
Sequential Write (max)4,400 MB/s4,400 MB/s4,250 MB/s
Write Endurance1800 TBW1800 TBW1800 TBW
Warranty5 years5 years5 years

Gigabyte’s Gen4 Aorus drive is available in 500 GB, 1 TB and 2 TB capacities. All of them offer the same maximum 5,000 MB/s sequential read transfer rate, but write transfers are 2,500 MB/s in the 500 GB model. This is the usual side-effect of increased performance due to parallelization (or lack thereof).

Although the controller and memory chips are identical on these early PCIe 4.0 SSDs, some performance aspects differ – at least on paper. Compared to the Sabrent Rocket Gen4, the Aorus appears to be slightly slower. The Aorus might, however, benefit from the fact that it’s equipped with a large copper heat spreader.

According to many reports, PCIe 4.0 SSDs run quite hot while active. In any event, the Gigabyte Aorus was one of the PCIe 4.0 SSD performance leaders in 2019.

Power Consumption (Laptop Suitability)

Due to the copper heat spreader on top, the Aorus Gen4 is not suitable for installing in a laptop.

Warranty and Endurance Rating

Gigabyte offers a 5-year warranty with the Aorus Gen4, which are the usual terms for high-end SSDs. The terabytes written (TBW) endurance ratings are excellent at 1,800 TBW for the 1TB model and 3,600 TBW for the 2TB capacity.

Expert Reviews

Vortez:

If you’ve already invested into an X570 motherboard … the GIGABYTE AORUS NVMe Gen4 SSD will absolutely provide you with the fastest M.2 SSD money can buy.

mmorpg:

This is easily the fastest drive I’ve ever experienced and it’s so much faster than the previous generation …

Think Computers:

Fastest M.2 SSD!? - AORUS NVMe Gen4 SSD

 

9Expert Score
Meta-review: At launch, and when used in combination with an X570 motherboard and Ryzen 3000-series CPU, editors agree that this M.2 SSD is very hard to beat.
PROS
  • Exceptionally fast over PCIe 4.0
  • Great endurance in TBW
  • Heat spreader keeps temps down
CONS
  • More expensive than some competitors

Additional information

Specification: Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSD

Warranty Limited 5 years
UPC List UPC List Element: 889523017784
Title GIGABYTE AORUS NVMe Gen4 M.2 1TB PCI-Express 4.0 Interface High Performance Gaming, Full Body Copper Heat Spreader, Toshiba 3D NAND, DDR Cache Buffer, 5 Year Warranty SSD GP-ASM2NE6100TTTD
Product Type Name COMPUTER_DRIVE_OR_STORAGE
Package Dimensions Height: 118, Length: 520, Weight: 44, Width: 323
Package Quantity 1
Number Of Items 1
Model GP-ASM2NE6100TTTD
Item Dimensions Height: 118, Length: 512, Weight: 44, Width: 315
EAN List EAN List Element: 0889523017784
EAN 0889523017784

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