The Kioxia XG8 arrives because the true successor to the favored XG6 consumer drive, providing PCIe 4.0 ranges of efficiency with high-capacity choices. For OEM use, the XG8 helps elective options corresponding to TCG Opal 2.01 for encryption and likewise energy loss notification. Its conservative design permits to be used in laptops, desktops, gaming PCs and extra. This drive is probably not formally obtainable in retail, however it’s a appropriate selection in a brand new machine and needs to be in comparison with different high-end PCIe 4.0 SSDs.
The XG8 comes with new {hardware} – that’s, a brand new controller and new flash – and guarantees higher efficiency. Kioxia reveals random and sequential efficiency enhancements of between 169 and 253% by way of IOPS and MBps, respectively. Different options make it helpful for consumer environments which might embody workstations, as properly. Will probably be fascinating to see the way it holds up towards the greatest SSDs.
Specs
Product | 512GB | 1TB | 2TB | 4TB |
---|---|---|---|---|
Pricing | $59.99 | $99.99 | $189.99 | $399.99 |
Capability (Consumer / Uncooked) | 512GB / 512GB | 1024GB / 1024GB | 2048GB / 2048GB | 4096GB / 4096GB |
Kind Issue | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 | M.2 2280 |
Interface / Protocol | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 | PCIe 4.0 x4 |
Controller | TC58NC0L1XGSD | TC58NC0L1XGSD | TC58NC0L1XGSD | TC58NC0L1XGSD |
DRAM | LPDDR4 | LPDDR4 | LPDDR4 | LPDDR4 |
Flash Reminiscence | 112-Layer Kioxia BiCS5 TLC | 112-Layer Kioxia BiCS5 TLC | 112-Layer Kioxia BiCS5 TLC | 112-Layer Kioxia BiCS5 TLC |
Sequential Learn | 7,000 MBps | 7,000 MBps | 7,000 MBps | 7,000 MBps |
Sequential Write | 5,000 MBps | 5,600 MBps | 5,800 MBps | 5,800 MBps |
Random Learn | 750K | 900K | 900K | 900K |
Random Write | 600K | 620K | 620K | 620K |
Safety | TCG Opal 2.01 Non-obligatory | TCG Opal 2.01 Non-obligatory | TCG Opal 2.01 Non-obligatory | TCG Opal 2.01 Non-obligatory |
Endurance (TBW) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Half Quantity | KXG8AZNV512G | KXG8AZNV1T02 | KXG8AZNV2T04 | KXG4AZN84T09 |
Guarantee | 5-12 months | 5-12 months | 5-12 months | 5-12 months |
The Kioxia XG8 is offered in 512GB, 1TB, 2TB and 4TB sizes. It’s significantly good to see a 4TB choice as TLC drives nonetheless usually faucet out at 2TB. The flash could assist right here as BiCS5 is understood to be obtainable in 1Tb dies, as on the 8TB Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus. Nevertheless, the 4TB mannequin is double-sided with extra NAND packages, so this isn’t completely essential. The XG8 can hit as much as 7.0/5.8 GBps for sequential learn and write and 900K/620K random learn and write IOPS. Kioxia backs the drive with a 5-year guarantee with none official TBW ranking (as that is an OEM product). The KG8 can also be NVMe 1.4 compliant.
The XG8 has an choice with TCG Opal 2.01 assist for every capability which permits the Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) functionality. This can be helpful for consumer drive environments. The XG8 additionally helps energy loss notification (PLN) by a PCIe sideband sign. This permits the drive to flush its knowledge to non-volatile media earlier than energy loss by host initialization. This isn’t the identical as energy loss safety (PLP), which makes use of a battery or capacitor to guard data-in-flight. Nevertheless, theoretically, PLN may very well be used with off-module PLP (OMP) so as to add this performance.
Software program and Equipment
The XG8 doesn’t supply a lot in the best way of software program or equipment, which is not unusual for consumer SSDs. We suggest Macrium Mirror Free if it is advisable clone or picture your present drive. Different functions, corresponding to CrystalDiskInfo, can supply extra details about the drive and its well being standing.
A Nearer Look
The XG8 is roofed by a single, shiny label with minimal data. Beneath this we see the controller flanked by two NAND packages on one facet and a DRAM package deal on the opposite. The drive is single-sided, which is sweet for some functions. It’s value noting that this drive is double-sided at 4TB.
Kioxia claims that it is a proprietary controller, which is smart because it follows within the footsteps of the XG5 and XG6. That is an eight-channel controller able to getting essentially the most out of a PCIe 4.0 interface. Kioxia’s Exceria line has used variations of Phison’s E12 controller as an alternative.
The DRAM is Nanya’s NT6AN512T32AV-J2. That is LPDDR4, a low energy type of DRAM, in a 512MB x 32b configuration. This makes it successfully 16Gb or 2GB which is an efficient quantity for a 2TB drive.
These are 8Tb or 1TB packages consisting of 112-layer BiCS5 TLC dies. This flash will also be discovered on the 1TB Kioxia BG5, which has a single package deal. There’s not an excessive amount of to say about this flash. Regardless that it has a generational drawback versus Micron’s 176-layer TLC, it has confirmed to be fairly good in drives just like the WD SN770. The maturity of the structure has its advantages in OEM merchandise, too.
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