Kioxia Exceria Plus G4 with PCIe 5.0: Consumer SSDs Get Biggest Performance Boost Yet 21 comments
Image: Kioxia
Kioxia surprises with the fourth generation of the consumer series of Exceria Plus SSDs. The Exceria Plus G4 does not explore the limits of PCIe 4.0, but builds directly on PCIe 5.0. Data should be read at a maximum speed of 10 GB/s. The SSD should only consume around 5 watts of power. The efficiency is therefore high.
Kioxia Exceria Plus G4 builds on PCIe 5.0
While the Kioxia Plus G3 (test) was far from reaching the limit of its PCIe 4.0 interface with up to 5,000 MB/s reading and 3,900 MB/s writing, the successor Exceria Plus G4 still goes directly to PCIe 5.0 and on all four lanes. .
Kioxia Exceria Plus G4 SSD (Image: Kioxia)
Basically, Kioxia still has a generational leap to make, because from G1 to G2 there was only a rebrand with the same components based on the Phison E12S with PCIe 3.0.
Generations in comparison
Exceria Plus Series Exceria Plus G2 Exceria Plus G3 Exceria Plus G4 Format M.2 2280 Schnittstelle (Protocol) PCIe 3.0 x4 (NMVe 1.3c) PCIe 4.0 x4 (NVMe 1.4) PCIe 5.0 x4 (NVMe 2.0c) Controller (DRAM) Phison E12S (✓) Phison E21T (-)Phison E31T? (?) NAND-Flash BiCS 4 TLC 96 Layer BiCS5 TLC 112 Layer BiCS8 TLC 218 Layer ? Seq. Read max. 3,400 MB/s 5,000 MB/s 10,000 MB/s Seq. Schreiben max. 3200 MB/s 3900 MB/s 8200 MB/s Random read 4K max. 680,000 IOPS 770,000 IOPS 1,300,000 IOPS 4K Max random write 620,000 IOPS 950,000 IOPS 1,400,000 IOPS
Kioxia has not yet confirmed the publishers’ claim that the Exceria Plus G4 uses a Phison controller again. The performance data of 10,000 MB/s read and 8,200 MB/s write perfectly match the new Phison E31T, which debuted on the Corsair MP700 Elite (test) and impresses with its high efficiency. With a maximum power consumption of 6 watts, no complex cooling is required and SSDs with E31T are also suitable for laptops. Another indication of this chip is the G4’s focus on power efficiency.
With this new series, KIOXIA has focused on optimized energy consumption and cooling performance. Compared to the previous generation, the EXCERIA PLUS G4 series offers approximately 80%² higher power efficiency at maximum sequential read speed.
[EXCERIA PLUS G4 1 TB]²Based on research conducted by KIOXIA (as of December 2024). The information corresponds to the reading speed per power consumption determined in a specific test environment at KIOXIA Corporation. Energy efficiency is usable power, measured in tasks per watt. (Calculated by dividing 2013 MB/s/W to 1.073 MB/s/W)[EXCERIA PLUS G3 1 TB]
Kioxia
As for memory, Kioxia only calls it “BiCS Flash TLC”. However, it is possible to use the fast BiCS8 TLC with 218 layers and 3,600 MT/s, as is the case with the Corsair MP700 Elite. Even when asked, Kioxia had no comment.
Kioxia Exceria Plus G4 SSD (Image: Kioxia)
The fact that there is no dedicated DRAM cache, as revealed by a figure, also points to Phison’s DRAM-free E31T. The G3 also uses Phison’s E21T, which also has no DRAM. However, thanks to the NVMe Host Memory Buffer function, a small amount of system memory is available, which in most cases is enough to mask the lack of DRAM chip.
Prices and availability
Kioxia has not yet provided availability or pricing information for the Exceria Plus G4 (manufacturer’s product page). However, SSDs with this performance data are still far from mainstream prices. A Corsair MP700 Elite currently costs around twice as much as a PCIe 4.0 SSD, starting at 138 euros (1 TB) and 225 euros (2 TB).
Alice guides you through the best storage solutions, from ultra-fast SSDs to secure cloud options.
