Beyond PCIe 5.0: Phison’s CES Showcase Pushes the Storage Performance Envelope

At CES 2024, Phison Electronics introduced an array of innovative products, including four main controller solutions: PS5026-E26 Max14um, PS5031-E31T, PS5027-E27T, and PS2251-21 (U21).

Last year, Phison Electronics launched the flagship PCIe 5.0 main control chip PS5026-E26, targeted at enterprise-level and high-end desktop gaming SSDs, a product that has become quite familiar to many. Now, Phison is set to release the PS5026-E26 Max14um, an upgraded version based on the original. This new model features firmware adjustments that reduce power consumption while enhancing speed. However, due to its active cooling requirement, it is not suitable for laptop use.

The PS5026-E26 Max14um is equipped with a dual Arm Cortex-R5 core processor, supporting up to eight channels. It accommodates TLC and QLC NAND flash memory with an interface rate of 2400 MT/s. The unit boasts an impressive maximum read speed of over 14,000MB/s and a write speed of 12,000MB/s, with random read speeds of 1,500K IOPS and random write speeds of 2,000K IOPS. It supports DDR4 and LPDDR4 caching, along with AES256, SHA512, RSA-4096, and TCG OPAL hardware encryption.

The PS5031-E31T is a low-power PCIe 5.0 main controller with a four-channel DRAMless design. Manufactured using a 7nm process, it offers reduced power consumption. It supports TLC and QLC NAND flash memory, with an interface rate of 3600 MT/s and maximum read and write speeds of 10,800 MB/s. Random read and write speeds reach 1,500K IOPS, with a maximum capacity of up to 8TB. In some scenarios, the PS5031-E31T performs close to the PS5026-E26, though it is generally slower, making it suitable for laptops.

The PS5027-E27T represents the new generation of low-power, high-performance PCIe 4.0 SSD controllers, compatible with SSDs in M.2 2230 and M.2 2280 form factors. This four-channel DRAMless design supports TLC and QLC NAND flash memory, with an interface rate of 3600 MT/s. The maximum supported capacities for M.2 2230 and M.2 2280 form factors are 2TB and 4TB, respectively.

In the M.2 2280 form, the maximum read speed is 7,400MB/s, and the write speed is 6,700MB/s. However, in the M.2 2230 form, these speeds drop to 6,000MB/s and 5,000MB/s, respectively, with a corresponding decrease in power consumption.

The PS2251-21 (U21) is the world’s first USB4 single-chip solution, ideal for traditional and non-traditional small portable devices. It achieves speeds of up to 4 GB/s, fitting comfortably in the palm of your hand, while maintaining backward compatibility with USB 3.2.