KitGuru KitGuru.net – Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards
After leading the way for Gen 5 SSDs with the all-conquering PS5026-E26, the world's first Gen 5 controller, Phison has brought us their second generation controller, the PS5031-E31T. Aimed at a different market segment than the E26, the E31T should enable manufacturers to deliver Gen 5 products to the mainstream and even notebook markets. Today we take a look at a reference drive from Phison to see what performance we should expect.
Technology has moved on since the E26, so while it was built on a 12nm process, the E31T uses a 7nm process. This has led to better efficiency and an improvement in one of the drawbacks of Gen 5 technology – heat generation. The 7nm process plus the fact the controller is a DRAM-less design (no extra thermals from a DRAM chip to cope with) means that the drives are able to run without having one of those large chunky heatsinks that so many E26 drives come with. Phison claims that for everyday PC use, drives using the E31T don't need a heatsink.
We were sent a reference drive directly by Phison for this preview. The two 1TB and 2TB reference design SSDs combine the E31T with Kioxia BiCS8 3D TLC NAND clocked at 3,600MT/s.
Phison quotes Sequential read/write performance for the 2TB model as up to 10,300MB/s and 8,600MB/s respectively with the 1TB model a little slower at 10,200MB/s and 8,300MB/s for read and writes respectively. Random performance is rated at up to 1,300,000 IOPS for reads and up to 1,500,000 IOPS for writes for both capacities.
Power consumption is rated at 6,100mW for maximum power read/write dropping to 5,900mW for average read / writes.
Physical Specifications:
- Lithography: 7mn.
- Interface: PCIe 5×4.
- NVMe: 2.0.
- DRAM: none, (HMB technology).
- Channels: 4
- NAND support: 8TB 3D TLC / QLC.
For testing, the drives are all wiped and reset to factory settings by HDDerase V4. We try to use free or easily available programs and some real world testing so you can compare our findings against your own system.
This is a good way to measure potential upgrade benefits.
Main system:
AMD Ryzen 7 7700X, 32GB DDR5-6000, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 and a Gigabyte AORUS X670E Xtreme motherboard.
Other drives
ADATA Legend 970 2TB
Corsair MP700 PRO SE 4TB
Corsair MP700 PRO 2TB
Crucial T705 2TB
Crucial T700 2TB
Crucial T700 with Heatsink 2TB
Gigabyte AORUS 10000 2TB
Seagate FireCuda 520 2TB
Software:
Atto Disk Benchmark 4.
CrystalMark 8.0.0.
AS SSD 2.0.
IOMeter.
UL Solutions PC Mark 10.
UL Solutions 3DMark Storage Benchmark.
Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker Official Benchmark.
All our results were achieved by running each test five times with every configuration this ensures that any glitches are removed from the results. Trim is confirmed as running by typing fsutil behavior query disabledeletenotify into the command line. A response of disabledeletenotify =0 confirms TRIM is active.
CrystalDiskMark is a useful benchmark to measure the theoretical performance levels of hard drives and SSDs. We are using v8.0.5.
Phison's PS5031-E31T 2TB performs very well in the CrystalDiskMark 8 4K QD1 T1 test, with a very good read score but the thing that stands out is the write result of 350.88MB/s. This is the fastest write performance in this test from a Gen 5 drive to date.
As you can see from the benchmarking screens we can confirm the official Sequential ratings of the drive of up to 10,300MB/s for reads and up to 8,600MB/s for writes with default test figures of 10,363.01MB/s for reads and 8,729MB/s for writes.
That 10,363.01MB/s read result sees the E31T leading a bunch of 10GB/s drives although it has the lowest write performance of the bunch.
Peak Performance Profile
We can confirm the official random 4K figures for the drive of up to 1,300,000 IOPS for reads and up to 1,500,000 IOPS for writes using the Peak Performance profile of CrystalDiskMark 8 with default test results of 1,367,880 IOPS for reads and 1,577,389 IOPS for writes.
Real World Profile
The E31T props up the CrystalDiskMark 8 Real World result table with a Sequential read score of 5,578MB/s. However, its write performance in this test is much stronger at 8,475MB/s.
The ATTO Disk Benchmark performance measurement tool is compatible with Microsoft Windows. Measure your storage system performance with various transfer sizes and test lengths for reads and writes. Several options are available to customize your performance measurement including queue depth, overlapped I/O and even a comparison mode with the option to run continuously. Use ATTO Disk Benchmark to test any manufacturer's RAID controllers, storage controllers, host adapters, hard drives and SSD drives and notice that ATTO products will consistently provide the highest level of performance to your storage. ATTO uses RAW or compressible data.
We are using version 4.1 for our NVMe disk tests with a set length of 256mb and test both the read and write performance.
Using the ATTO benchmark we couldn't hit the official read and write Sequential performance figures of 10,300MB/s and 8,600MB/s for read and writes respectively although the write result of 8,170MB/s is a lot closer than the 9.460MB/s read result.
AS SSD is a great free tool designed just for benching Solid State Drives. It performs an array of sequential read-and-write tests, as well as random read-and-write tests with sequential access times over a portion of the drive. It uses
incompressible data samples which many drives struggle with, so results can be viewed as the worst case scenarios.
AS SSD includes a sub suite of benchmarks with various file pattern algorithms but this is difficult in trying to judge accurate performance figures.
The E31T sits at the bottom of the ASSSD results chart thanks to its read score of 3505. Its write score of 6445 is much more competitive.
We used CrystalDiskMark 8‘s custom settings to test the Sequential read and write performance of the drive through a range of queue depths. The setup for the tests is listed below.
128KB Sequential Read / Write.
Transfer Request Size: 128KB, Thread(s): 1, Outstanding I/O: 1-32.
In this test we couldn't quite confirm the official maximum Sequential performance figures for the PS5031-E31T of 10,300MB/s for reads with a test result of 10,173.7MB/s. However, we could confirm and even better a little the official 8,600MB/s rating with a result of 8,732.14MB/s (QD16).
128KB Sequential Read compared.
At QDs 1, 2 and 4 the drive sits on the bottom of the results charts a fair way off from the other Gen 5 drives. However, at QD32 the drive climbs up the table to lead the way for the 10GB/s drives.
128KB Sequential Write compared.
When it comes to the Sequential write test results the PS5031-E31T sits in the last spot on the results chart through all the tested queue depths.
We used CrystalDiskMark 8‘s custom settings to test the 4K random read performance of the drive through a range of queue depths. The setup for the tests is listed below.
Transfer Request Size: 4KB, Outstanding I/O: 1-32.
Using our 4-threaded test results we couldn't get close to the official maximum random read figure of 1,300,000 IOPS, the best we saw was 541,175 IOPS at QD32.
4K Random Read v QD performance compared
We may not have got close to the maximum official random read figure with our testing but that doesn't stop the PS5031-E31T from being the fastest Gen 5 drive we've seen to date in this test, as It tops the charts at all the tested queue depths. But the QD1 result is particularly impressive, even more so when you realise this is a controller aimed at the mainstream market and not a high-end offering like the drives it's up against in this table.
We used CrystalDiskMark 8‘s custom settings to test the 4K random write performance of the drive through a range of queue depths. The setup for the tests is listed below.
Transfer Request Size: 4KB, Outstanding I/O: 1-32.
As with the random read results, we couldn't get close to the official maximum of 1,300,000 IOPS using our four threaded tests. The best we saw was 420,310 IOPS at QD16. After this peak, the performance dropped slightly to finish the test run at QD32 at 419,250 IOPS.
4K Random Write v QD performance compared
As with the random read result, the QD1 performance of the E31T is very impressive, outperforming all of the high-end drives in this list. Unfortunately, unlike the random read performance, it doesn't maintain this position as once the queue depth deepens the performance of the E31T compared to the rest of the Gen 5 drives here drops off and the drive drops to last place on the charts.
We used CrystalDiskMark 8’s custom settings to test the 4K 70/30 mixed read/write performance of the drive through a range of queue depths using a single thread and four threads.
Using a single thread the PS5031-E31T produced results that ranged from 26,266 IOPS (107MB/s) at QD1 up to 178,800 IOPS (732MB/s) at QD32. Switching up to four threads the performance goes from 119,143 IOPS (488MB/s) at QD1 up to 495,479 IOPS (2,029MB/s) at QD32.
We used CrystalDiskMark 8 to test the random performance of the drive at lower queue depths (QD1 – QD8 where most of the everyday workloads occur) using 1 to 4 threads.
Random Reads
In the QD1-QD8 random read tests the drive produced smooth increases in performance as the queue depth deepened without any noticeable dramas. At QD1 the drive speed ranges from 21,624 IOPS (88.57MB/s) using a single thread up to 92,847 IOPS (380.30MB/s) using four threads. At a QD of 8, the single-thread performance had increased to 159,103 IOPS (651.66MB/s) while the four-threaded test reached 454,761 IOPS (1,862.70MB/s).
Random Writes
In the 4K write tests, the performance rose quickly from QD1 to QD2 for all four tested threads with the fastest rise seen in the three and four-threaded tests. All four threads see the performance start plateauing out from QD2 onwards up to the end of the test run at QD8.
Read Throughput
In our read-throughput test, the drive peaked at the 16MB block mark at 7,540.25MB/s, nowhere near the official maximum figure of 10,300MB/s. One thing to notice is that the performance curve of the E31T is so much smoother than any other Gen 5 drive tested here.
Although the E31T throughput test result is nowhere near the official rating, it does keep it in touch with the majority of the 10GB/s drives on this list.
Write Throughput
In the write throughput test the drive peaks at 8,339.39MB/s at the 8MB block mark before dropping back to finish the test run at 7,275.50MB/s.
That test result of 8,339.39MB/s is just 261MB/s short of the official rating but still only good enough for the last spot on the graph.
The PCMark 10 Full System Drive Benchmark uses a wide-ranging set of real-world traces from popular applications and common tasks to fully test the performance of the fastest modern drives. The benchmark is designed to measure performance of fast system drives using the SATA bus at the low end and devices connected via PCI Express at the high end.
The goal of the benchmark is to show meaningful real-world performance differences between fast storage technologies such as SATA, NVMe, and Intel’s Optane. The Full System Drive Benchmark uses 23 traces, running 3 passes with each trace. It typically takes an hour to run.
Traces used:
Booting Windows 10.
Adobe Acrobat – starting the application until usable.
Adobe Illustrator – starting the application until usable Adobe Premiere Pro – starting the application until usable.
Adobe Photoshop – starting the application until usable.
Battlefield V – starting the game until the main menu.
Call of Duty Black Ops 4 – starting the game until the main menu.
Overwatch – starting the game until main menu.
Using Adobe After Effects.
Using Microsoft Excel.
Using Adobe Illustrator.
Using Adobe InDesign.
Using Microsoft PowerPoint.
Using Adobe Photoshop (heavy use).
Using Adobe Photoshop (light use).
cp1 Copying 4 ISO image files, 20 GB in total, from a secondary drive to the target drive (write test).
cp2 Making a copy of the ISO files (read-write test).
cp3 Copying the ISO to a secondary drive (read test).
cps1Copying 339 JPEG files, 2.37 GB in total, to the target drive (write test).
cps2 Making a copy of the JPEG files (read-write test).
cps3 Copying the JPEG files to another drive (read test).
The drive performed pretty well in PCMark10's Full System Drive Benchmark. It averaged 317MB/s for the six Adobe startup traces, the fastest being 393MB/s for the startup test trace of Premiere Pro, the slowest being the Lightroom startup trace at 247MB/s. For the Adobe usage traces it averaged 654MB/s for the five tests, with the fastest being the 1,403MB/s for the Adobe Photoshop heavy usage trace.
The E31T averaged 798MB/s for the three gaming test traces, the fastest being Battlefield V at 1,078MB/s with Call Of Duty Black Ops 4 the next fastest at 797MB/s and finally Overwatch at 519MB/s. When it came to the file transfers, the fastest was the cp3 Read test at 6,178MB/s with the drive averaging 3,276MB/s for the six file transfer tests.
With an overall bandwidth figure of 679.21MB/s, the E31T sits in last place on the results table.
The 3DMark Storage Benchmark uses traces recorded from popular games and gaming-related activities to measure real-world gaming performance.
Traces used:
Battlefield V
Loading Battlefield™ V from launch to the main menu.
Call of Duty Black Ops 4
Loading Call of Duty®: Black Ops 4 from launch to the main menu.
Overwatch
Loading Overwatch® from launch to the main menu.
Game Move
Copying the Steam folder for Counter-Strike®: Global Offensive from an external SSD to the system drive.
Game Recording
Recording a 1080p gameplay video at 60 FPS with OBS (Open Broadcaster Software) while playing Overwatch®.
Installing Game
Installing The Outer Worlds® from the Epic Games Launcher.
Game Saving
Saving progress in The Outer Worlds game
In 3DMark’s Storage Test, the E31T had an average game loading bandwidth figure for the three games of 836.35MB/s with an average access time of 61µs.
In the game moving, recording, installing and saving test traces the drive averaged 1,430.47MB/s with an average access time of 34.7µs for the four tests.
The average bandwidth figure for the E31T for the complete benchmark run was 714.44MB/s which puts the drive in last place in the results table but bear in mind that it's a product aimed at the mainstream so it holds its own quite well against these high-end drives.
The Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker Official Benchmark uses actual maps and playable characters to assign a score to your PC and rate its performance including scene loading times.
The benchmark gives an overall load time as well as loading times by scene.
It's a mixed bag for the E31T in the Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker Official Benchmark. It's the fastest drive in one of the scene loads, second fastest in another and then last in the remaining three. All of which puts the drive near the bottom of the results chart.
We took note of the drive’s temperature during some of our benchmarking runs.
The design of the PS5031-E31T us a 7nm process which allows it to run cooler than the E26 Gen 5 drives we've seen to date. The review sample drive didn't come with a heatsink which comes as a bit of a shock after all the chunky coolers used by previous Gen 5 drives. We used it under the built-in heatsink on our Gigabyte AORUS X670E Xtreme motherboard. The hottest the drive got was 66°C (the drive has a maximum operating temperature of 70°C) when pushed hard during some of the CrystalDiskMark tests, but we didn't seem to suffer from any throttling issues. For the non-4 K tests the drive averaged 59° C while for the 4K-based tests, the average was 50° C.
To test the real-life performance of a drive we use a mix of folder/file types and by using the FastCopy utility (which gives a time as well as MB/s result) we record the performance of drive reading from & writing to a 2TB Kingston KC3000.
Transfer Details
- Data file – 100GB.
- File folder – 50GB – 28,523 files.
- Movie demos 8K – 21GB – (11 demos).
- Raw Movie Clips 4K – 16GB – (9 MP4V files).
- Audio Folder – 10GB – 1,483 files – (1479 @ MP3, 4 @ .FLAC files).
- Single large image – 5GB – 1.5bn pixel photo.
- 3D Printer File Folder – 4.25GB – (166 files – 105 @ .STL, 38 @ .FBX, 11 @ .blend, 5 @ .lwo, 4 @ .OBJ, 3@ .3ds).
- AutoCAD File Folder – 1.5GB (80 files – 60 @ .DWG and 20 @.DXF).
The PS5031-E31T averaged 4,156MB/s when writing the 8 transfer tests, with the fastest being 7,136MB/s for the 100GB Data file transfer and the slowest being the 50GB file folder transfer at 596MB/s. Reading back the data the average was 4,670MB/s. Once again the fastest transfer was the 100GB Data file at 6,640MB/s while the slowest was the 50GB file folder at 605MB/s.
After bringing the world's first PCIe Gen5 controller, the PS5026-E26, to the market, Phison is back with their second-generation PCIe Gen5 product, the PS5031-E31T – and it could make an even bigger impact than the E26. This is because the E31T is not aimed at the high-end segment like the E26, it's aimed at the mainstream market and is the world's first Gen 5 mainstream controller and is also the world's first optimised for notebooks for good measure. Oh, and it's a DRAM-less design as well, relying on HMB technology.
Built using TSMC 7nm process technology the E31T uses single-CPU architecture with a built-in 32-bit microcontroller. The controller supports 4 NAND channels with Flash transfer rates up to 3600MT/s. Up to 8TB of 3D TLC and QLC NAND memory are supported and to protect your data the E31T uses Phison's 7th generation LDPC ECC & RAID ECC engine.
The 2TB reference design SSD that Phison sent us uses the PS5031-E31T in combination with two packages of Kioxia BiCS8 3D TLC NAND. For the 1TB and 2TB reference designs Phison quotes Sequential read/write performance for the 2TB model as up to 10,300MB/s and 8,600MB/s respectively with the 1TB model a little slower at 10,200MB/s and 8,300MB/s for read and writes respectively. Random performance is rated at up to 1,300,000 IOPS for reads and up to 1,500,000 IOPS for writes for both capacities.
Using the CrystalDiskMark 8 benchmark we could confirm those official Sequential ratings with default test figures of 10,363.01MB/s for reads and 8,729MB/s for writes. Using the Peak Performance profile of CrystalDiskMark 8 we could also confirm the official random 4K figures for the drive with default test results of 1,367,880 IOPS for reads and 1,577,389 IOPS for writes.
The 4K QD1 performance of the E31T is excellent for both reads and writes. Using our 4-threaded 4K tests the reference drive topped both the random read and write performance charts, outperforming the high-end drives that make up the tables.
As mentioned at the start of this article, we were sent a reference drive from Phison to use for this preview – this isn't actually a product that will be sold. We would expect to the see the E31T drive in various retail products from the likes of Seagate, Crucial, Corsair, Gigabyte, and so on.
You can read more about the E31T on Phison's website HERE.
Discuss on our Facebook page HERE.
KitGuru says: Phison's PS5031-E31T controller is a game changer. It opens up the promise of seeing Gen 5 SSDs not only in the mainstream market segment but also in the notebook space, given the E31T has been designed to run cooler and more efficiently than the previous generation Gen 5 controllers.
