# PNY CS3030 (M2. NVME 1 TB), new drive ?



## Wavetrex (Apr 27, 2019)

So I notice Amazon has this thing....
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07MW9NJSH/

... but I can't find any reviews for it anywhere !?

I search for PNY CS3030 and Google or DuckDuck only return review results for CS2030 which is obviously older.

The specs look really good ! 3500 read, 3000 write for the 1TB model.
I wonder if real ?

Really tempted to buy it at this price and see what the fuss is about.

Anyone else saw this (or maybe even bought it ?)

---
Edit: Found something

http://www.jkk.pny.com/File Library...enter/Solid State Drives/PNY-Linecard-SSD.pdf 

Apparently it's using Phison E12


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## metalfiber (Apr 28, 2019)

Here's a showdown of two controllers...
https://www.tweaktown.com/articles/...-showdown-phison-e12-smi-sm2262en/index4.html

I just got ADATA SX8200 PRO that uses the SM2262ENG  controller...
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AData/SX8200_Pro_1_TB/

I can't find any review on the PNY CS3030.


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## biffzinker (Apr 28, 2019)

Found the product page at PNY.
http://www3.pny.com/CS3030-M-2-NVMe...T_NAV_ID=b83c9ac0-e251-454c-b078-3bbd37ce1ff5

I was going to guess a later/high performance Phison controller going off the KitGuru review for the CS2030.
https://www.kitguru.net/components/.../pny-cs2030-240gb-pcie-nvme-m-2-drive-review/


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## metalfiber (Apr 28, 2019)

Here's a review of Silicon Power's P34A80 that uses the E12 controller. I'm quoting the article in the review about the E12 controller itself.

"firmware tweaks alone are not enough to close the gap where the E12 is lagging behind the competition."

https://www.anandtech.com/show/1395...-ssd-review-phison-e12-with-newer-firmware/10


Here's a link for the Adata XPG SX8200 PRO for Amazon. It's $162.99 US or 146.00 Euro. I also included links of reviews.

https://www.amazon.com/SX8200-Pro-Gen3x4-3000MB-ASX8200PNP-1TT-C/dp/B07K1J3C23?tag=tec06d-20 

https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AData/SX8200_Pro_1_TB/ 
https://hothardware.com/reviews/adata-xpg-sx8200-pro-review 
https://techreport.com/review/34431/adata-xpg-sx8200-pro-1-tb-reviewed 
https://www.anandtech.com/show/13759/comparing-adata-sx8200-pro-vs-hp-ex950


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## Wavetrex (Apr 28, 2019)

Well that ADATA XPG is a bit more expensive:

https://www.amazon.de/beeindruckende-Geschwindigkeit-ausgezeichnete-Leistung-schwarz/dp/B07K1J3C23/

178 Eur (Adata) vs 152 Eur (PNY)
26 Eur difference might not sound much, but if the performance is similar I would pick the cheaper one...
The reason CS3030 made me curious is it's very low price, almost SATA M.2 levels, while having the full 4x lanes

... _and theoretically same blazing speeds_. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be true. Phison E12 seems to be noticeably slower in all tests than SM2262EN, so this PNY which is based on it is basically ... off the table (for me).

Thanks @metalfiber for the first link, that's pretty clear.
I'll probably pick that Adata SX8200 Pro, seems awesome ! (And significantly cheaper than Samsung 970 EVO Plus, by ~40 Euro !!, while beating it in most tests)
https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07MBQPQ62/ eww.

_Edit:
Replaced "S" with "E"_


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## Vario (Apr 28, 2019)

The PNY CS3030's Phison E12 controller is very fast.  E12 is not S12.  S12 is a SATAIII controller.  E12 is NVMe.  The PNY should still be "on the table".






https://www.techpowerup.com/236695/...high-performance-e12-and-s12-nand-controllers


> Contrary to the E8 budget Phison controller, the E12 will feature a full NVMe PCIe x4 interface, which allows for those speed ratings. The S12, on the other hand, is a more common SATA III controller, which means that its speeds of 550 MB/s sequential read and 530 MB/s sequential write are already hitting the interface's limits. Other than the interface and the rated speeds and IOPS, though, the specs are the same on these controllers: support for 3D NAND on MLC/TLC/QLC arrangements, 8-channel, LDPC, SmartECC, and End-to-End DPP support.



Here in the US, I can buy an E12 1TB reference for $120, which I may do soon.  https://www.microcenter.com/product...80-pcie-nvme-30-x4-internal-solid-state-drive

1600 TBW endurance rivals the 970...  1TB Toshiha 3D TLC NAND.  Pretty good drive.
Benchmarks: https://www.anandtech.com/show/13080/the-phison-e12-nvme-ssd-controller-preview/5


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## kastriot (Apr 28, 2019)

In my country there is a say 'I am not rich to buy cheap stuff" ie translated "oh sh*t i should add 26e more"


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## Wavetrex (Apr 28, 2019)

My mistake, wanted to type E and instead typed "S".

However in the first post I did type the correct thing:
"Apparently it's using Phison E12"

Yes, it is very fast, but not AS fast as the competition. But it's also a tiny bit cheaper so... depends on the workload.


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## Vario (Apr 28, 2019)

Well, keep in mind the SX8200 Pro has 640 TBW Endurance for the 1TB, the Phison Reference E12 has 1600 TBW Endurance.

I'd get the PNY, its a negligible speed difference but according to the manufacturer, it will last a bit longer.  And its cheaper.


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## bonehead123 (Apr 28, 2019)

Normally with computer parts, the "cheap is as cheap does" policy would apply, however, with the prices of all flash memory dropping like rocks and flucuating wildly right now, it really isn't  true at this particular moment in time......

so if you can wait another month or so to buy, you could possibly save yourself some real moohlah on some of the best/fastest m2 drives out there....

However, there are rumors floating around that the big 3 flash makers (Sammy, Micron and Toshitdba) are in the process of reducing production so that market prices will start going back up.... if this is true, and based on their past behavours I firmly believe that it is, then you should look at buying something in the next 30-60 days...

I've had both a WD SN750 Black and a Sammy 970 pro in my carts at da 'Zon & da 'egg for over 3 months now & the prices have been jumping all over the place, seemingly from day to day....so I'm thinkin around May 10-15th I will drop me hamma down & get some if I can catch them at a low point


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## Vario (Apr 29, 2019)

bonehead123 said:


> Normally with computer parts, the "cheap is as cheap does" policy would apply, however, with the prices of all flash memory dropping like rocks and flucuating wildly right now, it really isn't  true at this particular moment in time......
> 
> so if you can wait another month or so to buy, you could possibly save yourself some real moohlah on some of the best/fastest m2 drives out there....
> 
> ...


The PM981 I ordered last week turned out to be a bait and switch on a used looking PM961 so I sent it back and bought a new Phison E12 reference 1TB (Inland branded) for $133 including the tax and shipping from Microcenter, which I believe is the same hardware as that PNY CS3030.  When I receive it, I will post up the benchmark on it as it compares to my 970 Pro.


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## Vario (May 2, 2019)

Vario said:


> The PM981 I ordered last week turned out to be a bait and switch on a used looking PM961 so I sent it back and bought a new Phison E12 reference 1TB (Inland branded) for $133 including the tax and shipping from Microcenter, which I believe is the same hardware as that PNY CS3030.  When I receive it, I will post up the benchmark on it as it compares to my 970 Pro.


Here is the benchmark
Super fast for a $120 drive!


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## Wavetrex (May 3, 2019)

Not bad, not bad at all !
However in the mean time I personally decided to wait to see if any PCI-e 4.0 units are announced over the next few months to work with Zen 2 system, I'll survive with half TB until then.

But of course, if someone else needs a new NVME drive quickly, it's nice to see these new cheap but fast controllers giving Samsung a hard time


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