Nextorage Releases G Series ME M.2 2230 Gaming SSD

[Nomad76]

Nextorage announces the release of its new G Series ME gaming SSD, this M.2 2230 SSD is designed for compact gaming PCs and tablet PCs, combining PCIe 4.0 high-speed performance with DRAM-less power saving. The G Series ME offers impressive specifications with sequential read speeds up to 7,400 MB/s and write speeds up to 6,200 MB/s. Random read and write speeds are rated at 750,000 IOPS and 850,000 IOPS respectively. Available in 1 TB and 2 TB models, the drives feature write endurance of 600 TBW for the 1 TB model and 1,200 TBW for the 2 TB model, both backed by a five-year warranty.

Both models use single-sided 3D TLC NAND Flash, ensuring compatibility with M.2 2230 slots and improved cooling due to top-mounted NAND. The SSD employs DRAM-less technology, utilizing the latest controller and 3D TLC NAND flash to balance speed and power efficiency. To compensate for the lack of DRAM caching, Nextorage implements a "Large-capacity Dynamic SLC Cache," converting unused space into an SLC cache for enhanced performance.





Nextorage claims the DRAM-less design offers advantages in power consumption and operating temperatures, potentially reducing thermal throttling. The company aims to provide a comfortable gaming experience by suppressing temperature increases, making the G Series ME suitable for gaming applications with frequent reads.

Available currently on Japan market, the 1 TB model has an MSRP of about $149, while the 2 TB version costs around $265. No exact date for worldwide availability.

View at TechPowerUp Main Site | Source

 

[Chaitanya]

Apparently this is a Sony spun off manufacturer, would like to read reviews of their drives here.

 

[lexluthermiester]

Here we go!! Small drive form-factor with big storage on TLC based NAND!
Heck yeah!!

 

[Hakker]

Here we go!! Small drive form-factor with big storage on TLC based NAND!
Heck yeah!!

what do you mean? All of those 2230 2TB drives are TLC NAND without DRAM. The reason why no dram is on those 2230 drives. Well there simply isn't space for the DRAM chip. This isn't by any means anything new.

 

[Wirko]

what do you mean? All of those 2230 2TB drives are TLC NAND without DRAM. The reason why no dram is on those 2230 drives. Well there simply isn't space for the DRAM chip. This isn't by any means anything new.

The SN770M is TLC and Kioxia BG6 is too, but not much else. The BG6 doesn't seem to be available anywhere, it's probably industrial or OEM.

 

[bonehead123]

TLC = good

No DRAM = not so much, and an auto-NO Buy for me

utilizing the latest controller

latest from WHO/WHERE ? probably some bottom-barrel garbaggio from the land of ying-yang-hohuang

 

[lexluthermiester]

All of those 2230 2TB drives are TLC NAND without DRAM.

Not even close. Most 2230 drives of large capacity do NOT use TLC.

The SN770M is TLC and Kioxia BG6 is too, but not much else.

This. Most of these 2230 drives are QLC. Not acceptable. I would rather take a hit to capacity and go MLC(If they were willing to make it), but TLC isn't bad.

No DRAM = not so much, and an auto-NO Buy for me

It's not the performance limiter it once was. And in this form-factor where physical space on the PCB is very limited, it's common to see drives without DRAM.

 

[Ruru]

"Gaming" and no RGB?

 

[Wirko]

"Gaming" and no RGB?

Pros buy RGB separately.

 

[Chrispy_]

The upside is a 5 year warranty.
The downsides are that there's no mention of which controller it's using and the spec sheet from the source link indicates a 5.7W power consumption which is (I think) quite high for a small drive like this. I guess that's the price of PCIe 4.0

Honestly, the Steam Deck doesn't need this - The priority for the Deck is power consumption, because almost all of the Decks moved to 2-lanes of PCIe 3.0 for the M.2 slot. A Gen 4.0 controller is just wasted performance for additional cost and power draw. A Windows-based system like the Ally might benefit, though it seems like even those are using shared lanes rather than the dedicated CPU-direct lanes again as it only measures barely above PCIe 3.0 speeds when fitted with a faster SSD.

Still, Japanese brand with 5 year warranty is better than alphabet-soup Chinese brand with 1 year warranty, and the MSRP isn't stupid so hopefully street pricing is competitive.

what do you mean? All of those 2230 2TB drives are TLC NAND without DRAM. The reason why no dram is on those 2230 drives. Well there simply isn't space for the DRAM chip. This isn't by any means anything new.

Exactly!
Most of these tiny 2230s have been DRAMless TLC since there's no physical room on the PCB and TLC-only controllers are generally cheaper and physically smaller since they're far less complex.

 

[Wirko]

Most of these tiny 2230s have been DRAMless TLC since there's no physical room on the PCB and TLC-only controllers are generally cheaper and physically smaller since they're far less complex.

Do any DRAMful ones exist at all?
It might even be possible to stick a DRAM chip on the SSD, opposite to the controller ... if anyone makes silicon dies of suitable size. But, as a rule, SSDs with DRAM consume more than those without. Also the controller would need many more pins for the DRAM interface, so its package would have to be larger.

As for TLC versus QLC - the majority is QLC. Here's some data from Geizhals.eu, I listed 2TB drives widely available at German e-tailers:

TLC:
WD SN770M, 175 €
Corsair MP600 Mini, 232 €

QLC:
Seagate FireCuda 520N, 215 €
Crucial P310, 170 €
Micron 2400, 160 €
Corsair MP600 Core Mini, 210 €
Patriot Viper VP4000 Mini, 201 €

WhoKnowsLC:
Silicon Power UD90, 175 €
Adata XPG S55, 202 €

This also means Nextorage won't sell many of their SSDs for $265.

 

[Ruru]

Exactly!
Most of these tiny 2230s have been DRAMless TLC since there's no physical room on the PCB and TLC-only controllers are generally cheaper and physically smaller since they're far less complex.

Just wondering that would it be possible to integrate some cache RAM in the controller or something?