Although we have identified of the E31T controller for a number of months now, Phison has been fairly silent on it since its preliminary announcement. Not like the E26, which caps out at roughly 14,800MB/s reads and 12,800MB/s writes, the E31T targets a modest switch price of 10,800MB/s in reads and writes. That stage of efficiency is roughly in between first era and second era PCIe 5.0 SSDs outfitted with the E26, which hit round 10,000MB/s and 12,000MB/s respectively.
Though the efficiency regression is unlucky, the opportunity of PCIe 5.0 SSDs that may not even require a heatsink in any respect is an enormous deal. It should make PCIe 5.0 SSDs appropriate for laptops and different cell gadgets, and desktop customers can rejoice in not having to make use of an enormous, M.2 heatsink that may also have a tiny fan on it. And whereas top-end E26-powered drives might be a lot quicker than these utilizing the E31T, 10,800MB/s remains to be a lot quicker than what the most effective PCIe 4.0 SSDs are able to.
Phison is not the one one making such a controller although, as Silicon Movement can also be engaged on one thing comparable. Its SM2508 controller boasts a most TDP of three.5 watts, a lot lower than the E26’s TDP of 5 watts. The SM2508 can also be rated for 14,500MB/s reads and 14,000MB/s writes, which is massively forward of the E31T. Nonetheless, Silicon Movement’s controller is simply anticipated to pop up in SSDs beginning in 2025, which can be later than Phison’s E31T. We’re anticipating the E31T to make an look at CES in January per Phison’s CES promo, which mentions the E31T alongside the E26..
