Zotac SONIX 480GB PCIe SSD Review - Introduction

The Zotac Sonix PCI Express SSD Gets Tested
Going from 0 to 2,600 MB/s in a split second 

We'll be testing the all new UEFI based Zotac SONIX PCI-Express SSD today. Let me just quickly throw some numbers at you that will get a smile on your face, so how does 2,600 MB/s maximum read and 1,300 MB/s write performance sound?

We are experiencing interesting times as developers have a hard time deciding what form factor to go for: M.2., U2, Sata Express and PCI-Express based designs all remain undecided. For the interim moment however M.2. seems to become the most appealing storage unit and form factor, and next to that PCI-Express solutions based on the very same interface. Smaller form factors are now evolving from being "just as fast" as a regular SSD towards double, tripling, and even quadrupling performance. Thanks to clever protocols (nVME) and PCI-Express lane based solutions we are homing in on massive bandwidth NAND based storage solutions. These new M.2 and PCI-Express units use the NVMe protocol and that means storage technology at hyper fast speeds while remaining competitive in pricing. Samsung recently shocked and awed us with the 950 PRO series, capable of up-to 2,500 MB/s for reads and 900MB/sec (256GB model) or 1,500 MB/sec (512GB) for writes. 

Zotac now enters the market as well, they offer a nVME compatible PCI-Express based Sonix PCIE SSD. It is offered in a 480GB capacity and follows the NVMe 1.2 & PCI Express Base 3.0 interface. The unit is fitted with Toshiba MLC NAND Flash Memory and their first ever consumer-ready Non-Volatile Memory Express SSD. Your average SATA3 based SSD these days offers say 450 MB/s to 500 MB/sec on SATA3 which is the norm for a single controller based SSD. The Sonix is rated at 2,600 MB/s maximum read and 1,300 MB/s write performance. 

The world of solid state storage technology is full of surprises and the development rate is exceedingly progressive. The transition to SATA 3 (6G) was huge, but the minute SATA 3 was released (offering 6 Gbps transfers) these controllers already started reaching their maximum bandwidth with the latest generation SSDs. Basically you will see three things trending this year, faster SSDs (but these are bottle-necked due to SATA3), then you'll see the M2 devices (these will become very popular due to ease of installation versus performance), and the last trend will be a series of new PCI Express based SSD solutions. Recently we tested a couple already like the OCZ RevoDrive series, Plextor, MX-Extreme all fun stuff. Today we however take a look at a PCIe based SSD. The Zotac SONIX PCI-Express SSD which slips into a x4 PCIe 3.0 slot of your PC. The Toshiba MLC NAND flash memory is tied to a Phison E7multi-channel controller.

Have a peek before we dive into the architecture behind this PCIe SSD, and then find the pedal behind that metal.