Sony Enters Consumer SSD Market, Demos PCIe 5.0 SSD

Sony demoed a range of SSDs at Tokyo Game Show. This includes PCIe 5.0 based SSD of 1TB and 2TB. It also showed PCIe 4.0 SSD in 500GB, 1TB, 2TB and 4TB.

SSD is the best upgrade one can make on their computer. Computer getting outdated? Install an SSD, make it the main drive and get instant speed boosts. For a long time, SATA based SSDs remained a standard. Now PCIe based NVMe drives are becoming one.

These NVMe SSDs are add-in cards which one needs to install in their motherboard directly, provided their motherboard supports it. While a SATA SSD maxes out at 600 MB/s due to the limit of the SATA interface, the PCIe based NVMe SSDs reach the speeds in thousands of MB/s.

So far, the SSD market has been dominated by the likes of WD, Seagate, Crucial, Kingston, Silicon Power and many others. However, the biggest name in the SSD market is Samsung. Looks like it’s known rival is going to join it in the SSD race too. As Sony is going to enter the consumer SSD market.

Sony Demos SSD

A year ago, Sony announced PCIe based SSDs for it’s PlayStation 5 gaming consoles. These SSDs were named Nextorage. It seems Sony is going to use the same brand of SSD for consumer PCs too.

Hermitage Akihabara reports that Sony has demoed a range of SSDs in the Nextorage brand in the Tokyo Game Show 2022.

Notably, the models include PCIe 5.0 based SSD of 1TB and 2TB. It also includes PCIe 4.0 based SSDs in 500GB, 1TB, 2TB and 4TB.

Flagship PCIe 5.0 x4 SSD

Sony Nextorage PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD Specs. Credit: Hermitage Akihabara.

Sony Nextorage PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD. Credit Hermitage Akihabara.

Sony Nextorage PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD Showcase. Credit: Hermitage Akihabara.

The first in the lineup is Sony Nextorage’s flagship PCIe 5.0 x4 SSD. It will come in two sizes, 1TB and 2TB. The form factor will be M.2 2280.

While the 2TB model will have a massive read speeds of 10,000 MB/s and write speeds of 9,500 MB/s. The 1TB model will be slightly slower, with write speeds reaching 9,500 MB/s and read speeds reaching 8,500 MB/s,

The above specs make these SSDs the fastest in the market. Far faster than Samsung’s latest PCIe 4.0 based offering, the Samsung PRO 990 NVMe SSD.

Reports suggest that these drives could come with SLC based cache, just like the PS5 drives from Nextorage.

Nextorage G Series PCIe 4.0 SSD

Sony Nextorage G Series PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD Specs. Credit: Hermitage Akihabara.

Sony Nextorage G Series PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD Closeup. Credit Hermitage Akihabara.

The next series in the lineup is the PCIe 4.0 x4 based Nextorage G Series. It will come in three sizes, 1TB, 2TB and 4TB.

The 2TB and 4TB SSDs will have the read speeds of 7300 MB/s and write speeds of 6900 MB/s.

The 1TB model will have same the read speeds of 7300 MB/s, but it will come with a slightly reduced write speeds of 6000 MB/s. Which is still massively fast.

They will be made with 3D TLC NAND chips, which have become a standard now.

The specs of the Nextorage G series seem to be very similar to the NEM-PA Series, which Sony offers for its PlayStation 5 console.

Nextorage G SE Series PCIe 4.0 SSD

Sony Nextorage G SE Series PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD Specs. Credit: Hermitage Akihabara.

Sony Nextorage G SE Series PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD Closeup. Credit Hermitage Akihabara.

The third series in the lineup is the PCIe 4.0 x4, NVMe 1.4 based Nextorage G SE Series. They will come in 500GB, 1TB and 2TB models.

The 2TB model will have a read speed of 4,800 MB/s and the write speed of 4,100 MB/s.

Whereas the 1TB model will have a read speed of 4,700 MB/s and the write speed of 2,800 MB/s. Which makes it similar to a top of the line PCIe 3.0 SSD.

There’s no speed information currently available for the 500GB model.

The G SE series seem to be cheaper than the above offerings and hence comes with lesser specs. They might well become mainstream SSDs. Thought we feel there could be some confusion in the consumers between the G series and the G SE series. Also, we aren’t quite sure why Sony has labeled the G SE series drive as 4TB, as the specs don’t mention a 4TB model.

Outcome of Sony Entering Consumer SSD Market

From decades, Sony has been known for its high quality products. In many fields of tech, Sony remains a leader without a competition in quality. With Sony entering the consumer SSD market, the competition will only get bigger. Samsung, its biggest challenger, as mentioned above, can be given a tough fight by Sony.

We don’t know when will Sony release these SSDs. Whether they will come with new models of PlayStation 5 first and then come to PCs later. Or whether they will come to PCs first. Nor do we know anything about their pricing.

Whatever it maybe, the consumers will enjoy more quality choices.

Sony Enters Consumer SSD Market, Demos PCIe 5.0 SSD