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By PURPLELEC | 12 December 2024 | 0 Comments

The differences between Gen4 and Gen3 NVMe SSD technology

  Intel launched its desktop 11th generation Core CPUs supporting Gen4 at the end of last month, so it is generally believed that this year is the year of PCI-E Gen4's popularity. From graphics cards to NVMe SSDs, various manufacturers have been releasing new products that support Gen4, as if Gen4 NVMe SSDs are the best choice. Are Gen4 NVMe SSDs really as useful as the legends say?
  In terms of numbers, Gen4 NVMe SSDs use PCI-E 4.0 x4, providing a maximum bandwidth of 16GT/s×4=8GB/s, which is twice that of Gen3 NVMe SSDs (8GT/s×4=4GB/s), making it very attractive. However, just like Gen3 NVMe SSDs, they are also divided into different product levels.
Gen4 NVMe SSDs
  7,000MB/s vs 3,500MB/s
  Gen3 NVMe SSDs are very mature products, generally offering a maximum read speed of 3,500MB/s. Even entry-level products can provide a maximum read speed of 2,400MB/s. Gen4 SSDs are newer, with two generations of products, and speeds range from a maximum of 7,000MB/s to 3,900MB/s.
  Pay attention to whether it supports NVMe 1.4
  Few people purchasing NVMe SSDs pay attention to the version of the NVMe Protocol they support. Currently, products on the market can be divided into two main categories: NVMe 1.4 and NVMe 1.3. Do not underestimate the importance of NVMe 1.4, as it supports several useful technologies, such as NVM I/O Determinism, PLM (Predictable Latency Mode), and RRL (Read Recovery Level), among others, with NVM I/O Determinism being the most critical. For example, with a 4TB SSD under NVMe 1.3, it can only be viewed as a "single 4TB" area, allowing data to be written randomly across any part of the 4TB, leading to congestion among channels. In contrast, under the NVMe 1.4 protocol, the SSD can be divided into multiple NVM Sets, such as when an SSD provides 4-channel transmission, it can be divided into 4 separate 1TB NVM Sets, allowing each channel to access independently and effectively reducing latency.
  Is it feasible to upgrade laptops to Gen4?
  In theory, Intel's 11th generation Core laptops should support Gen4 NVMe SSDs. However, the reality is that most products on the market still primarily feature Gen3 NVMe SSDs, with very few laptops utilizing Gen4 NVMe SSDs. From what I understand, this is largely due to the higher power consumption of Gen4 NVMe SSDs and a more conservative approach from manufacturers. Nevertheless, for DIY enthusiasts who are always seeking better performance, upgrading on their own could be a viable option.

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