INTRODUCTION

   If you're out in the market for a brand new M.2 SSD chances are that you'll easily get confused by the sheer number of available models from all the storage manufacturers out there. I mean just think about it, there are currently low-end M.2 SATA III based models (that top at around 550MB/s), mid-end PCIe 3.0 NVMe models (that top at around 2000MB/s), high-end PCIe 3.0 NVMe models (which can reach speeds of up to around 3500MB/s) and ultra-high-end PCIe 4.0 models (which can surpass 4500MB/s) in the market so it's understandable that some consumers will have a hard time choosing the right model for their needs. That being said the most appealing price/performance ratio is without doubt held by the mid-end models and so today we'll be testing the latest model by Toshiba/KIOXIA, the RC500.

  KIOXIA Europe GmbH (formerly known as Toshiba Memory Europe GmbH) is the European based subsidiary of KIOXIA Corporation, a worldwide leading supplier of Flash Memory and Solid State Drives (SSDs). Toshiba Memory is known as the Inventor of NAND flash memory in 1987 and was the first in the world to begin mass-producing it in 1991. Under its new name, KIOXIA remains a storage leader today with its BiCS FLASH 3D technology, focusing on innovation, quality and reliability. This technology is an important component in almost all electronic devices where data need to be stored. KIOXIA is leading a new era by providing advanced memory solutions to enrich people’s lives. By evolving "memory", KIOXIA creates uplifting experiences and changes the world.

   As you can see from the above about Toshiba has rebranded their entire memory (flash) division so the RC500 is basically the last SSD to be released under their name (KIOXIA is a combination of the Japanese word kioku meaning “memory” and the Greek word axia meaning “value.”). For the RC500 (currently available in 250/500GB capacities - a 1TB capacity model should be just around the corner) Toshiba/KIOXIA has used their very own quad-channel NAND flash controller (supports TRIM, Garbage Collection, Error Correction and Device Sleep) which they paired with their very own BiCS 96-layer 3D TLC (triple-level cell) NAND flash memory and an DDR4 SDRAM module by SKhynix (512MB for the 500GB model). This configuration allows the RC500 500GB to achieve performance numbers of up to 1700MB/s in reads and 1600MB/s in writes (290.000/390.000 IOPS). Finally, Toshiba/KIOXIA covers the entire line with a 5-year limited warranty (Toshiba/KIOXIA changed that even though on the package it still indicates 3 years) and reports an MTTF (meantime between failures) of 1.5 million hours and endurance numbers of 100TBW (Terabytes Written) for the 250GB model and 200TBW for the 500GB model.