INTRODUCTION

   If you don't happen to be among the few who've already gotten themselves a system based on the latest AMD X570/S and Intel Z590 motherboards and you're looking to get your hands on a very fast M.2 NVMe SSD then clearly, you're in the market for a PCIe Gen3x4 model. For good or bad unlike PCIe Gen4 models (very few currently in the market) Gen3 models count in the hundreds and so it's much harder to find the one which most fits your requirements. SK hynix may not be the first name to come to mind when it comes to SSDs but considering that their DRAM and NAND flash modules can be found in just about anything (from graphics cards and RAM kits to yes SSDs) they have to be doing something right. Well since they recently launched their very own P31 Gold series of M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen3x4 SSDs i decided to see for myself just what the 1TB variant has to offer.

   SK hynix Inc., headquartered in Korea, is the world’s top tier semiconductor supplier offering Dynamic Random Access Memory chips (“DRAM”), Flash memory chips (“NAND Flash”) and CMOS Image Sensors (“CIS”) for a wide range of distinguished customers globally. The Company’s shares are traded on the Korea Exchange, and the Global Depository shares are listed on the Luxemburg Stock Exchange. Further information about SK hynix is available at www.skhynix.com, news.skhynix.com.

   The P31 Gold series of M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen3x4 SSDs is currently available in 500GB/1TB/2TB capacities (the 2TB variant was announced a week or so ago) and is based on SK hynix's very own ARM 4-channel CEPHEUS PCIe Gen3x4 NVMe v1.3 NAND flash controller paired with their 6th gen 128-Layer 3D TLC NAND flash and a 1GB LPDDR4 2133MHz DRAM module (512MB for the 500GB model and 2GB for the 2TB model). Although not much is known for the specifications of the CEPHEUS it does support technologies like Low-Density Parity-Check (LDPC), SMART, secure erase, TRIM, device sleep and SK hynix’s HYPERWRITE hybrid SLC cache which basically includes two different SLC cache types (fast and slow dynamic) for optimal write results. Unfortunately, this also means that the drive doesn't support AES 256-bit hardware encryption although this is not something the majority of home users would ever need. Finally, SK hynix covers the entire P31 Gold line with a 5-year limited warranty and as for endurance numbers they report a TBW of 500 for the 500GB model, 750 for the 1TB model and 1500 for the 2TB model.