INTRODUCTION

   As we wait for the very first PCIe 5.0 compatible motherboards to make their debut it's clear to everyone that PCIe 4.0 has surpassed all expectations in terms of read and write performance for internal storage media and more specifically Gen4 M.2 NVMe v1.4 solid state drives. Also, if you've been keeping tabs on PCIe 4.0 (Gen4) SSDs then you should be well aware that Phison currently leads the market (at least in terms of sales) with their high-performance PS5018 (E18) eight-channel NAND flash controller. Still Phison is far from the only manufacturer to have a high-performance consumer oriented PCIe 4.0 (Gen4) NVMe v1.4 compatible NAND flash controller, for example Samsung, Intel and Micron have their very own and then there's also Silicon Motion and Innogrit. The latest model by Acer (BIWIN) is the Predator GM7000 and as you've probably guessed already it uses a NAND flash controller not manufactured by Phison.

   Predator branded storage products are designed and manufactured by BIWIN Storage Technology company, a leading maker of quality flash memory, DRAM memory and solid-state drives (SSDs). Delivering premium products for serious gamers and overclocking enthusiasts looking for the ultimate experience, our mission is to provide best-in-class memory modules and solid-state drives that enhance overall system performance and gameplay. Defined by faster speeds and gaming-inspired design, these Predator storage products are built to be the Number One choice for gamers worldwide. Founded in 2010, BIWIN focuses on providing global customers with high-quality storage products and specializes in the research, development, manufacturing and sales of memory chip application products.

   The Predator GM7000 line of M.2 NVMe v1.4 SSDs includes 3 different capacities (512GB/1TB/2TB) and was supposed to be released late last year with Micron 96-layer 3D TLC NAND flash modules. Still the release of 176-layer 3D TLC NAND flash again by Micron (and in turn its performance gains) was way too appealing for BIWIN to ignore so the GM7000 was delayed and is now offered with that instead. Everything else however remains the same and so once again under the hood we find the Rainier IG5236 eight-channel PCIe 4.0 (Gen4) NVMe 1.4 NAND flash controller by Innogrit together with DDR4L DRAM flash by Nanya (512MB for the 512GB version, 1GB for the 1TB version and 2GB for the 2TB version) and the mentioned 176-layer 3D TLC NAND flash by Micron. This hardware combo gives the GM700 performance levels of up to 7400MB/s in reads and 6700MB/s in writes thus allowing it to go head-to-head with the E18 controller by Phison. The Rainier IG5236 controller also packs all the technologies you'd expect by the top-of-the-line consumer model by Innogrit including end-to-end data protection, LDPC (low-density parity check) error-correction with SRAM ECC, programmable RAID, smart cache, AES encryption, SHA, RSA, ONFI 4.1 and Toggle 4.0. Finally, BIWIN covers the entire line with a 5-year limited warranty, reports an MTBF of 2 million hours for all 3 models and as for endurance numbers they give 300TBW for the 512GB model, 600TBW for the 1TB and 1300TBW for the 2TB model.