
Aorus Gen4 7000s: Gigabytes of new PCIe 4 SSDs with 7 GB/s and tower cooler
Gigabyte is stepping up its PCIe 4.0 SSDs and is presenting the new generation with a Phison E18 controller and up to 7,000 MB/s. In keeping with the speed, the name is Aorus Gen4 7000s, the predecessor offers a maximum of 5,000 MB/s. Equipped with a relatively flat cooler, a variant with a high heat pipe construction is also planned.
Phison E18 and faster NAND for more performance
While the first generation only scratches the possibilities of PCIe 4.0 x4 with a gross data rate of almost 8 GB/s, the Aorus Gen4 7000s is close to the practical limit. This is made possible by the more powerful Phison-E18-Controller and the use of faster memory. Gigabyte speaks of 3D-TLC-NAND with 1,200 MT/s,while the predecessor uses the same storage type with only 800 MT/s. Both are referred to as 96-layer Flash. The combination of 96 layers and 1,200 MT/s as well as an image with recognizable memory modules indicate a change to Micron's TLC flash.


According to Gigabyte, the IOPS for optional 4K transfer is falling somewhat, because the top model should 'only' achieve 650,000 read IOPS, while the older Aorus Gen4 SSDs with up to 750,000 IOPSbe specified. The guaranteed minimum write volume is 700 TB and 1,400 TB, respectively, below the predecessor. The warranty period remains unchanged at 5 years.





Cooler also as a high heat pipe version
The Aorus Gen4 7000s is offered with 1 TB or 2 TB storage space and with various coolers. The standard version uses an aluminum cooler with a 'nanocarbon' coating and back plate, which means that the SSD is 11.4 mm thick and does not get in the way of graphics cards, for example. The second variant is much higher and has a radiator with two heat pipes, for even more cooling performance with limited compatibility due to the higher space requirement. However, the exact dimensions are not yet available.


When and at what prices the Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 7000s will be available is not yet known. At CES 2021 , Kingston and MSI have also announced PCIe 4.0 SSDs with up to 7 GB/s.