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IRDM CX400 Gen.2 256 GB (SpecTek B27B)

256 GB
Capacity
Phison S11
Controller
TLC
Flash
SATA 6 Gbps
Interface
2.5"
Form Factor

Multiple hardware versions found.

Performance could vary due to unannounced flash/controller changes.

SSD Controller
Controller
The IRDM CX400 Gen.2 was a solid-state drive in the 2.5" form factor, launched on August 23rd, 2018, that is no longer in production. It was available in capacities ranging from 128 GB to 1 TB. This page reports specifications for the 256 GB variant. With the rest of the system, the IRDM CX400 Gen.2 interfaces using a SATA 6 Gbps connection. The SSD controller is the PS3111-S11-13 from Phison, a DRAM cache is not available. IRDM has installed 96-layer TLC NAND flash on the CX400 Gen.2, the flash chips are made by SpecTek. Please note that this SSD is sold in multiple variants with different NAND flash or controller, which could affect performance, the "Notes" section at the end of this page has more info. To improve write speeds, a pseudo-SLC cache is used, so bursts of incoming writes are processed more quickly. The cache is sized at 30 GB. The CX400 Gen.2 is rated for sequential read speeds of up to 550 MB/s and 480 MB/s write; random IOPS reach up to 65K for reads and 61K for writes.
The SSD's price at launch is unknown. The warranty length is set to three years, which is above average, but shorter than the five years offered by many other vendors. IRDM guarantees an endurance rating of 180 TBW, a good value.

Solid-State-Drive

Capacity: 256 GB
Variants: 128 GB 256 GB 512 GB 1 TB
Hardware Versions:
Overprovisioning: 17.6 GB / 7.4 %
Production: End-of-life
Released: Aug 23rd, 2018
Part Number: SSDPR-CX400-256-G2
Market: Consumer

Physical

Form Factor: 2.5"
Interface: SATA 6 Gbps
Protocol: AHCI
Power Draw: Unknown

Controller

Manufacturer: Phison
Name: PS3111-S11-13
Architecture: ARM 32-bit
Core Count: Single-Core
Frequency: 200 MHz
Foundry: UMC
Process: 40 nm
Flash Channels: 2
Chip Enables: 8

NAND Flash

Manufacturer: SpecTek
Name: B27B FortisFlash
Type: TLC
Technology: 96-layer
Speed: 1200 MT/s
Capacity: Unknown
ONFI: 4.1
Topology: Floating Gate
Planes per Die: 4
Decks per Die: 2
Word Lines: 106 per NAND String
90.6% Vertical Efficiency
Page Size: 16 KB
Block Size: 3456 Pages
Plane Size: 338 Blocks

DRAM Cache

Type: None

Performance

Sequential Read: 550 MB/s
Sequential Write: 480 MB/s
Random Read: 65,000 IOPS
Random Write: 61,440 IOPS
Endurance: 180 TBW
Warranty: 3 Years
MTBF: 2.0 Million Hours
Drive Writes Per Day (DWPD): 0.6
SLC Write Cache: approx. 30 GB

Features

TRIM: Yes
SMART: Yes
Power Loss Protection: No
Encryption:
  • Unknown
RGB Lighting: No
PS5 Compatible: No

Notes

Controller:

In order to improve performance, Phison implemented a way that the controller utilizes it's internal 32 MiB of SRAM as some kind of "Pit-stop" that is allocated for incoming Write request in order to improve performance since it's a very quick to access and fast RAM. This implementation was called Smart Cache Flush.
This SmartCacheFlush technology allows incoming data to only have a “pit stop” in the cache and then move to the NAND flash at once. If the flash is jammed due to particular file sizes (such as random 4KB data), the cache will be treated as an “organizer”, consolidating incoming data into groups before written into the flash to improve write amplification.

NAND Die:

tPROG - 800 µs (withouh Vpp)
tPROG w/ ~ 25% Overhead: ~ 914 µs (Avg 70 MB/s per each die)

Jun 1st, 2024 05:46 EDT change timezone

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