SSDs are evolving faster than many other pieces of hardware in computers. In the past, hard disk read and write performance was the short board of computers, and now other components of computers are likely to become a new bottleneck that limits the performance of high-speed SSDs.
4K randomly read or touched the ceiling:
Many friends regard 4K random read IOPS as the main indicator of SSD performance, and many SSDs are also sparing no effort in the pursuit of extreme IOPS. The HP FX900 PRO 2TB, which uses the Ingenic IG5236 master, achieves a record 1344K IOPS in consumer SSDs.
4K random read and write performance is related to CPU performance, operating system and many other aspects. TweakTown's 4K random read measured value is 1082K IOPS.
In fact, the bottleneck of 4K random access performance under the Windows system is about 1300K IOPS. PcEVA recently tested an enterprise-class SSD that can only reach 1300K IOPS in 4K random reads under Windows Server 2019, while the same hardware can achieve 1800K IOPS using the Linux operating system.
We also need to recognize that IOPS is not the gold standard for measuring the practical performance of SSDs, and in terms of TweakTown's review, the HP FX900 PRO that topped the top on 4K IOPS did not perform best in practical applications.
PCIe 5.0 era SSD heat dissipation dilemma:
Consumer-grade PCIe 5.0 SSDs are expected to be available in the second half of this year, and the biggest obstacle encountered by performance beasts is the stretched heat dissipation conditions. The memory control chip manufacturer Group recently said that PCIe 5.0 SSDs not only need to be equipped with heat sinks, but also need fans to actively dissipate heat.
The SSD master control is generally able to withstand high temperatures above 100 degrees, but if the master control is not strictly controlled, the high temperature it produces will affect the adjacent NAND flash memory particles, which are usually within 70 degrees. Overheating speed limiting has become another factor in addition to the SLC caching algorithm that seriously affects the performance consistency of SSDs.
At this stage, the active air cooling of SSDs, which are considered to be vain, and even water-cooled heat dissipation, may become the standard for PCIe 5.0 SSDs. At present, M.2 2280 is still the mainstream specification of consumer SSDs, it is not like enterprise SSDs have standardized heatsink volume specifications, and SSD heat sinks of different sizes and styles may bring some adverse effects to spatial compatibility.
The means of controlling the SSD's master power consumption include the use of more advanced process processes that allow the SSD to operate at higher frequencies at lower voltages and reduce heat generation. In addition, reducing the number of flash channels in the master can also reduce power consumption by 20% to 30%, and the lost number of channels can be compensated for by faster flash interface speeds.
From a positive point of view, there will be more energy-efficient master control solutions in the future mid-range PCIe 3.0 SSD products, which can achieve the performance of the previous flagship 8-channel master control with a 4-channel specification, and have lower heat generation, which is more suitable for notebook computers.